Bristol Balloon Festival

Finally this year I made it up to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Bristol!  Mass gatherings of pretty much anything are pretty exciting (except spiders in your bedroom) and I was so looking forward to seeing colourful balloons floating around in a sky dance.

*A little balloon fact for you: In 1783 the first ever balloon ride took place, and the lucky passengers who went along to test it out were a sheep, a duck and a chicken.*

My balloon experience started early.  5.30am early.  Practically the middle of the night early!  After a mis-directed walk along the side of the motorway thanks to Google Maps I found the field where all the balloons were getting ready for the 6am ascent.  The weather and light at that time in the morning was perfect and the sky had just the right amount of clouds in.  Over 70 balloons were being filled with hot hot flames whilst people were pulling the ropes attached to leverage them off the ground from deflated to inflated.

All of a sudden, and so silently a balloon popped out of the middle of the balloon jungle and rose up above the field!  It was beautiful, and the 'loon floated off in the direction of the rising sun.  From then it was like a domino effect where you'd look up and see another balloon rising out of its balloon family and into the sky, and for the next half an hour or so the field of onlookers were transfixed by the colourful party in the sky. Where the balloons ended up I'm not quite sure, and I didn't see them around Bristol for the rest of the day so maybe if you look out your window...well, maybe...