Wow what a weekend that was! We have just got back from the very first (of hopefully many) Troutbeck Balloon Meet! This one has gone straight to being one of the best meets we have ever attended.
The event was organised by Dan King, Maddie King, and Mark Stelling (along with the support of their friends, family, and colleagues) in memory of balloonist Justin Phillips who sadly passed away in 2025.
Justin was a genuinely down to earth, lovely person who really enjoyed ballooning. He was a regular at events with his awesome “Flagship” balloon G-FLAG and was a friend to many. We had the pleasure of meeting Justin a small handful of times in passing. Even from that it was clear how well respected and well thought of he was.
There were several contributing factors to Justin’s sad passing, but it would not be right to discuss that here. The purpose of the Troutbeck meet was to celebrate Justin’s life, passions and create a legacy in his memory. Second to that the meet was created to raise money for charities who specialise in mental health support. To say the meet achieved both is an absolute understatement. It exceeded expectations on every level! All being well will be a permanent feature on the ballooning calendar for years to come.
Mental health is a subject area we are very passionate about supporting. So when the meet was first announced we signed up straight away. Right from the start the organisers were sharing the journey as the meet came together and it was great to be able to watch something develop over time. The dates were set from the 29th to the 31st of May. There is another meet on in the UK over the same weekend, so it gave balloonists a choice between a grass roots event at Troutbeck or a more commercialised event.
Held in the lake district the event is almost 250 miles away from our base in Northampton and by far the furthest we have travelled for an event in the UK before. However regardless of the forecast this was an event we were going to attend and support.
Thankfully as the meet drew nearer the forecast came right and showed a potential for multiple flights over the weekend. We had entered G-TIMX into the event who hadn’t yet been flown in 2026! We set off early on Friday the 29th and after a long journey with a nice lunch on the way, arrived late afternoon. We quickly set up camp and headed off to register and attend the first briefing.
Check in was simple and straightforward. All entrants received a little goody bag filled with useful items such as pens, a re lighter and a custom key chain with the balloons reg on it which was a really nice touch.
After check in the first briefing was held by Dan and Mark Stelling. Dan introduced the event, explained how the facilities, refuelling etc worked and ensured everyone received a very warm welcome. Mark then gave the met forecast which was accurate and concise. Conditions for the Friday evening were very brisk, not helped by the fact the area is almost a thousand feet above sea level. However, it was flyable and the area and direction is blessed with ample large sileage and grass fields. Many of these had been cut ahead of the event by the fantastic local landowners.
Around ten balloons including us took the skies. Many thanks to Martyn Turner of the British Balloon Museum and Library for his help in getting us off the ground. We were the last out and soon as we cleared the site, we were greeted to one of the most beautiful and picturesque views we have ever seen.
The rolling hills and valleys that make up the local area were absolutely stunning. We had a decent speed from the beginning and made good distance. The area is very rural with limited road access, so it was important to consider the landing site before committing. Our first landing had to be aborted as, as balloons tend to do it tracked straight towards the only tree in the field at speed.
We gained height again and flew over the M6. We soon came upon a series of cut sileage and grass fields near the village of Plumpton. We got low and had a fantastic drag landing at around thirteen knots. Our team were able to find us and the landowner was very friendly and helpful.
We got back to site a little later than hoped meaning we had missed the main refuelling slot. However Dan was kind enough to refuel us from two of his tanks meaning we could fly again in the morning. Dan didn’t hesitate to offer and was extremely friendly and helpful. Once we refuelled, we headed to bed so we could grab as much sleep as possible.
The alarm rang on Saturday the 30th of May 2026 all too soon. The forecast for the morning was much better showing an early inversion and lighter winds. We set up before the morning briefing with the plan to get away early to take advantage of the inversion. Once we had the thumbs up from Mark, we turned the fans on and were the first out of launch site.
It was a lovely sight looking back and watching everyone inflating and launching with the rolling hills behind.
We were soon joined in the skies by over forty other balloons including a handful of cute animal special shapes. There were also a couple of stunning corporate balloons such as the Altitude Insurance Shamrock add on special shape, hoppers, racers, and everything in between.
One of the newest corporate balloons in the UK is Adam Griffiths stunning Cameron Z-105 G-OPJH. Sponsored by PJH CO, a Bedfordshire based property repairs, maintenance, and installation company. The balloon looks incredible and shows off all the various arms of the company.
After a beautiful fifty minute flight, we made a stand up landing in a cut field. Our trusty retrieve team were there within minutes and secure permission to retrieve. The balloon was soon packed up, and we got to enjoy the fruits of our early start by watching many of the other balloons land around us, several in the same field!
After this we headed back to camp where we enjoyed a nice cooked breakfast before freshening. Half of our team went off to explore the local area whilst a couple stayed back to discuss plans for the year (and get some much needed sleep).
An unexpected rain front moved through in the early afternoon putting the evening slot at risk. Before that though we got to enjoy the afternoon, community barbeque which was delicious. We also got to have a look at the silent auction items, catch up with fellow balloonists, and trade some pin badges.
It was soon time for the flight briefing. Again thanks to Mark ensuring he had the most up to date and accurate information it showed a break between the rain front that had just passed and the next one due in the late evening.
We made the decision that we would pack down our campsite before the flight as the evening rain was going to be a lot heavier and we didn’t want to be packing up soggy camping gear in the morning. We decided we would fly and then head home as the morning was sadly looking like low cloud and fog. One of our biggest advantages as a team is that we always have a good amount of crew for events, which is a benefit of encouraging new people into the sport constantly. This meant that half the team could collapse out camp site whilst the other half set up for the flight.
This time trainee pilot Liam Menzies was on the burners; time was of the essence to get into the air in between the fronts and Liam (no pun intended) rose to the challenge. We were soon airborne this time in the middle of the pack.
Liam flew the balloon with only a few words of input from Jamie. He made a lovely stand up landing twenty minutes later at Berrier. We chose to cut the flight short as this was such an easily accessible landing site with a friendly farmer already helping another team who had landed ahead of us. We had a mammoth journey home ahead of us, so it was better to have a shorter flight. Liam did really well and he is edging ever closer to getting his license.
We were soon packed up again after a chat with the lovely landowner. After messaging the organisers to thank them we headed home. The four hour journey flew by as we were all exchanging stories about our favourite parts of the weekend of which there were many. We really wanted to stay for the morning but packing up six soaking wet tents prior to a long drive back would have been a nightmare.
This was by far one of our favourite meets to date. The area was just stunning; it was the good kind of challenging too. The organisation was top notch especially for a brand new meet put together in a relatively short amount of time. Finally, the atmosphere was just really pleasant and welcoming. Everyone was there for the right reasons; everyone helped each other where needed and everyone helped support the event in some way or another.
A special thank you to Dan, Maddie, Mark, the owner of Troutbeck Airfield, the landowners and everyone else who made the weekend so special. We can’t wait to be back again next year.
There is a selection of additional pictures below the links.
Check out the Troutbeck Balloon Meets Facebook Page here – https://www.facebook.com/p/Troutbeck-Hot-Air-Balloon-Festival-61587746647666/
Check out the Troutbeck Airfield Facebook Page here – https://www.facebook.com/p/Troutbeck-and-Berrier-Airfields-and-Lofshaw-Park-Farm-100064692846894/
Check out Altitude Insurance for all your aviation insurance needs here – https://altitudeinsuranceltd.com/
Check out PJH Co here – https://www.pjhco.co.uk/
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