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Launch Sites
Hot Air Balloon Flights over
the Cotswolds
The Cotswolds AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) is the largest
designated area in the UK and covers some 800 square miles of timeless,
tranquil, unspoilt countryside. This is an area of gentle hills
with stonewalls crisscrossing the landscape, hidden river valleys
and distinctive towns and villages, steeped in history. Our Balloon
Flights offer you the chance to see this area from a new and unique
aspect.
Favoured by holidaymakers, the Cotswolds has always been looked
upon as the Heart of England. It is one of the few regions with
an architectural style all of its own with the steeply pitched roofs,
stone mullions and dormer windows of houses and cottages built of
the local limestone. The area is well known for its sleepy villages
and charming countryside as well as bustling market towns and increasing
leisure facilities. The word Cotswold comes from the Anglo Saxon
words for sheep pen and open ground. In the Middle Ages Cotswold
landowners grew wealthy producing cloth from wool, the proceeds
of which were put into building magnificent churches and manor houses,
many of which remain today and are some of the finest examples in
the country.
To enjoy this landscape at its best we have selected four main LAUNCH
SITES:
Balloon Flights From Cirencester
Cirencester (or Corinium) was capital of Roman Britain in
49AD. It is now a busy market town lying in the heart of the southern
Cotswolds and has an excellent museum (Corinium
Museum) displaying much of the town’s Roman History. Cirencester
is also home to the Royal
Agricultural College and surrounded by Cirencester Park, one
of the largest in England and in private ownership of the Earl Bathurst.
Much is open to the public and Polo is played in the Park throughout
the summer months. The Church, which dominates the town, was founded
in 1120. Remains of the Roman wall and Amphitheatre
can also easily be seen from the air on one of our Balloon Flights
launching from the Royal Agricultural College.
Cirencester attracts visitors from all over the world and is less
than 2 hours drive from London or Birmingham. The town is also within
easy reach of Cheltenham, Gloucester, Swindon, Bath and Bristol.
It is also the ideal base for visiting Bibury Trout Farm, Burford
(The
Cotswold Wildlife Park), Westonbirt
Arboretum near Tetbury and The
Cotswold Water Park.
Balloon Flights From Stroud
Stroud lies on the eastern edge of the Cotswold escarpment
overlooking the river Severn and has easy access onto the M5. The
town’s origins are deeply rooted in Gloucestershire’s
medieval woollen trade where spinning and weaving flourished well
into the 20th Century. The quality of the wool produced in the region
was renowned and by the early 17th Century textile production was
the main industry. Many of the main woollen mills were based in
the five valleys around Stroud
and can still be seen today. The expansion of the railways and the
construction of the Stroudwater
Canal through the Chalford Valley together with The Thames and
Severn Canal gave the town important transport links to Gloucester
and the River Thames in Wiltshire.
Our Balloon Flights from Stroud provide spectacular views over the
River Severn and on clear days Bristol, The Welsh Mountains, Forest
of Dean and Malvern Hills are clearly visible. To the north
the spire of Gloucester Cathedral and Regency Cheltenham nestle
in the Seven Vale. On a northwesterly breeze your Balloon Ride may
take you out over Minchinhampton Common towards Tetbury. Closer
to Stroud we see the pretty villages of Painswick, Bisley, Nailsworth
and Slad.
Balloon Flights From Bourton-on-the-Water
Bourton-on-the-Water lies in the heart of the Rural North
Cotswolds on the old Roman Fosse Way (now the A429), but less than
a 1 hour drive from Oxford and Birmingham. Regularly voted one of
the prettiest villages in England, Bourton-on-the-Water
has more than its fair share of things to see and do (see Birdland,
Motor
Museum, Model
Village and Pottery).
To the north are Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh, to the west
Upper and Lower Slaughter and the delightful Guiting Power and Naunton.
Flying east your Balloon Flight will take you out over Oxfordshire
towards Milton under Wychwood or Burford. To the northeast lies
Chipping Norton. Throughout the year this area is popular with tourists
from all over the world visiting these typical Cotswold Villages.
On a Hot Air Balloon Ride we see this enchanted rural landscape
from a different perspective with panoramic views, hidden villages,
wooded valleys and gently undulating hills.
Balloon Flights From The Cotswold Water Park
The Cotswold
Water Park lies to the south of the Cotswolds where the
hills give way to the Thames Valley, and Gloucestershire meets Wiltshire.
Here old gravel pits have been restored to form a thriving leisure
and wildlife area. The whole area extends to over 40 square miles
and comprises 140 lakes and Keynes
Country Park offers numerous outdoor activities for all ages.
The Water Park lies only 6 miles north of Swindon and is divided
into three main parts. The Eastern Section includes the villages
of Kempsford, Fairford, Whelford and Lechlade, The Central Section
runs from Cerney Wick and Cricklade, across the A419, to beyond
Latton and Down Ampney. The Western Section, which is where our
Balloon Flights launch, stretches from Poole Keynes, through Somerford
Keynes, Shorncote and Ashton Keynes, to South Cerney. This unique
area is easily accessible from Swindon (Spine Road Junction off
the A419) and via the M4 is within easy reach of London and within
a 1 hour drive of Oxford, Bristol, Bath and Chippenham.
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