I have lived in Bristol since 2009 but never made it across to Ashton Court (where I parkrun every week) to actually look at the balloon fiesta. I had been warned off by dire tales of being stuck in the car park for two hours trying to get out, but this year took the shuttle bus from Temple Meads out and back. I’ve been to balloon festivals before and this seemed the standard stuff: some balloons, a massive fairground, and in the evening an inability of balloon pilots to identify a beat in a piece of music, just on a larger scale. I didn’t get to see a mass ascent though, so when 100 balloons all go up in rapid succession I imagine it is pretty impressive (but I am not getting up in time for the 6am one and the 6pm one on the busier days is going to be just too busy for me).

My nephew seemed to enjoy it, which was rather the point, and the weather cooperated for photographs (click on the daisy for more).