There are few sights more lovely than a colourful hot air balloon gliding through the sky above the Sussex countryside, although the view from the balloon may perhaps rival it. Something that Matthew Billing and William Wood, two hot air balloonists from Eastbourne, can certainly attest.
Ballooning runs in the blood for both Matthew and William – William’s father Chris flew commercially for a number of years and was an internationally competing gas balloon pilot too. Matthew is a third-generation hot air balloon pilot, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father.
“Pretty much every trip we went on when I was growing up was built around ballooning, from trips to Norfolk to attending the largest balloon meet in Europe in the Alsace region of France. Ballooning is firmly in my blood, and I couldn’t ask for a better sport to be born into,” Matthew says.
Matthew and William are currently at the top of their game. Last year the duo came top in The Great British Long Jump – a competition that sees pilots from around the United Kingdom conquer the elements to fly the furthest distance in a single flight.
This story is from the September 2019 edition of Sussex Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2019 edition of Sussex Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
TAKE YOUR TIME
Dean Edwards’ new cookbook features delectable recipes that you can slow cook or stick in the oven. Here’s a selection of the best
Decorative art
Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality
ON THE FRONT FOOT
The rugby legend took the reins at Sussex County Cricket Club in 2017, rekindling his love for a sport that first won his heart on the village cricket fields of North Yorkshire
NAKED AMBITION
In the 1980s, Christine and Jennifer Binnie partied with Boy George and Marilyn and bared all as performance art collective The Neo-Naturists. Now they are working together to gain the recognition they feel they deserve
ROCKET MAN
Astronaut Tim Peake has come a long way since growing up in Westbourne and attending Chichester High School for Boys: 248 miles above Earth, to be precise. But, he says, life on the International Space Station has a lot in common with family caravanning holidays
Revolution man
Lewes’ most famous resident Thomas Paine may be the greatest propagandist who ever lived. But how did a humble customs and excise officer ignite the touchpaper for revolution in not one but two countries?
THE DIARY
17 exciting things to do this month in East and West Sussex
All in a day's work
Meet Tim Dummer, who has helped keep Midhurst’s Cowdray Estate shipshape for an impressive five decades
My favourite Sussex
Bruce Fogle is an author and a vet with a practice in London who has lived in West Sussex with his wife, the actress Julia Foster, since 1989. He recently became president of RSPCA Mount Noddy near Chichester
10 OF THE BEST Meat-free restaurants in Brighton and Hove
Brighton is often rated one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the UK. What these restaurants prove is that plant-based food doesn’t have to be puritanical – at all of these places you’ll find big flavours and a desire to push the envelope
