Up up and away at Bristol Balloon Festival

It literally is a case of up up and away as dozens of hot air balloons take to the sky at Europe’s largest hot air ballooning festival held in the British city of Bristol each August and provides an ideal fun day out if you are holidaying in the UK during the summer.

Now in its 36th year, this event spans over four days and it is free! Over 150 hot air balloons some in quirky designs take off from Ashton Court Estate from sunrise and on at least two days of the festival the night skies are lit up by the famous nightglows when the balloons take to the skies in the night creating a beautiful display of balloons emanating an orange glow, dotting the dark skyline. During the Nightglows, 30 ballooning teams take centre stage whilst the tethered balloons are lit up at night fall to a backdrop of amazing fireworks and music.

There is also a display by the world famous Red Arrows which is well worth seeing. In addition there are fairground rides, food stalls and an entertainment arena. So high is its popularity that this event attracts close upon half a million visitors during the four day event.

The mass ascents provide spectacular viewing as this is the only place in the world that you will see so many balloons go up all at once, the only other place being in Alburquerque in the US. The ballooning festival provides the opportunity to see first hand the high level of skill needed by the pilots to successfully navigate the balloons in a crowded sky.

Ballooning teams gather from all over the world at the Bristol Ballooning Festival and compete to see who can fly the furthest. In the past balloons have taken the form of Rupert the Bear, The Scottish Piper, a Kiwi Bird from New Zealand and even a minion with each team trying to create a novel balloon each year.

This year the ballooning festival runs from 7th-10th of August and do try and include it in your holiday itinerary.

Text and Photos by Tina Edward Gunawardhana