I had never tried paragliding, but my partner told me I should experience it and anyway she had my life insurance.

So we took my 9 year old daughter to Verbier and booked a course with Verbier summits. We were met off the train at Le Chable by 'The Twins' who whisked us off to our accommodation. Switzerland in the summer is stunning, snow covered slopes had given way to dark emerald forested slopes with the vibrant green of the flower filled meadows.

The accommodation was amazing; chocolate box Switzerland on the outside, (leaving my daughter feeling like an extra in the Sound of Music). Whilst inside the rooms were luxuriant, warm and cosy as befits one of the most affluent skiing resorts in the Alps.

Every morning the whole group, a dozen or so of us, met at the coffee bar below our accommodation and excitedly chatted about the day ahead. The lecture room is next door where we did our classroom sessions on wings, flying, weather and safety. There are no half measures here, the classroom sessions were comprehensive and followed the curriculum in our flight books.

Then it was ground school. This was great fun and absolutely exhausting. Inflate your wing like pulling up a huge kite then running down the slope to maintain it above your head. The first time my feet left the ground, for just a few seconds, the feeling of exhilaration was amazing. I'm 45 and whooped like a teenager.

After this and more safety briefs, I was ready for my first flight. Our group jumped into the company vans and were driven up the mountain. As we stepped out, nearly a kilometre below us was the landing field.

Flights are strictly regulated, with instructors on take off communicating via radio with other instructors covering the flight and the approach to the landing field. You are never alone in the air as each instructor reassures you and guides you to the next point.

And at last it was my turn. I looked down a slope so steep I'd normally descend it on my backside, inflated my wing as I'd been taught and stepped forward, and five steps later the ground fell away and I drifted out over a valley that looked from my vantage like a giant patchwork quilt of fields. The only sound was the thumping of my heart in my ears and the whoosh of the wind as it caressed my face. I was flying. I recall the scene from 'The Snowman' taking the boy by the hand and lifting him above the rooftops and out over the valleys in that night sky. There is no better way to describe the freedom, the quiet and the feeling, than those lines and that music, ''we are walking in the air".

All too soon I was being guided in to the landing field, I'd love to say I landed with the elegance of a swan, but it was more with the inevitability of a cowpat.

However as soon as I'd gathered my wing and walked over to the other members of the waiting group, I just wanted to do it again and again. I've caught the bug, now everywhere I go I look up.

I cannot fault the enthusiasm, professionalism and sheer joy that Verbier Summits staff express in sharing Switzerland and this sport with others. The accommodation, equipment and camaraderie were fantastic.

If you are going to fly, fly with eagles..... as Verbier Summits are masters of the air and I'm already booking my next trip.