Have you ever wanted to experience a hot air balloon flight? Here’s our review of a champagne hot air balloon ride in Henley upon Thames, England. We selected the flight in Henley-on-Thames for two main reasons, the countryside is very picturesque and the pilot is one of the most experienced in the country.
Champagne Hot Air Balloon Ride Review
The experience lasts from three to four hours, including time to inflate and deflate the balloon, and of course to sample that champagne! On the day of our flight, the weather was looking rather dark and gloomy.
We wondered if our champagne balloon flight would be postponed to another day. Luckily the weather miraculously cleared and we got the go-ahead that the flight was on.
If you choose the sunset rather than morning flight, we’d definitely advise calling on the day to check that it’s going ahead. Don’t just head up there, as 2 previous flights had both been postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
Gathering at the local supermarket, we drove in a convoy with our pilot to the launch site.
Champagne Hot Air Balloon Ride Launch
There the pilot and his colleague hoisted the hot air balloon basket off their four-wheel drive car and laid out the balloon ready to be inflated. He gave us a safety briefing and gave specific instructions to those of us that wished to help with the inflation of the balloon.
There is no pressure (pardon the pun!) to do so and a few in our group preferred to take photos, which you’re very welcome to do.
Our pilot got started with the tricky task of bringing the balloon upright whilst the inflation fan fills the envelope and the burners gradually add heat. During this time we took up our positions, my partner holding the mouth of the balloon open during inflation and me helping in what was a sort of giant tug of war, pulling on a tether rope at the far end.
Once the balloon was upright, we could let go of the tether and climb aboard, using the little holes that you see in the basket as a foothold. It’s advisable to wear clothes suitable for a walk in the country and bring a well-fitting hat as it can get cold.
Inside the basket, it was rather snug with 16 passengers, and a maximum of four in each section. Before setting off, our pilot gave us another safety briefing, on what to do when we would later land.
You sit down on a little ledge in the basket, and grip onto hand ropes, bracing yourself for landing. Then you are ready for the off, and with the pilot’s colleague untethering the ropes, up we went.
The balloon moved very swiftly and smoothly. You’ll be surprised by the silence, the only sound being an occasional burst of noise from the burner.
Henley on Thames is one of the most popular Virgin Hot Air Balloon Flights and you can see why. Henley is famous for its annual Royal Regatta sailing event and you fly over beautiful stretches of riverside.
The town has many buildings of architectural interest. The five-arched bridge over the river was built in 1786.
We admired these crop circles from a distance, you can only see them from the air.
And this beautiful timber-framed property with the little village church next to it.
The action isn’t all on the ground though, as this vintage airplane was also an impressive sight. From above, everything looked like a model village, including these cows.
Whilst these houses also had the appearance of a miniature toy town. One of the participants recognized this area as they lived close by – we had drifted quite a way from our initial launch site which is perfectly normal.
As the sun set, we savoured the last moments in the balloon – we’d been up there for around an hour and time had flown by. With wind pressure dropping, it was time for us to find a landing site.
There weren’t many open fields in the area we were in, so our pilot headed for this playing field. This was much to the delight of the local schoolchildren who were playing football there.
We sat down in the brace position and the pilot counted 3-2-1 to landing which was smoother than in many jumbo jets. After we landed, one of our group couldn’t resist asking the schoolchildren whether we were in France yet 😉
Our pilot made the most of the extra pairs of hands to help deflate the balloon by squashing it down to squeeze the air out and then tying it up into something resembling a giant sausage.
Final Thoughts: Champagne Hot Air Balloon Ride
While the local children were peeking inside the basket, we drank a welcome glass of champagne or water before heading off in taxis to the original launch site about 20 minutes away. The pilot’s colleague had stayed on the ground during our flight and arranged the pick up once he knew the post code of the landing site.
It is a fantastic experience and one that we highly recommend if you get the chance, we’d love to do another one.
