This gift is for an hour flight in a hot air balloon on a weekday morning.
Flight Locations
Guests are ferried to and from the meeting point to the flight departure point which is chosen to allow a good scenic flight given the wind direction.
- Lothians & Peeblesshire – meeting at Hillend, Edinburgh on the A702
- Perth & Kinrosshire, Fife & Clackmannanshire * meet at the Kinross Moto Service Station just off Junction 6 on the M9
- Scottish Borders (St Boswells & Kelso) – meet at the Buccleuch Arms Hotel, on the A68 on the southern edge of St Boswells
The Day
Family and friends are welcome to come along and watch as the lucky recipient of this gift gets a full safety briefing and an introduction to ballooning followed by hands on involvement in the full flight experience from inflating the balloon to helping pack up at the end with the eager anticipation of a well earned glass of champagne.
Passengers are needed to help to assemble, inflate and later pack away the balloon, but this is all adds to a memorable ballooning experience! If the guest is a little weak, it is no problem that they stand aside for this part.
The Views
From Lothians & Peeblesshire
A typical flight may take us over the dramatic Moorfoot or Pentland Hills and/or over Midlothian’s rural landscape with its picturesque villages, castles and reservoirs.
Perth & Kinrosshire, Fife & Clackmannanshire
Easternly wind – From Bridge of Earn, we may fly down Strathearn towards Dunning and Auchterarder near Gleneagles; or from Balado, towards Crook of Devon and Dollar in Clackmannanshire.
Westernly wind – From Balado, we will fly over Milnathort/Kinross towards Auchtermuchty, Falkland and Cupar.
Northernly/Southernly wind – From Balado, or a from Bridge of Earn (Northerly), we will generally cross over the dramatic Ochil hills.
Scottish Borders (St Boswells & Kelso)
Westerly wind – from St Boswells, we will fly eastward along the Tweed towards Kelso (and catch a view of the dramatic Floors Castle) and perhaps onto Coldstream.
Easterly wind – from Kelso drift along the Tweed back towards the St Boswells direction so we can be assured of giving you a good flight duration and not land up flying into the hills – it’d be a long walk down!
Northerly – we will drift south towards Jedburgh renowned for its Abbey ruins.
Southerly or Easterly – we may drift over the impressive Eildon Hills and on towards the town of Melrose (with its impressive ruined abbey) and then on to Galashiels, perhaps catching a glimpse of Sir Walter Scott’s home at Abbotsford, or further south to Selkirk or Hawick.
Who is it suitable for?
- We cannot fly children under 8, children under the age of 16 need to be accompanied by a responsible adult
- We cannot fly guests if they are pregnant or if they have any significant ankle, knee, hip, back or bone weaknesses
- Passengers must be able to clamber in and out of the basket unaided – two foot holes are provided
- Some landings involve a heavier impact and require the passenger to adopt a crouched position
- We do not advise anyone who has a heart, nervous or mental condition not to fly as it is not generally possible to land the balloon at short notice.
- The gift supplier is not normally able to fly persons whose weight exceeds 18 Stone (115 kg) or couples whose combined weight exceeds 30 Stone (190 kg).
If in any doubt, please discuss any concerns with your medical practitioner and inform the gift supplier of the condition and advice given. The gift supplier reserves the right to insist that a passenger with a medical or physical condition be accompanied by a suitable able bodied person at their own cost in certain circumstances.
Transport
Own Transport required
Gift Ref: