Virgin Balloon Flights (Kirkby Lonsdale) - Hot Air Balloon Rides

Nothing quite prepares you for the moment the burner fires and your feet leave the ground. Virgin Balloon Flights operates from near Kirkby Lonsdale, a proper adventure for anyone who's ever wondered what the Lake District looks like from a thousand feet up. You're talking about an hour aloft, drifting over the fells and valleys with nothing but hot air keeping you suspended - it's genuinely magical, though not for the faint-hearted or anyone prone to vertigo.

The flight itself is the whole experience. There's no rushing about; you meet your crew early morning (balloon rides happen at dawn, when the air's calmest), watch them prep the balloon, then climb into the basket. From up there, Morecambe Bay glints on the horizon, the limestone crags around Kirkby Lonsdale look toy-sized, and on clear days you can trace the Pennines stretching north. The float is silent except for the occasional roar of the burner - eerie and wonderful.

This suits adventurous couples and small groups more than families with young children, though teenagers old enough to handle heights will be transfixed. It's not cheap - balloon rides rarely are - but it's a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing. Allow the full morning, including the champagne landing ceremony that rounds things off.

If you're based at Primrose Glamping Pods nearby, this makes an exceptional start to a Lake District break. Book well ahead; good weather windows fill up quickly.