Date Ideas

A microlight flight is an experience to cherish

When we first met, back in 2002, Amy was petrified of heights. I first discovered this on a London Eye flight where Amy refused to leave the seating area in the middle. Slowly but surely, Amy’s confidence has improved. Dramatically, in fact. She still has jitters when it comes to heights, but has now ticked off many rollercoaster rides, countless trips on that previously feared London Eye, and no less than three hot air balloon rides. Better than all of that is the latest experience that we had – a microlight flight!

It has to be said that microlight flights are very weather dependent. Therefore, it can be extremely frustrating trying to get a flight. It was the fifth time we’d booked in for one, so we didn’t hold out too much hope. We have been trying to get a flight since April. Our voucher ran out in just a couple of weeks, so we had to do a weekday flight. Despite the frustration in planning this date idea, it was most definitely worth the effort and cost.

Will our microlight flight go ahead?

The pilot has a flightline which you can call from 7am on the morning of your flight. He will make a decision on the conditions for that day, or as happened to us on a previous occasion, postpone that decision until a later time. We took our flight with David Buck of Microlight Flying Lessons at Netherthorpe Airfield near to Worksop. We arrived a full hour before our flight time, but got to go straight out as we were the first passengers of the day.

Amy was adamant she wanted to go first, to get her nerves out of the way. Therefore, she got kitted up in her flight suit and headed straight outside to the small red aircraft that was to take us both on a thirty minute pleasure flight around the area. She was incredibly nervous, but you could barely tell. She is so brave nowadays, and has come such a long way since that London Eye experience! After a safety briefing, Amy had to get in the microlight first, sitting in the back, behind David, the pilot. We had to take it in turns since it is only a two-seater aircraft.

A date idea that you don’t experience at the same time

The fact that you don’t experience it at the same time makes it rather strange for a date idea, admittedly. However, we’d thoroughly recommend it as a joint experience for any couples. The adrenalin rush is amazing, and you will feel that for your partner too. I had to wait in a picnic area whilst Amy had her flight. I tried to film the best I could, as they started to taxi off across the field, but they soon went out of view. Annoyingly, as I heard and saw them taking off, the camera was playing games and turning off and on so I missed a bit.

About twenty minutes later, I saw them appear in the sky again. They reminded me of ET, flying through the air on his bike. So small in the huge expanse of sky. They circled the airfield before coming in to land. Amy came out with a smile on her face. Every time she does something that terrifies her at first, she ends up on a huge high afterwards. She realises this nowadays and pushes herself to do more incredible experiences. Maybe it is an attitude that you too could adapt to push yourself to be more amazing.

Up, up and away

There was no time at all to waste now before I got myself kitted up in a flight suit. We had to dress warmly, since it was freezing cold up in the air. I had two pairs of socks on, a t-shirt, jumper, jacket and coat, as well as the flight suit and gloves! David had forgotten to put his warmest coat on for Amy’s flight, so was grateful for the chance to put that on before mine. Soon enough, we were out at the microlight and I was being kitted out with my headset and helmet, and told to do no ‘ducking and diving’ as I slowly entered the microlight.

There are foot pedals which can steer the aircraft, so I had to avoid puting my feet down on them during takeoff and landing. David set the engine running, and in no time we were taxiing down the runway, which is basically a grassy field, with some bumpy bits. Taking off was very cool indeed and feels much lighter than a normal aeroplane feels. It was pretty terrifying realising just how open everything is. You are 3300 feet in the air, yet are just sitting in an open cockpit.

The earth looks so different from above

The views were incredible, comparable to a hot air balloon ride but going much faster and over more interesting terrain. This is because in a microlight you have much more control over where you fly. David is an extremely good pilot, and the headsets allow you to communicate very well. He constantly pointed out interesting facts about the places we could see below us, and told us about how the microlight works too. He told us how the air works to cause bumps where hills and things are, though our flights weren’t too bumpy at all.

