Hot air ballooning isn't just for the likes of Richard Branson. CATHERINE BRUCE tries the high life on a ballooning trip in the Italian Alps.

Ever since watching the Wizard of Oz fly home from the Emerald City in a balloon, hot air balloons have seemed magical and otherworldly to me.

I'd never set foot in a balloon before arriving in Italy and had no idea what to expect. But watching the world from something resembling a giant laundry basket was more surreal than scary.

Helping the crew form the balloon from nothing more than a bundle of cloth and a basket made me realise there was more to this ballooning lark than meets the eye.

Cold air is pumped into the balloon, known as an envelope, to inflate it. Then the top of the envelope is secured with Velcro (alarming as this sounds, I was assured it is perfectly safe). The air in the envelope is heated using the burners so the balloon rises, becomes upright and is ready to go.

On my first trip in a balloon from Cuneo airfield, nestled at the foot of the Italian Alps, I braced myself for a dizzying takeoff. But before I had realised the balloon was even moving, we were skimming over Italian farmyards and rising up into a cloudless sky, with a dramatic mountain range as the backdrop.

As I floated smoothly along with the breeze, I knew I was in safe hands. Our pilot, Lindsay Muir, is a self-confessed ballooning addict, flying all over the world. She is certainly a woman with a head for heights and plans to become the first woman in the world to take a balloon to 34,000 feet later this year.

Damian Brockway, Virgin Balloon Flights' managing director, claims ballooning is the safest form of transport around.

"Hot air ballooning is the safest way to get from A to B. The only downside is you never quite know where B is going to be," he said.

While this will stop ballooning replacing everyday buses and trains, the uncertainty hovering over your final destination does add to the excitement of the trip.

From the moment the basket leaves the ground, a team of 'retrievers' (sadly not the cuddly canine variety) chase the balloon in a LandRover until it lands. Once the balloon lands, the retrievers step in with military precision, help pack the balloon away like a ginormous sleeping bag and drive its passengers back to base.

The first landing of my trip was picture perfect. Lindsay touched the balloon down on a road right outside a farmhouse, which delighted the Italian family living there who immediately rushed out to greet us, smiling and waving.

Over every other form of transport, balloons seem to bring out the child in people. In two days of ballooning alongside several other pillar box red Virgin balloons, we brought cars to a standstill as small crowds gathered to watch our progress. I was entranced too and found watching the other balloons flying around us almost as elating as the flight itself.

On my second day in Cuneo, my inner daredevil was ready to go. We started by ascending to 4,500 feet, so high we needed to radio the airport for permission to fly.

Once I'd survived high altitudes, I felt brave enough to have a go at flying myself. Taking off was the easy part but flying steadily was much trickier. While turning the burner on does make the balloon go up, there is a time-delay before your actions have any impact on the flight. Pilots need to use their instincts to second-guess when the air in the envelope will start to cool, causing the balloon to fall.

Flying reminded me of my first driving lesson - so much concentration needed to do something which looked so simple. Luckily I had an experienced pilot on hand to give me pointers and help me with the most nerve-wracking task of all, the landing. Although some landings can be bumpy, there was little wind and I managed to touch the balloon down smoothly.

Not everyone is a fan of ballooning. Pigs hate balloons so much that the pilots have to plot their flights well away from pig farms. Cows are not exactly keen either. To this end. balloons are equipped with 'cow burners', quieter versions of normal burners which keep livestock at bay when balloons are flying low over agricultural land.

Italy was a fantastic place to experience ballooning for the first time. Cuneo airfield is a favourite location among Virgin Balloon pilots because of its clear skies, calm winds and stunning scenery.

Cuneo itself is a traditional Italian city crammed full of stylish shops, attractive historic buildings, tempting bakeries and high quality restaurants. But without many tourist attractions in the city, most visitors to Cuneo come to the city because it is so near the Alps.

During my visit I tried skiing at the popular ski resort, Limone Piemonte, which is 20 minutes drive from Cuneo. With a range of runs for both the beginner and the experienced skier, the picturesque resort near the Italian-French borders is popular with both native Italians and tourists.

Catherine flew to Turin with Ryanair, courtesy of Virgin Balloon Flights.

Virgin Balloon Flights has joined Breakthrough Breast Cancer to offer readers a 30 per cent discount if they buy a balloon flight voucher before July 2004. For every flight bought at the discounted price of £130, the company will donate £15 to Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The voucher is valid for a year after the issue date, and includes an hour-long flight from one of 70 launch sites nationwide, including York, and a champagne toast.

To book a flight, call Virgin Balloons on 0870 787 4978 and quote 'York Evening Press Breakthrough Reader Offer.'

Updated: 08:38 Saturday, February 21, 2004