Up way before dawn to drive to Knebworth House in Hertfordshire for a long-planned hot air balloon flight.

Conditions were perfect -- dry, bright and just enough haze to give the countryside an atmospheric glow.

For about an hour we drifted over fields and streets, waving at people standing on their doorsteps in their dressing gowns and craning their necks to get a better view. We eventually came back down to earth in the corner of a field near the village of Puckeridge.

A magical way to spend the morning.

Picture: Balloon Flight 1
Picture: Balloon Flight 2
Picture: Balloon Flight 3
Picture: Balloon Flight 4
Picture: Balloon Flight 5