19/03/2024
South West Balloon Flights
Balloon Rides Over Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Bristol, Bath, South Wales, Dorset & Wiltshire

Balloon Flight Locations

Devon, Dorset, Cornwall, Somerset and Wiltshire Flight Locations

Our hot air balloon rides in the South West will now be fulfilled by Virgin Balloon Flights.

While many of their flight locations are the same or close by to our former launch sites, for an up to date list of where balloon rides will now take place, visit the Locations page on Virgin Balloon Flights’ website.

With more than 100 launch sites across the UK and dozens here in the South West, the unforgettable experience of a hot air balloon ride with Virgin is never too far away.

Balloon rides over some of the most scenic areas of the UK with ballooning sites in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.

By clicking a link in the list above you can get a specific list, with postcodes and addresses, of the meeting locations in the relevant county. If you wanted just a brief overview, please click on the relevant county below instead. All flight vouchers, we sell, are valid to be used from any meeting locations within the main flying season which is April – October.

Somerset Flights

Meet at: Taunton, Wincanton
Nearby, alternative, locations: Tiverton, East Stour

Somerset has everything, endless countryside, dramatic moorland, the Somerset Levels, a stunning coast with numerous long sandy beaches and many recognized areas of outstanding natural beauty. The county is also the home of great cider and delectable cheese, providing a great taste of the West Country.

Somerset has a fascinating wealth of heritage and legends. King Arthur’s Cadbury Castle (a reputed site of Camelot) lies in the south of the county, while West Somerset has Exmoor with vast areas of heathland, ancient woods and the home of Lorna Doone. Somerset also holds many traditions, one of which being the making of wicker baskets dating back hundreds of years.

In Somerset, we meet in the market towns of Taunton, the busy county capital of Somerset and Wincanton Racecourse. Balloon flights meeting at these flight locations generally fly within the Wellington / Ilminster / Wincanton / Glastonbury and Quantocks area.

Dorset Flights

Meet at: East Stour
Nearby, alternative, locations: Wincanton.

In Dorset, we meet near the Dorset and Somerset border at the famous towns of Sherborne and Shaftesbury. Shaftesbury is one of England’s most historic towns, with its elevated position dating back to Medieval Times. Flights meeting at these locations generally fly within the Crewkerne, Illminster, Bruton, Warminster, Salisbury, Blandford, Dorchester area, seeing towns and villages such as Illchester, Wincanton, Gillingham, Dinton, Cranborne, Sturminster Newton and Chetnole.

Flights meeting at these locations often provide views as far as Weston Super Mare, The Severn Bridges, the Jurassic Coast as well as the famous ‘towns of the South’ such as Poole and Bournemouth, which are within a 45 minute drive.

Cornwall Flights

Meet at: Launceston
Nearby, alternative, locations: Exeter and Tiverton

In Cornwall, we meet on the Devon/Cornwall border at Launceston. Our meeting location is The Homeleigh Garden Centre, Launceston. Flights meeting at these locations generally fly within the Bodmin, Bude, Okehampton, Tavistock, Liskeard area seeing numerous hidden Cornish villages with beautiful if unpronounceable names! as well as offer spectacular views of the unique Cornish Landscape.

On a clear day, a Balloon Flight in Cornwall could allow passengers to see the North coast to Hartland and Newquay, the South coast to Plymouth and Falmouth as well as Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor and Exmoor.

Wiltshire Flights

We are currently not offering flights in South Wiltshire. The closest launch site we offer is from East Stour.

Meet at: Tollard Royal
Nearby, alternative, locations: East Stour, Wincanton

Our meeting site in South Wiltshire is at Larmer Tree Gardens. Wiltshire is full of diversity with superb countryside, market towns, the famous chalk hill carvings of the white horses and plenty of ‘mystical forces’. Wiltshire is also home to the famous World Heritage site of Stonehenge, an ancient stone circle of which the true meaning has been lost in the mists of time. During the summer crop circles appear in the fields in the centre of Wiltshire’s numinous landscape and the county is also full of notorious ‘haunted houses’.

Salisbury itself is a traditional English city, famous for its grand cathedral and medieval roots. The city boosts five rivers running through the town – Nadder, Ebble, Wylye, Bourne and Avon and is home to the world’s oldest working clock.

Flights meeting at these locations generally fly within the Shaftesbury, Stonehenge, Tytherley and Fordingbridge areas.

 

Devon Flights

Meet at: Exeter, Tiverton
Nearby, alternative, locations: Launceston, Taunton, Wincanton, East Stour

In east Devon, we meet at the famous Jack in the Green Public House and Restaurant, Rockbeare, 5 minutes off Junction 29 of the M5, and in mid Devon at the recently refurbished Hartnoll Hotel, Bolham, in the beautiful Exe Valley, north of Tiverton. Flights meeting at these locations generally fly within the Exeter, Whiddon Down, Copplestone, South Molton, Dulverton, Taunton, Sidmouth area, seeing towns & villages such as Crediton, Bickleigh, Tiverton, Bampton, Cullompton, Wellington, Honiton and Ottery St Mary.

Devon is a beautiful county to fly over with 353 square miles lying between the two National Parks of Dartmoor and Exmoor together with the world heritage Jurassic coast to the east & the South Hams in the south. Frequently, passengers on these flights, experience views of both National Parks, the north and south coast, Tor and Lyme bays as well as a vibrant array of colours, landscapes, woodlands and wildlife that they never knew existed.