06:30 - The inflation fan whirrs into life. In the last hour we have made a call to the MET Office to check the weather conditions for the flight, arrived at the launch site, met the passengers and briefed them around the upright basket. Pilot, crew and passengers alike have helped to attach and spread the balloon envelope, and now, as it billows into life, the final safety checks are made, the radios crackle into life and the burners are ignited. are ignited.

06:50 - Everybody safely aboard, with a puff of the burner we lift off into the perfect blue sky. It really is an extraordinary sensation - standing in the basket, appearing to remain stationary, yet seeing the ground slip slowly away from us. As the surrounding countryside is revealed it is a dreamlike experience.

The sense of peace can be overwhelming, as everyone relaxes gazing down in silence at the beautiful rural landscape. The sun gently burns off the last of the early morning mist and we drift at a lazy 6 knots, only 50ft above the hedgerows and treetops. The sound of bird song rises from the fields below and you may see a fox slinking into the cover of a sheltering hedge. As we fly slowly down a wooded valley a heron flaps up from a pool of water below us and lumbers away over the trees. We float onwards over the unfolding landscape with a sense that all is well with the world. Now, as we rise higher the panorama from the basket is spectacular. Over flying a sleeping village, our burner noise confuses the postman, he looks around having heard something, but where did it come from? We drift onwards without a care.

08:00 - It's been a quiet morning flight, with everyone lost in his or her own thoughts. Now it's a gentle return to reality as we descend low over the cornfields and coast over the trees into a grass landing field. We touch down gently - and then the spell is broken, and everyone talks at once! We were airborne for one hour and ten minutes, and travelled ten miles. Following a courtesy visit to the farmer, our retrieve vehicle arrives at the field and the balloon is quickly packed away. Then glasses of chilled champagne are handed around and we stand in the warm sunshine, talking about our individual experiences of the flight. Everyone has a different favourite moment, but all are elated. Several photographs later, we are reluctantly ready to go back to base.

09:20 - We arrive back at the launch site, everyone suddenly ravenous. Breakfast is very much in everyone's thoughts, but that privileged view of our countryside has left a lasting memory.

10:30 - Now all we have to do is refuel, clean the vehicle and trailer, complete the paperwork and logbooks, undertake minor maintenance, and then it will be time to gather weather forecasts to plan the evening flight!