Yes it’s coming round again and what better than a gift for your loved one that will be remembered for many years to come, a hot air balloon ride from a location that is close to you or your loved one. With Balloons over Britain gift voucher, which you can include in your romantic card, this can be used by your loved one at time of their choosing, it does not have to be on the day itself.

Imagine floating high in the air drifting with the wind and holding on to your loved one, what could be more romantic? With Balloons over Britain operating from a launch site near you the whole day can be planned around a romantic dinner if you are taking an evening flight, or part of the special day that you have chosen.

When you have gone online or telephoned Balloons over Britain and booked your eagerly awaited flight from your locality, you may be wondering who all the other people are that are around as you drift into the air. Well without these unsung heroes, you would not be flying in your hot air balloon, they are the crew!

Most balloons have a crew of between 3 to 6 people, usually volunteers, who do not get paid, for most it’s a hobby. It’s how we all work off the stresses of the week, and get together to have a good time with an ever-changing hobby. Balloon crews tend to be family affairs they can be single or married and range in age from the very young to the very old, they just enjoy the sport. If you are interested in becoming part of a crew, go down to the next hot air balloon launch near you and ask, you never know you could be joining in.

Held later than normal this year the Brass Monkey Hot Air Balloon event organised by the Pennine Region Balloon Association is to be held on the 6th and 7th of February 2010 at Rudding Park in Harrogate Yorkshire. With the really bad weather that the region, along with many others has suffered over this winter, it was a stroke of fortune that the organisers decided to hold the traditional starter to the year slightly later.

The event is always very popular with balloonists, enthusiasts and spectators alike as they see the colourful balloon ascend into the crisp air. Hot air balloons fly easier in really cold weather as the temperature difference between the heated air and the ambient air is much greater than at warmer times. So you can expect a great show and some quick lifts from the hot air balloons present.

Funny things can happen in hot air balloons but we are reminded of an incident when a vicar in America decided to take a hot air balloon ride over Ohio and propose to his girlfriend who was enjoying the experience with him. The all important ring was hidden in his camera case but at the crucial moment the vicar dropped the case overboard. His girlfriend accepted his proposal and the ring made from a plastic tie!

As the vicar was unable to afford to buy another £2000 ring his fiancé proudly wore a £5.50 ring from Wal-Mart. Having mapped the co-ordinates the vicar began the search for the ring, cutting through the brambles and after a week searching a three mile area he found the camera bag and the ring! Nothing like that has happened on any of the flights launched from the hundreds of local sites, but we can arrange for you to celebrate a wedding, or an engagement, from a launch site close to you.

For the many followers of the TV drama Wild at Heart, we were treated to a chase using a colourful hot air balloon. The irascible Anders Du Plessis is due to marry his lady friend Caroline and inevitably is late for the wedding ceremony being lost in the bush after a stag night prank, when low and behold a hot air balloon appears and drops off some tourist for a picnic! Commandeering the balloon they give chase, catch up with the fast disappearing Caroline, who thinks she has been ‘stood up’ and after a safe landing, they marry and presumably live happily ever after.

We cannot guarantee being able to chase a fleeing bride, or steer the hot air balloon the way they did on the programme, but we can arrange a wedding for you, we fly from safari parks, in fact from a locality that is close to you. Contact us on 0845 071 6388 and we will be happy to discuss the range of hot air balloon flight options available to you.

With the Christmas and the New Year festivities behind us for another year, thoughts are turning to planning special outings and making holiday plans for 2010 and what could be better than combining a weekend away in a nice hotel in our lovely country with a lifetime ambition to take a hot air balloon ride?

Hot air balloon flights can be taken at launch site throughout Britain and they will usually be at times convenient to you. However, it must be remembered that hot air ballooning is weather dependant, so if the conditions are not right for your flight, it will be rescheduled to a time or place to suit you. The best way to plan your flight is to buy one of the many vouchers; all are available for use through one of the hot air balloon operators within the Balloons over Britain organisation.