Contact Virgin Balloon Flights via their website or by telephone: +44 1952 212750
Have you ever been on a hot air balloon flight? Would you like to do so?
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Suze this sounds absolutely wonderful! Think I’ve just got an idea for a certain someone’s Christmas present…!
Lauren xx | The Lifestyle Diaries
Hope he doesn’t read this 😉 You’ll have a brilliant time, Lauren
Even though I am shit sacred of heights I would love to experience this
Candice | Beauty Candy Loves
They say do something you are scared of every day and this fitted the bill nicely!
I would be far too scared to do this but it does look amazing! I love your sunset picture with the ropes.
Lots of love,
Angie
SilverSpoon London
I was a bit apprehensive when I saw the little basket but our pilot really knew what he was doing
Such an amazing Adventure! I’d love to go up a Hot air balloon :)!
Serene
http://www.iamserenel.com
I hope that you get the opportunity, Serene – thanks for stopping by
oohh going on a hot air balloon is definitely one on my wish list! Love the photos, so very vividly captured!
Thanks Jean, I bet you would have some amazing scenery to fly over!
simply… WOW!
www.stylentonic.com
Glad you liked it Constantinos
Iv waiting years to book and enjoy a baloon flight,and this year my dream came true unfortunately I wish I had read Virgin baloon complaints,one year later and five cancelations I’m still waiting to experience my flight,a dream wish has turned into what can only be described as a nightmare,personally no I wouldn’t recommend Virgin balloons and there’s no chance of having a refund either,very poor customer service Virgin.
It’s true that it can take quite a few attempts before you get to fly and we don’t live near Henley. In the end, rather than travelling up and having lunch there, we waited until the afternoon before driving up and it was worth the wait.
Sounds so fun! We have an annual Hot Air Balloon Festival in the Philippines but I never had a chance to ride one. Maybe next festival 🙂
MONDAY PROJECTS
Ooh that festival must be fun, I would love to see the photos!
This sounds like such fun! The views look incredible, I would love to go sometime 🙂
Ash | Liakada
The views were amazing Ash, you’d love it
Cool event, amazing views!!!
Kisses, Paola.
Expressyourself
My Facebook
We had such fun, Paola – highly recommend a balloon ride
I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do a hot air balloon ride! This looks so magical Suze, such stunning views and that sunset! Such a lovely prize to win and I definitely think you chose well out of the different experience options that were probably available to you 🙂
There were so many options Shikha, like racing a car on a circuit but the hot air balloon really stood out
I would love to experience a hot air balloon flight to admire the beautiful view. However, I am afraid of heights and don’t know whether I’ll have the courage. The photos are beautiful! Have a nice weekend!
Danielle
www.spring2spring.com
That’s understandable, Danielle – it’s strange though as you don’t really notice the height all that much just the views once you are up there
This has been on my bucket list for so, so long – such a beautiful part of the country to do it in!
Yes we’ve got to know Henley quite well now including the local eateries, it really is a lovely part of the country
Oh wow, this looks like so much fun!!!
http://ourruins.com
http://roadesque.com
It really was good fun and very random – from the fact that we didn’t know if we’d fly until a few hours beforehand to the landing in a playing field!
Wow… Breathtaking photos! It must be such an amazing experience for you! This is in my bucket list, I really want to live that experience!
www.elabellaworld.com
It’s a really special thing to experience, you almost feel like a bird. Hope you get to do it soon
Absolutely gorgeous pictures – especially the one with the rope. X!
www.lemontierres.com
The sunset came and went really quickly, just enough time to snap that shot!
Thanks Catherine, I was so lucky with the weather, it was the golden hour!
I have never been in a hot balloon but I’d love to do it one day. And with champagne! 🙂
www.LUXESSED.com
Yes I thought we’d have the champagne during the flight but actually that would be a bit impractical so it’s after landing and very welcome too!
Oh ok, well good to know!
