Hot air balloon trip.

This is not a walking posting, as such, but some pics from when I took a hot air balloon flight. A few people have asked me to put some pics up on the blog, so here goes.....

This was the start of it all, in the Hurt Arms pub, at Ambergate.

This is me, holding the ropes. You are expected to help all along the way.

A couple of large 'WHOOSHES' from the gas bottles, and we were away!

That's my brother looking on as I disappear into the ether!

A stormy, dramatic sky. My first thought would normally be; 'I wouldn't want to be up there amongst that lot', but to be honest, it really made the trip and pictures more exciting.
Although it looks like we could have had rain, we didn't. In fact, it was the perfect trip.

Looking down on Belper Mill.

The 'Ladybird', another hot air balloon, but that one carries FAR more people.
We were small - and beautiful!

This phenomenon is known as a 'Brocken spectre'. It's when a shadow is thrown onto clouds below you. I've only seen this once before, when I was on top of the Brecon Beacons, and it was my own shadow. See the rainbow effect around the balloon's image?

Google says;

A Brocken spectre (or Brockengespenst) is an atmospheric optical phenomenon where an observer's magnified shadow is projected onto mist, fog, or clouds opposite a low sun. Often surrounded by a rainbow-like halo known as a "glory," this illusion creates an eerie, giant figure frequently seen by hikers on mountain

What can I say about this picture - my favourite of the whole trip.

Ladybird heads for a landing, with a black sky above.

A haulage yard below us.

After a great, controlled landing, I got my certificate, and that was it!

If you're thinking of going up in a balloon, DO IT!

It's GREAT.