Our two venues in Derbyshire are both within the Peak District National Park.
Rowsley, near Chatsworth, and Tissington Hall, near Ashbourne, provide exceptional launch sites to ensure a truly unique experience from the moment we hit the skies.
Drifting over the dales and valleys, the farms, villages and miles of dry stone walls retain a centuries old charm in our modern age.
Our launch site near Rowsley is just a short distance from Chatsworth House and close to the River Derwent. Situated about halfway between Matlock and Bakewell, Rowsley is ideally located for those of you who may wish to enjoy a day in the Peak District.
Why not make your visit even more memorable by visiting Chatsworth House. The parkland, designed by ‘Capability Brown’ in the 1760’s, is free to the public and open all year round.
A few miles north of the historic market town of Ashbourne lies the village of Tissington. This privately owned hamlet is part of the Tissington Estate. The Hall, which was built by Francis FitzHerbert in 1609 is still occupied by the FitzHerbert family today.
Of course, close to the village lies the famous Tissington Trail, a disused railway line now transformed into a wonderful walk and cyclepath linking Ashbourne and Buxton. So for the energetic amoungst you we can heartily recommend a brisk stroll either before or after your flight!
Should you have a party of eight or more passengers we will happily investigate the possibilities of flying from other locations to suit you. Flying from your own "back yard" at least assures you of some very novel aerial photos! We generally make no extra charge for launching from alternative locations so long as they are within a reasonable distance.
Click on the maps below to view an interactive Google Map.
Click on the maps above to view an interactive Google Map.
We need to have these two different launch sites for one simple reason - balloons cannot be steered, and are simply carried by the breeze! So, before each flight we carefully check the wind direction, and then decide which launch site will give us the best flight. We need to make sure that we don't inadvertently drift into the controlled airspace of either East Midlands or Manchester Airports, and must also consider the possible terrain on which we'll be landing.
So, when passengers call to check the weather conditions prior to their flight, we also tell them which launch site they need to come to for their flight. It's as simple as that!
Click on the links below to see our other great launch sites.
