Balloons over Barlick - 13th/14th September 2003
Barnoldswick, N E Lancs

Got the lot - thunder, lightning, mist, flying, nightglow, party, headache...

Barnoldswick lies between the Ribble Valley to the west, Skipton to the east with the Three Peaks visible to the north. Rolling arable countryside, very picturesque, is made more interesting by Weets and Pendle Hills and the higher moors close by.

It is the first time this venue has been used and came about because the local council were looking for something to liven up their annual summer festivities.

8 balloons turned out – in spite of the poor forecast – optimistic as ever and keen to fly a new area. We were welcomed by the very friendly staff of the local football club, who opened the bar and provided an excellent base for the meet and the happy campers. Free nosh on Friday and Saturday went down well, too.

Yorkshire TV were at Barnoldswick for some live pictures on their regional news programme, ‘Calendar’, on Friday evening. Dave Court liaised with the clip-boards and we all did as we were told. Here’s his account of what happened – we hadn’t a clue what was going on … "OK" said the Director (at 5-40pm) "I want all the balloons stood up for our first slot at 18-09........Then we'll come back for 3 minutes at 18-20 for two balloons to set off and an interview with Derek in the basket. Then Derek will take off on our cue. Then at 18-29 we'll come back again for one minute for two more balloons to take off and close the programme at 18-30" Clearly this man thought we were more organised than we did! But we did the lot, bang on cue, very impressive.

A somewhat challenging tether with doubled-up ropes!

Surface conditions allowed a backwards drift towards the town before climbing and picking up the gradient wind towards the Skipton valley. The sun picked out the flanks of Pendle Hill and Weets, a little closer. The Three Peaks were evident in the distance and over to the east, the moors beyond Skipton climbed through the blanket of mist

Coming down through the patchy mist was interesting and the descent was kept at a very gentle rate. At one point, hitting a thicker patch, the sight of three very straight, very parallel thin lines below the basket prompted a gentle climb to try again further on.

Booking made easy..!

Balloons over Barlick 2004

On-line booking form for the Balloons over Barlick 2004 meet here.

Streetmap here