Sudeley Castle Ballooning Grand Prix review

With barely a fluffy white nimbus overhead, a multitude of colourful balloons filled the Cotswold skies above Sudeley Castle for the Ballooning Grand Prix 2008 – we were there for the lift-off of the inaugural event, quite literally.

The first ever Sudeley Castle Ballooning Grand Prix attracted pilots from across the globe, with competitors – and world champions, no less – from as far afield as Dubai, the United States and, of course, the UK, all converging on Winchcombe to contend in the 2008 competition.

Thousands of visitors from across Gloucestershire and beyond also flocked to the castle – hoping to catch a close-up of the miraculous flying machines in action, wielding cameras and lifting small children onto their shoulders for a better view, as a magnificent array of balloons floated up above the crowds for the two-day event held on Saturday 14 to Sunday 15 June 2008.

As many as 25 brightly-coloured balloons, including one with Gordon Ramsay’s smiling face upon it, could be seen soaring into the sky at any one time over the weekend, with the majestic Sudeley Castle providing a perfect backdrop to the rare sight of so many balloons airborne together.

While competitors were tested on their skills of navigation and accuracy in the competition – by flying to targets, dropping bean bag markers and landing in designated areas – there was also time for a dare devil-style parachuting display on the Saturday and a fun flying session on the Sunday evening too.

Sudeley Castle Ballooning Grand Prix 2008 video

A couple of members of the SoGlos.com team were lucky enough to hitch a ride in British pilot Rick Vale’s eye-catching Union Jack balloon at an early morning practice flight during the Grand Prix, where we had a bird’s eye preview of the action. While there aren’t many things worth getting up at 5am for – this unique, and frankly breathtakingly exhilarating, experience proved to be more than worth setting the alarm clock extra-early for.

Clambering over Sudeley’s fields, crews of volunteers were already busy pointing whirling fans at the flat sheets of silky material lying on the dew-damp grass, as the first rays of sunshine started to shine. It wasn’t long – less than 30 minutes in fact – before the balloons started to take their familiar shape and the nervous first-time passengers were given the nod to clamber in. With a few bursts of fuel and a bit of bobbing about, we were off – lifting up over the golden castle and the lagging balloons below.

Soon we reached a vertigo-inducing height that left Sudeley merely a blob below. The views achieved on our sparkling clear morning were simply unparalleled – with sweeping green pastoral vistas stretching for miles around.

Sudeley Castle Ballooning Grand Prix 2008 photos

The almost silent tranquillity of being carried by the wind was only broken by the short shots of fiery propane, and as we let the wind carry us we floated down above fields full of crops; nonchalant cows; bubbling brooks; horses; a young deer; many a rabbit and expansive estates complete with homes that made us wish we played the lottery – even a few golfers took time to wave before going for their hole in one.

As novices, we had been warned that landing in a hot air balloon can be ‘bumpy’ and unpredictable. After an hour or so of flying, crouched down in the safe landing position, we suddenly remembered this as the basket skimmed the tops of a group of trees. We needn’t have worried, as veteran pilot Rick planted us in an open field in one fell swoop. The balloons that followed our lead, however, weren’t as lucky – with the ripped tree branches and bouncing about all adding to the thrill no doubt!

Michelle Byrne
25 June 2008

Don’t miss BBC Gloucestershire’s stunning 360 degree panorama photo, taken high above the Cotswolds while on board the University of Nottingham balloon (yes, the one that gets up close and personal with a couple of trees at the end of SoGlos.com’s video), piloted by Dr Janet Folkes. See bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire.