If the roads are icy and routes are closed, there’s only one way to travel. And if your destination is a country pub, piloting a hot air balloon is a sure-fire way to make a spectacular entrance.
Across snow-covered Flintshire yesterday (Wednesday, January 9), heads swivelled as the towering balloon soared high above. Having set off from Hendre near Rhydymwyn, the balloon and its basket glided over Ysceifiog before swooping down on the village of Caerwys some 8km away.
Residents stopped what they were doing and reached for their mobile phones to capture the majestic sight. “That woke the village up!” said one resident on social media.
At it descended, a ground support vehicle parked up outside the Piccadilly Inn, an historic village pub and restaurant that dates back to 1662. For onlookers, this appeared to be its intended destination.
Among those watching on was Mary Kavanagh. “My friends and I were walking round the fields nearby,” she said. “We saw it and were awestruck! The big blue and pink balloon looked so surreal in the winter wonderland. It seemed to be getting lower and lower so we followed it.
“A ground support guy arrived in a pick-up looked as if he looked as though he could do with a hand, so I asked if I could help. I helped lay huge tarpaulins out in the Piccadilly’s field to ‘catch’ it. They then pulled the balloon onto tarpaulins – the team was well practiced and choreographed.
“It was so lovely to see all the townsfolk gather to see it.” Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone
Residents gather to watch the balloon’s descent
(Image: Mary Kavanagh)
Touch down – right next to the pub
(Image: Darren Griffiths)
Apart from a few can’t-park-there quips, many locals made obvious assumptions about the pilot’s intentions. Writing online, one woman said: “One way of going to the pub!” Another imagined the balloonists were “just dropping in for a pint”.
If that was the idea, the pilot and his female passenger were to be disappointed. The Piccadilly had yet to open for the day. Pub supervisor Vikki Jackson was equally despondent.
“It would have been amazing,” she said. “I love hot air balloons and they would have been very welcome here.”
The ground crews lays out tarpaulins ready to capture the deflating balloon
(Image: Darren Griffiths)
The balloon’s pilot announces its arrival
(Image: Mary Kavanagh)
At the back of the pub is an attractive beer garden, though perhaps it wasn’t the weather for a post-flight tipple outdoors. The Piccadilly reopened last February after a two-year closure brought on by the Covid crisis.
Named after a horse owned by Lord Mostyn who won a race at Holywell, its new owners have pledged to re-establish the Piccadilly as a destination foodhouse.
Residents who saw the balloon suggested it was operated by a local retired dentist who had once counted several villagers among his clients. Mary said: “The support crew were very nice people and so easy to talk to.
“One said that the pilot has a full advanced pilot qualification and had been a balloonist for 30 years.” Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
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