See inside the Goodyear Blimp during flight from Upminster

The airship - one of only six still flying worldwide - is based at Damyns Hall Aerodrome after travelling over the Channel from France last week.

During its rare visit to the UK, Jürgen Schelling, pilot and aviation editor at German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, has shared with the Recorder the view from inside.

The Goodyear Blimp flew over the English Channel, across central London and to Upminster (Image: Jürgen Schelling)

Mr Schelling flew as a passenger in the Goodyear Zeppelin as recently as Friday (July 3), starting at Damyns Hall and taking in a loop across Gatwick Airport's runways, via Brands Hatch racetrack in Kent, and then back to the airfield.

The aviation enthusiast said he has taken to the skies as a passenger in helicopters, military jets, airliners and business jets - and piloted all kinds of single-engine planes - during his career, but the Zeppelin is "really the most beautiful way of flying".

Mr Schelling told the Recorder: "It's a wonderful experience flying in an airship.

"You can start vertically like a helicopter, but the flight is much smoother, no vibrations.

Mr Schelling called it the 'most beautiful way of flying' (Image: Jürgen Schelling)

"And you have as [a] passenger plenty of legroom and really big windows to look outside.

"The Zeppelin NT you can see starting and landing [over] the next [few] days at Damyns Hall is exceptionally agile for its size."

He said the pivoting ability of the two front engines "allows vertical take-offs and landings, hovering in the air and turning on the spot".

For Mr Schelling, the "best" part about flying in the blimp is that there are two small windows at the front and rear of the cabin which you can open mid-flight to take photos.

Goodyear say on its website that the airship's top speed is 78 mph and Mr Schelling says you have "plenty of time to see all details on the ground".

The view across the airfield in Upminster (Image: Jürgen Schelling)

Indeed, his own photos from inside the cabin capture London's skyline in magnificent detail, and show the open space of the outskirts of Upminster upon landing.

German pilot Marko Hollerer and British pilot Kate Board - one of only two female Zeppelin pilots in the world - can be seen in the cockpit, as the flight team which took the airship from Calais over London and finally to Damyns Hall.

The Goodyear Blimp will be based in Upminster until this weekend, Mr Schelling said, after which it will visit the Goodwood Festival of Speed, before returning to its airfield near Cologne in Germany on July 14.