I’d love to fly on air balloon, it must be an unique experience, and you get too see breathtaking landscapes!
http://www.notesofglam95.blogspot.it/
What a fantastic prize to have won, it looks like a brilliant experience! I can’t see myself every going on a hot air balloon ride purely as I’ve developed some sort of hostility towards fiery balloons drifting through the air haha, though the views at sunset certainly go a long way in convincing me otherwise 🙂
Gabrielle | A Glass Of Ice x
I can see your point Gabrielle though as a one-off experience its great
omg that hot air balloon looks amazing! I have always wanted to do that
xo
www.laurajaneatelier.com
It’s a once in a lifetime experience, Laura – you’d love it
Those photos are simply breathtaking! I’ve always wanted to go in a hot air balloon – I was saving it up for Turkey but Henley is definitely a consideration too!
It must be brilliant in Turkey, I’d try it there but I knew that the Henley pilot was a real expert
Great shots babe
Seriously breathtaking.
I would love to try it too soon 🙂
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Hope you get that chance, Zarrah! It was amazing
Oh my gosh- this looks simply magical : ) I have always wanted to do this! The views are gorgeous too- how cute is that little villiage? I hope you are having the most wonderful time in Bali and I look forward to reading about it soon!
Rachel xx
http://www.thedailyluxe.net
The little village was so cute, funny that we ended up landing right there! Bali was brilliant too, can’t wait to write all about it
Amazing photos! I’ve always wanted to try hot air ballooning. It’s amazing all the things you can see from the air which you would never see otherwise.
BTW, I’ve just returned from Morocco. I think you’ll appreciate today’s post…somewhere I think you should definitely visit sometime soon!
V
Life+1
That’s a very good point, you can see so many unusual things from the air.
OMG, these pics are stunning! Makes me want to hop into a hot air balloon right away! Thanks for sharing <3
Happy Monday 😀
http://www.rakhshanda-chamberofbeauty.com/
That’s very kind Rakhshanda, glad you liked them
I always wondered about doing one of these but don’t really like heights. It looks amazing though, your pictures are gorgeous
Thanks Ali, it’s strange but you don’t really notice the height all that much once you’re up there
It’s not something I’ve ever done but I would love to! Don’t think it’s possible but I think a balloon flight over London would be incredible x
I think the closest is in Kent, I agree it would be amazing over London but the area is too built up if you need to come down in a hurry as we did!
Omg, this is SO on my bucket list! And paired with champagne and that sunset?! It’s perfection! Congrats to winning the voyage!
Well it was dark by the time we had the champagne but we certainly felt we deserved it ;-0
Ugh! I’m dying to try this! Going to check the prices, it looks so much fun!
Corinne x
www.skinnedcartree.com
Have a brilliant time if you do go, Corinne. There are some rides that are closer to London, I think they have them in Kent
It looks so cool and so terrifying. But I definitely want to try once in my life!
http://mademoiselleaventure.com
You’ve summed it up very well Caroline! Cool and terrifying 😉
Wow I would love to try this one day, amazing photographs thank you for sharing!
Camille xo
www.cococami.blogspot.co.uk
I hope you get the chance to do so, Camille! Have a great week
Wow amazing view! Lucky you 😉
http://beautyfollower.blogspot.gr/
I know, doubly lucky that the weather was decent that day!
It’s worth getting over the fear, and as long as you choose a really experienced pilot it’s fine
You definitely should, Kia – I bet you could do an amazing balloon ride near NYC
It was amazing Elle, and you forget any fear really quickly as they give you things to do with the balloon which takes your mind off it
Looks beautiful and wonderful pictures, you wouldn’t get me in one for love nor money it would freak me out Lucy x
That’s fair enough, it’s funny but heights don’t bother me
I am speechless!!!!!!! It’s soooo beautiful! I am imagining how it would also look like during the fall with all the fall colors around. I’m afraid of heights but I think I can’t pass up on this balloon ride.
I bet it’s beautiful in the fall, that would be a great time to go
okay this is incredible and my DREAM!!
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