Did you know that to go up in a hot air balloon is one of the UK’s favourite ‘Things to do Before I Die’ responses? Why wait that long?! Have you been dreaming about your first hot air balloon experience? If so Countryside Balloons are the place to go.

They are Essex and Suffolk's most experienced and longest running balloon operator, with a wealth of local knowledge and experience giving them that edge which is so vital when giving a tour such as this.

With nearly 20 years experience in the business, Countryside Balloons are fully licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority to operate balloon flights in the UK. All pilots hold UK commercial pilot's licenses rated for public transport and for that extra peace of mind which ballooning customers tend to need, you’ll find that we also carry liability insurance for all our passengers.

It helps to know a little about who will be flying you up to 2,500 feet in the air, so we’d like to introduce you to Tim Parker who is one of only a few highly qualified group C chief pilots in Britain, and in fact the only one in Essex!

Tim Parker is our principal pilot and has an enormous wealth of passenger ballooning experience to offer our travellers. Tim has been flying full time with us for 16 seasons and has even been involved in safety projects with the Civil Aviation Authority. After consultations with Cameron Balloons who are the world’s largest balloon manufacturers, we can now proudly say that our fleet includes purpose-built balloon baskets to increase space and safety for passengers!

On the same level, our ground support equipment has been designed and manufactured specifically to increase safety and efficiency with the loading and offloading of ballooning equipment. We were the first to introduce GPS moving map technology to the balloon basket and also GPS balloon tracking in the ground support vehicles, which is now beginning to be implemented by the rest of the ballooning industry.

It was our great reputation and wealth of experience which lead the UK's No.1 experience company, Red Letter Days, to approach us to fly all their hot air ballooning experience passengers for Essex. We haven’t looked back since, with over 40 other experience companies having approached us, as members of the Balloons Over Britain group, to have their ballooning experience passengers flown in Essex by Countryside Balloons...not that we’re boasting or anything!

Tim, or another of our very highly qualified balloon pilots, plus ground crew members, will walk you through the flight process first thing, making sure to answer any questions you might have. You will experience the preparation and inflation of the balloon which is shortly to take you up into the skies. You will be given an opportunity to help at this stage so that you can get a true feel of what it is like to fly a hot air balloon.

During your flight we will use the opportunity to take in-flight photographs of your group, leaving you with a significant acknowledgment of your wonderful experience (and a bragging tool if you like). These photographs are cleverly taken outside the balloon of everyone in the basket.

At the end of your flight you will have a chance to order your pictures if you’d like copies. Your flight will last for about an hour or so, at which point we’ll take you softly back down to the ground where the crew will be waiting to serve you a bubbly champagne toast!

When your adventure has come to an end, we will provide a licensed minibus to transport & return our passengers to the take-off site. Make sure that you have allowed approximately 3-4 hours for the whole hot air balloon flight experience. Prepare for the journey of your lifetime!