Me and Amy both went the same way, so mainly saw the same things. These included Cresswell Model Village, Chesterfield, Bolsover Castle, solar panel fields, Hardwick Hall, and Creswell Crags. One thing I was lucky enough to see that Amy didn’t was the Red Arrows doing a training session. I couldn’t actually see the planes themselves, but could see the loop-de-loop smoke trails that they formed, looking like a giant rollercoaster in the sky. I could see one descending from the clouds above and creating a new smoke trail in front of us.

What happens if the engine cuts out?

Visibility was excellent on our flights. David described them as 9 out of 10 flights, with the only negative being how cold it was. Definitely wrap up warm if you take a flight! He told me that the benefit of flying high above the ground was that if the engine was to have a failure, he’d have plenty of time to find a safe field to land in, which was slightly reassuring. Although we weren’t allowed to take our cameras on the flight with us, David has an on-board camera that films the views you get for a long-lasting memory of your flight.

It was also great to see the runway of the airfield as we approached the end of our flight. From up here, you can see the markings on the ground, and see just how short it is! The landing was extremely smooth. What an experience! When I’d safely exited the microlight, David called Amy over and he took a few photos for us, before we got ourselves changed out of our flight suits and went on our way, still on a high.

Would you dare to experience a microlight flight? Have you already done one?

Have you explored all there is to do in your local park recently?

This secret date involved exploring Hanley Park. in our home city. Most of us are going to live near to a park. Have you explored yours recently? There is likely a huge amount of things that you can do in the park. You can go for a romantic stroll, play sports, check out artwork, get closer to nature, see wildlife, have a picnic, go jogging, fly a kite, do yoga, take your dog for a walk, play on the playground, throw a frisbee, or check out what special events are on. These are only a few of the multitude of date ideas you can find in your local park.

We went to Hanley Park, in Stoke-on-Trent, which opened in 1897, three times within a week. The first visit was timed to coincide with Circus Zyair appearing at the park. Circuses are regular visitors to Hanley Park, and are always great fun. There are always loads of great deals on tickets, so you should never have to pay full price. We’d originally planned to take a picnic to the park with us, but the unpredictable British weather resulted in it raining, so we decided against it.

Anyone for tennis?

A day later we were back. This time, we had rackets in hand, for a game of tennis. Hanley Park has great sports facilities, including three tennis courts, a cricket cage, basketball court, table tennis table, football pitches, and a crown green bowls pitch. There is also lots of open space in which to play anything. You’ll find anything from a game of rugby, to people throwing a frisbee, and picnicking around these areas. We had the three tennis courts to ourselves on our visit, though its not uncommon to have to wait for a court to become free.

A few days later still, we made our third and final visit for the week. This time, we wanted to properly explore the park. We coincided our visit with a restoration walk ran by the Friends of Hanley Park. Hanley Park is having £6 million spent on it at the moment, and the plans are very exciting indeed. It has suffered from a lack of investment over recent years, and the plan is to return it to its original splendour. It is thoroughly welcome, since, despite its positives, large parts of the park are in a rather dilapidated condition.

The canal runs right through the middle of Hanley Park

An unusual feature of Hanley Park is that the Caldon Canal cuts right through the middle of it. Indeed, the canal predates the park. We took a pleasant walk along the canals, which went right through the park, before entering at the far side. It is a lovely feature of Hanley Park that is currently not seen at its best. Luckily, the canal bridges are part of the restoration project.

There are maps on large boards by each entrance, which have a numbered route to follow, starting from the Top Lodge, by the main gate to the park. The gates have recently been refurbished, as the first stage of the restoration. The lodges are being done up too, and will be rented out. At the moment, they look a bit unwelcoming, with security screens and the like.

Walking past the former bowling green, we spotted a gazebo where the Friends of Hanley Park had set up. They had a display on the restoration process, and were keen to come and talk to us about it. Afterwards, we had a bit of a play on the playground. There are various spinny type rides that we could make ourselves feel dizzy on. We spotted the sensory play area, which has colourful plants and different types of paving, some appearing like fossils.

We couldn’t resist reliving our youth

The toddler play area was completely empty, so we took advantage and had a go on some mini see-saws and a roundabout. The main play area is quite impressive, with a zipline, and a huge spiders web climbing apparatus. We couldn’t resist climbing up, though it is ridiculously high! We also had a go on a spinny thing here too, though we couldn’t get on much as it was a lot busier around here. After a sit down on a bench to recover, we continued our tour of the park.

