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Jules Verne's 19th century fictional character Dr Ferguson mused on the future of flight before a pioneering balloon journey across the African continent.

"Once a man has had a taste of that kind of travel (air), he cannot get along afterward with any other, and instead of going off to the side will go right ahead and go up all the time."

More than a 150 years later, our fascination with reaching for the skies has not lessened, with commercial ballooning more popular than ever.

However,, even in this hi-tec age sport remains at the mercy of the elements, much to the frustration of pilots and passengers alike.

My first attempt last month looked promising, pitching up in a field in picturesque Hartley Witney, shared by a glamorous bevy of models on a fashion shoot for More magazine.

Having done the pre-flight drills and prepared the impressive balloon, things were looking good, only to be thwarted by a breeze - resulting in the flight's cancellation.

Perseverance was repaid second time around, and I felt quite fortunate being alongside several couples who had had five or six flight called off.

However, the resounding message from all 15 on-board - an interesting mix of young and middle-aged couples celebrating birthdays and anniversaries - was it had been well worth the wait.

We assembled at the ungodly hour of five am in a field outside Winchester, which is one of a number of location s the company uses, including Alton and Farnham.

Our pilot was Kim Hull, who is also Director of Adventure Balloons. He greeted us warmly with his dry brand of wit, before involving everyone in the flight preparations as part of the ground crew.

His analogy of likening the balloon's gas burners to "awakening a slumbering dragon," was appropriate given its awesome flames.

Safety checks and landing instructions dispensed, Kim fired up the propane burners sending us airborne in our wicker basket.

Placing old fears of heights to the back of my mind, the notepad is well and truly downed for as our pilot jests - finding yourself outside the balloon is like taking "one giant step".

Flying at up to 1,000 feet, we glide leisurely across Hampshire's scenic countryside in style. This is quite unlike any other means of flight, in that you have time to fully appreciate your surroundings.

Cars, roads and animals take on a new fascination in miniature, with all aboard finding it hard not to be slightly in awe of the sights unfurling with the rising sun.

We pause while Kim shows us his unique method of in-flight photography. He reeled his camera out to the edge of the balloon for a group shot.

Kim, who is based at Adventure Balloons headquarters in Hartley Witney was an adventure sports writer for papers, including the Guardian, before turning to ballooning.

He trained as a pilot in the mid eighties, which took him a couple of years: "I wanted something to do as a hobby, but I didn't expect it to end up being a business that makes half a million a year."

"We started doing passenger flights in 1988, from Yateley, Farnham and Godalming. From there it expanded to Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, with flights over central London starting 1995."

"It is not a 9-5 job. Flights are either early in the morning or mid-evening when wind conditions are settled."

"One of my favourite things about ballooning is deciding where I am going to land and actually getting on target."

Travelling north west toward Andover, we drop in height at the village of Crawley, with its satellite centre. Everyone from the local postie to half dressed businessmen greeted us with amusement as we passed over.

Kim explained that in spite of precautions taken to avoid livestock (which are easily rattled), with the wind as a fickle mistress, quite where you go from your start point is in the lap of the gods.

With this in mind, he says "you have to have a lot of confidence," which is borne out in his 15 years navigating terrain across the south of England and over central London.

We gained height with another burner blast, a fiery experience not unlike being near a small searing smelting works, and we approached the stunning River Test.

Our anticipated destination was not far off - the "pilot's paradise" of landing on an airfield. The location was a first for Kim, whose eyes lit up approaching the Apache Chopper festooned Middle Wallop base.

"We just need a bit more left," says Kim, praying for some wind from the left to guide us to our target, which fortuitously appears allowing for a perfect landing.

A bottle of wine is handy to appease today's host, officers who appeared none too impressed at our arrival.

Personally, this had been an excellent, dare I say it, uplifting experience, but what had my fellow travelers made of it?

Naomi Anstice, (25) a pharmaceutical buyer from Battersea said: "I won tickets at a conference to come on the flight. It was so peaceful up there and so nice to see the countryside this way."

Theo Brekelmans, (54) a chief constable, came over from the Netherlands with his wife Linda (47) in celebration of their wedding.

He said: "It was a marvelous flight and I was particularly struck by how silent it was. It has been a very good day. We enjoyed the teamwork involved in preparing and packing away the balloon."

A champagne reception complete with certificates awaited all those who participated. Though this could not be described as a cheap activity with flights costing £130 per person for the hour long journey, everyone I spoke to gave positive feedback.

If anyone is interested in Adventure Balloon flights, which operate between May and October, please contact them on (01252) 844222 or see the website at www.adventureballoons.co.uk.