With our flights now fulfilled by Virgin Balloon Flights, launch sites in Dorset have changed. See the Locations page on Virgin Balloon Flights website for an up to date list of locations.
Dorset is most famous for its 200 million year old Jurassic coastline, being the location setting for the popular TV series Broadchurch and is also home to a huge naked chalk Giant! Furthermore UNESCO has declared the 140 km stretch of coastline a Natural World Heritage Site and the beautiful countryside of Dorset is an area of outstanding natural beauty – what better way to see the stunning rural views and pretty towns of Dorset than from a hot air balloon!
Our launch site in Dorset, near Gillingham, is located to the north of the county, far enough away from the coast to allow us to float gently with the wind towards the south of the county or across the Blackmore Vale and sometimes into Somerset or Wiltshire. Poole, Bournemouth, Wareham, Broadstone, Warminster, Stourton, Tisbury, Gillingham, Farnham and Blanford Forum, Weymouth, Dorchester, Bridport and Lyme Regis are all easily accessible to our Dorset meeting location at The Udder Farm Shop, East Stour SP8 5LQ.
Balloon Flights in Dorset meet at The Udder Farm Shop, East Stour, SP8 5LQ and generally fly within the Crewkerne / Bruton / Warminster / Blandford area:
The Udder Farm Shop: conveniently located near Sherborne and easily accessible from most locations in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. A picturesque location on the Dorset and Somerset border set amongst lush green valleys and wooded hills. The Udder Farm Shop is open 7 days a week and has a restaurant, bar, and coffee shop.
Flights from The Udder Farm Shop are wonderful whichever way the wind may take you. If you head towards Sherborne, you can see many medieval buildings still standing in the town Sherborne, along with the Abbey, the famous historic Sherborne Castle built by Sir Walter Raleigh and views of unspoilt heathland, the river Store and the Blackmore Vale. Or, if you head to east in the direction of Shaftesbury, you will see one of England’s oldest and highest towns with a history dating back to medieval times and a wealth of tradition. The town was much loved by Thomas Hardy and is used in some of his novels.
Balloon Flights from The Udder Farm Shop frequently provide distant views as far away as Weston Super Mare and The Severn Bridge to the north, Poole and Bournemouth to the southeast and Chesil Beach and Lyme Bay to the south.
Address: The Udder Farm Shop, East Stour, SP8 5LQ
Telephone: N/A
OS Map Info:
Directions from the West. From Yeovil, travel along the A30 towards Shaftesbury. Continue past the River Stour and and Lotmoor Hill and onto Front Street. Continue along this road and the Udder Farm Shop will be located on your left hand side opposite Manor Farm. Directions from the East. From the A350 at the Ivy Cross Roundabout turn onto the A30 towards Yeovil. Continue through East Stour and past The Kings Arms Inn, continue along for another half a mile and The Udder Farm Shop is located on your left. Please note that we meet passengers in the car park behind the farm shop.