The centrepiece of the park is the area around the main pavilion and the bandstand. The park’s architect, Thomas Mawson, designed it to look like a country estate. The pavilion was like the country house, with cascading steps leading down to the beautiful gardens below. Currently, the pavilion is somewhat an eyesore, with missing tiles and security fences around it. However, this time next year it will be a real centrepiece, with a cafe/wedding venue inside.

It’ll be lovely to see a concert on the bandstand on a summer’s day

The bandstand will also be restored, with access to electricity enabling more events to take place there. A distinctive feature of the park is the terracotta tiles used on the walls and other features. This owes to the area’s pottery heritage, although ironically the tiles weren’t made locally. On each side of the landscape here is a semi-circular garden, which is rather romantic. Beyond its archway entrance are a couple of well-positioned benches. Already rather lovely, it will be amazing when all of its plants are fully grown.

A display of artwork inspired by the park s hung on the security fences around the pavilion, yet now sadly neglected. Over the bridge that connects the two parts of the park over the canal, there is currently a hoarding over it. This has been decorated graffiti style in order to brighten it up, yet still feels slightly unwelcoming, so it will be great to see the bridge finally restored. We didn’t cross the bridge here, but carried on around the path to some more sports courts.

If you’re into playing sports, Hanley Park is the place to be

Hanley Park has great sports facilities, including three tennis courts, a cricket cage, basketball court, table tennis table, football pitches, and a crown green bowls pitch. There is also lots of open space in which to play anything. You’ll find anything from a game of rugby, to people throwing a frisbee, and picnicking around these areas.

A large expanse of grass nearby seems to be a resting ground for a huge amount of geese. The park is well-known for its birds, and some rarely spotted birds can be found. We only really saw the water ones though, like mallards, coots, and moorhens.

The lake is another focal point of the park, and a very pleasant place to stroll around. There is some very eye-catching artwork on display, including huge metal lettering saying, ‘Do You feel it too?’. The island on the lake has a similar piece of artwork as well. The boathouse hasn’t been used in many years, so it will be great to see it restored as a cafe and centre for hiring boats to take out onto the lake. Water jets help to improve the water quality, and also provide a fresh feeling to the area.

The park is expertly landscaped to provide great views

There is also a poem on the steps leading down to the lake from the oval, once one of Europe’s largest crown green bowls spaces. Now, one line remains – ‘since knowing you I smile’. It works on its own to be honest! The steps provide a great view over the lake and beyond. It was all expertly designed by Mawson in order to provide a space in which all of the smog of industrial Stoke-on-Trent could be hidden from view.

When the park was built in 1897, the smoke would have been noticeable all around. Therefore, Mawson carefully designed it to hide these features, only framing what he thought to be attractive scenes, such as Stoke Minster in the distance. This also applied to the canal. Now, it is a positive thing to have the canal run through the park. Back then, however, the canals were dirty and industrial, so Mawson did what he could to hide them from view.

Hanley Park is a haven for wildlife

A pretty cascade is further around the path, with lilypads offering a nice feature. Outside the ladies’ toilets is a tree carving with various birds, a bit like the one at Rudyard Lake. The current bowls pavilion has a cute little metal gazebo, with some nice paving featuring two birds, at its side. The park has a secret garden, which is a haven for much wildlife. We did see a little bird here, though couldn’t work out what it was. A squirrel was leafing through a nearby bin, making for a great photo opportunity, particularly when all we could see was his tail!

The restoration walk started from the far gates of what is now known as Cauldon Park. It used to be part of Hanley Park, until a road was built that divided the two. The park’s Liaison Officer, Tom Pine, was leading the walk. He started by telling us about the restoration process, and took us into Cauldon Park. The gates here are some of the most ornamental in the park, and the crest that tops them has only just got back from a workshop in Wales where it was restored. Apparently, a couple more bits are yet to be added to make an ever grander entrance.

The dragons are back!

