Balloon Fiesta – August - www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk

My ideal breakfast time is 11am so when I suggest sleeping in the car for a 5am start, my husband laughs. My teenage daughter amuses me when she develops a sudden enthusiasm for hot air balloons, invites herself along and falls asleep long before we stop for an extended snooze en-route.

Having done my homework, I pre-book parking in the grounds of a stately home, Ashton Court. As we follow others down a sweeping path the air is very fresh, but I can smell fried onions and hotdogs. I watch red deer grazing nearby envying their fur coats and vegetarian diet.

The grounds cover over 340 hectares (850 acres) and in the half light the festival field seems truly vast and very lightly populated. Like a huge patchwork quilt the balloons are stretched out flat, surrounded by fairground rides, trees and trade stalls. Dark trees on the far hillside contrast with a vivid orange ‘Big Wheel’ & barber shop coloured helter-skelter.

To read more... email me on:

brightpower_uk@yahoo.co.uk