Why take a Balloon Flight over Essex
Virgin Balloon Flights will now be providing your hot air balloon flight over Essex.
While some of the below launch sites may still be used, you can find an up-to-date list of all the launch sites used by Virgin in Essex here.
With our large selection of balloon take-off sites throughout Essex we will always provide you with an enjoyable and scenic balloon flight with good duration and lots of interesting sights. We have several well placed and easy to find take-off sites for our hot air balloon rides throughout Essex. These include air balloon flight take off sites close to Billericay, Braintree, Brentwood, Chelmsford, Chipping Ongar and Colchester. All these sites have ample free parking making it easy for friends and family to come and see you float off on your hot air balloon ride. Early mornings and evenings during spring, summer and autumn are the most ideal times for hot air balloons to fly.
Essex is the birthplace of the critic of architecture and culture Jonathan Meades and the stomping ground of the famous highway man Dick Turpin, Since the Industrial Revolution Essex has housed a variety of overspill projects from London –.Samaritan farms and experimental “agricultural” colonies for refugees of the workhouse of the Victorian era to the "Utopian" new post war towns of Harlow and Basildon and South Woodham Ferrers.
Which site we fly from on any particular date will depend on wind direction as Essex is a small county surrounded by over 360 miles of coastline and rivers plus of course the airspace of Stansted Airport into which hot air balloons are not usually welcome.
Click here to buy a balloon ride voucher for Essex balloon flights
Click here for our Essex balloon rides launch site maps
Preparing the balloon for take off on a dawn summer balloon flight over Essex
What you may see on your Essex Balloon Flight
Over the last 20 years we have taken many aerial pictures of the local area on our Essex balloon rides and have put together some general information pages about what you might see when you fly from our launch sites. On the day of your flight when you have called our weather message and found out which site your will be flying from, why not have a look at the information for the area around that particular launch site to get the most from your Essex balloon rides experience with some local knowledge.
Click here for more information about our Blake House Braintree balloon ride launch site
Click here for more details about our Gosfield Shopping Village Essex balloon rides
Click here for more details about our Earls Colne Colchester hot air ballooning launch site
Click here for more details about our Prested Hall Colchester launch site
Click here for more details about our Newland Hall Chelmsford launch site
Click here for more details about our Chipping Ongar Leisure Centre hot air balloon rides
Click here for more details about our Barleylands Billericay balloon launch site
You will get some great views when you go ballooning over Essex