The main achievement of the restoration as of yet has been the Hammersley Fountain. It is a fantastic terracotta fountain that has been dry for many years. Indeed, older people remembered that there used to be dragons around it, and an appeal in the press led to the finding of photographs that has allowed the dragons to be recreated. The fountain is now in working order, and looks great. There is also a lodge building here too.

Walking alongside the edge of the park, we were told that the modern Stoke-on-Trent College buildings were on the site of a former conservatory that was home to a variety of birds. Unfortunately, now the space is gone, those can’t be restored. Back into Hanley Park itself, Tom pointed out the Veterans Club, which is a great example of a utilitarian building of its time, and said that the lake will have sloped edges, rather than the sharper edges we currently have.

Looking forward to the future and a restored Hanley Park

We also crossed over the canal bridge for the first time, and were told how the canals would be made more of a feature by the removal of a wall that was originally built to hide them, but is now more an eyesore itself. It was interesting to hear the extremely vivid memories of the park from two older ladies in the tour group. They could remember lost fountains, and taxidermies of a monkey holding an orange inside the pavilion. It was a fascinating tour, and exciting times ahead for Hanley Park.

Have you explored Hanley Park recently? 

A cute surprise to come home to

If there was ever any doubt that I have the cutest wife in the world, then here is the proof! Although the vast majority of our secret dates are planned by the two of us together, we do make a point to sometimes surprise each other. We use the term dates in the loosest terms really, since it is more moments or experiences that count. Every now and then, we find ourselves unable to fit in a secret date on a particular week. Therefore, one of us will often plan something special for the other that won’t take up an entire day or evening.

After a long day at work, and a forty five minute walk home, Amy seemed keen for me to come upstairs but was insistent that I don’t go up on my own. The reason was that she had planned the cutest secret date ever. As I have handed my notice in at work, and we are going travelling together, she did her own version of the ‘I Have Confidence’ secret date. I’d done this for her last year before she had an operation. It involved playing her the song from The Sound of Music, then recording my own message of support at the end.

This is how to show you have confidence in your partner

Amy went fifty times better than this. Straight upon entering the room, I was faced with a homemade sign on the wall that said ‘I Have Confidence in You’, with a balloon. On the computer was a Sound of Music screensaver, and there was a card waiting for me. The card was hilarious, with a Beatles’ Hey Jude joke, and a lovely message from Amy, filled with heart-shaped confetti. The piece de resistance, however, was the song. Amy didn’t just play the song on YouTube like I did.

She used Snapchat to create no less than twenty seven short videos of herself, in various guises, performing the song. In some, she had her own voice, and sang it beautifully. In others, she was all cute and sounding like a chipmunk! She also acted out parts like shouting ‘Wake Up’ at one point. It was the best thing ever. I honestly couldn’t believe how good it was. It really did fill me with confidence that we have made the right decision. We can now look forward to some truly amazing times! Here is the video.

Have you ever made a video like this for your partner? Tell us in the comments! 

Hot Air Balloon ride over Staffordshire with Virgin Balloons

We recently took our third hot air balloon flight, with Virgin Balloons. This time we took Scott’s Mum for her 65th birthday present, and Amy’s Dad. We had bought Amy’s Dad a hot air balloon ride for his 60th birthday nearly eight years ago now, with a different company. He still hasn’t been on it! Our flight was going from Uttoxeter Racecourse, instead of Stafford Amerton Railway. It had been changed due to the weather conditions.

Despite being on the early side, we noticed that the balloon had already arrived. A fair few people were already around it, in the middle of the racecourse. Our pilot was Graham Dorrell, and he had already got the balloon laid out by the time we arrived. After an introductory talk, Graham asked for a volunteer from each side, and an old bloke was keen to help. His task was to hold the balloon open enough at the bottom to get cold air blown in from two huge fans to inflate the balloon.

The weather can be a real pain

Once it is inflated enough, he can add hot air from gas canisters, which helps it to fly. However, as he was doing this crucial step the balloon was almost toppling over due to freak gusts of wind that weren’t forecast at all. Therefore, on safety grounds, Graham decided not to go ahead with it, and they began to deflate it. We then had an anxious wait whilst Graham made a phone call regarding the weather. Ironically, we could see another balloon in the sky in the distance.

