While ballooning is not usually considered to be an extreme sport, it was this day!

Having done a couple of practice touchdowns, the pilot (not me - I was the “self-loading ballast”) had to land this roaring beast in an inconvenient field.

The wind had picked up on this cold morning and we were travelling pretty fast.

We came down hard, as there was a tall tree we had to clear before landing in the field and a there were electricity poles at the other end, so there was nothing for it! We left a pretty big dent in the field and a good long drag mark in the rough stubble. I was crushed by the guy who was standing behind me and I thought I’d cracked my ribs once we landed. I ached for weeks.

It may take me a while to get in one of these serene looking things again!