We did get a head start by stretching the balloon out flat again, which was a bit like a tug of war. Around half an hour later, Graham called for us all to retake our positions for a second attempt. Amy decided to volunteer this time around to hold the balloon open whilst the cold air was blown in. This time, thanks to Amy’s expert help, it was all systems go!

Graham jumped in and fired it up, and called for us to all get in as quickly as possible. Beforehand, we’d arranged that we would go in the middle. We have been on the end the other two times and figured it would be the best view for Scott’s Mum and Amy’s Dad. We jumped in really quickly, then Amy’s Dad clumbered in, getting his boot stuck in the foothold. Scott’s Mum was last one in, and she completely went tumbling.

Uh-oh, hope the balloon doesn’t take off just yet!

She ended up hanging on the balloon sideways. Amy’s Dad was oblivious to her plight, and we were trying to reach across to grab hold of her. The chaser came to help her too, and the old bloke who was getting into the next compartment. We didn’t have time to dilly dally though, and had to get straight into the brace position. We could just about see above the side of the basket that we were still on the ground. Until we weren’t of course, and Graham told us that we could all stand up.

It is always mega cool to see just how small the people waving at us from the ground become, as we went higher and higher. There were nice views of the sun setting. However, this was more so on the opposite side of the balloon, so we only saw that between the other passenger’s heads. Graham told us that we were heading in the direction of Stafford. To be honest, the winds were a bit stronger than Graham had anticipated, and we were going 18mph. This meant that the landscape beneath us, mainly fields, was moving at a fairly rapid pace.

I think the farm animals thought we were an alien spacecraft

As a result, we spent most of the flight much lower to the ground than we had been on our previous flights. I was right next to the middle, so had the brunt of the heat from the gas burners. It wasn’t too bad at all though really. Like last time, the sight of our hot air balloon had an impact on the farm animals. They all made a run for it when the balloon flew over their field. Soon enough, and way before we had expected, Graham called for us to get into our landing positions.

Our intial landing was a bit bumpy, into a crop field in Hartley Green, near to Stafford. The crops were actually blowing right in our faces. Right as we were about to stop, the basket actually tipped over! Good job we were holding on to the handles! We found ourselves with our backs to the floor and looking up to the skies. It was a rather unusual position. However, it was better than those on the lower side who had their faces amongst the crops!

How could we forget to take hay fever tablets?

Soon enough, Graham got the balloon deflated, and we then had a long wait. Landing in a field was terrible for our hay fever, particularly as we had both forgotten to take our hay fever tablets. The sky was very dramatic, though it was starting to get dark. Graham was on the phone to the chaser, to try and direct him. He then had to get the retrospective permission of the farmer to enter his farm. This took absolutely ages. Graham had to walk all the way around the huge field to get to the farmhouse, to avoid ruining any more of the farmer’s crops.

Eventually, after literally half an hour, Graham returned, to say that we could start packing the balloon away. It first had to be rolled up, so that it was a long and thin line of fabric. Some of us went on one side, and the others on the opposite side. We then rolled it into each other, trying to get the air out as best we could as we did so. Graham was sitting on it as he made his way up the balloon, making sure it was as ready to pack away as possible.

The balloon is going in that tiny bag?

Some people tied the rolled balloon together, before it was ready to be put away. The bag really doesn’t look large enough for a huge hot air balloon. This involved some of us holding the bag open, whilst others lifted the balloon into it. Amy’s Dad did a good job of tying the bag together. It then had to be put onto the trailer. This really just involved rolling it on, and a mechanical arm did the rest.

The other issue was getting out of the field. It was a pretty long walk around this huge field. Once on the path, we waited for a while for a minibus to arrive, which took us back to Uttoxeter Racecourse. It was around two hours after landing, and nearly 11pm, by the time we were all at Uttoxeter Racecourse, for our post-flight champagne toast. It felt a bit weird having champagne in a pitch black field this late at night. Graham gave us our certificates to cap off a wonderful experience.

Have you been on a hot air balloon ride? Tell us your experiences in the comments…..