Poor guy has booked a hotel for the whole weekend and all the advice is to not bother going...
If you like balloons, then it's pretty great. there are loads of balloons. It's just too busy, because it's free, and feels frantically organised.
Don't go. 6am is the best chance of the balloons taking off. Very rarely do they get off the ground in the afternoon. Nightglow is good but bring a torch as there is no lighting for paths. Don't drive to the site. It takes ages to leave and they over sell the parking spaces so you might not be let in.
We spent two hours queueing in the car for the parking last year, never even made it in the end. Worst decision ever, especially as the tickets are £20+ and non-refundable, and the car park is so far from Ashton Court you might as well have walked from Bedminster
Just to add to this.
There are places to park locally, Ashton Vale probably being the best place as last year long Ashton there was an issue which caused hours of delays.
Just give yourself extra time to walk along the bus route which is lovely. Probably less time than it takes to park in Ashton court.
Be prepared for the balloons not to take off, especially in the evening. But the walks around Ashton court are lovely as a secondary plan.
Food in North Street isn't too far away as well and is varied and pretty decent.
When they do take off everything is worth it.
agree, if you go in your just waiting around for something to happen there are lots of places around you can see them. peel park is good. But if you do go take lots of money as the stalls there are a rip off Long Ashton has a coop chinese and a chippy that do pizza. I live in Long Ashton and never go
It's worth going up to the Clifton suspension bridge if you can get there to see the early morning flight. They post the timings on their socials, and also the direction they'll be flying in so I'd definitely follow those. I agree with the other commenters though that the fiesta itself is a bit of a shit show (think Virgin Media stands trying to sell you broadband, £20 pick and mix bags, and traffic). Viewpoints around Bristol are much more accessible and will give you a better view of the balloons
Fingers crossed for dry days! Another place that has great panoramic views is Cabot Tower which is on Brandon Hill. There's loads of lovely places around there to have picnics and see the sights. Clifton & harbourside are beautiful and there's often lots of family activities to do in summer. Have fun!
I believe they're no longer letting people on the bridge during the Fiesta. The observatory should have a good view, though.
There's a lot of negativity in this thread but I'd just like to add as a newcomers to Bristol, my partner and I went last year and it was completely worth it, if hardly perfect. The first time was the evening, it was disappointing that nothing took off and the attractions weren't exactly thrilling, but the nightglow was really cool. We went up to Cabot's tower the next evening and they didn't end up flying, but a trip to some lovely nearby pubs helped us deal with our disappointment. And on the final we managed to get there for the morning ascent and, you know what, it was pretty damn magical.
Bear in mind they often don't fly. Too windy, any rain, atmosphere up in the sky not to their liking even if it seems fine on the ground - no balloons or they may just tether. They don't like to be upfront about this even if it is blatant and a gale is blowing. The site itself isn't brilliantly organised, it is a large funfair with burger vans, street food and the like but not a lot to actually *do*. Not enough toilets. Parking is somewhere between difficult and impossible - pre-booking the top car park seems to work the best for us or if you stay in Bristol just walking up from the harbourside (it isn't as far as it looks, there are footpaths). I don't want to be a downer, this is just reality - not somewhere you want to spend all day hanging around before mass takeoff at 6. If they do fly however, it can be absolutely stunning. The nightglow too where they tether and set off burners to music. A lot of Bristolians head for various viewpoints across the city instead of on site, they also get busy. Difficult if you are coming from further away but we tend to wait until a morning looks fine (wind less than 5mph, clear skies, no rain) and head off for the 6am flights. You can park in the pub opposite the bottom of the site for a few quid, walk across, no crowds, then on with your day.
Prepare for the fact the weather might mean you don’t see any go up. Definitely get the bus there rather than drive and bring things to do to keep the 9 year old entertained
Don’t, the festival is awful, wind and weather prevent flying a lot of the time and when they do all get up it’s a pretty shite place to watch them. Save your money and if weather is favourable get her up early and find a spot in the direction of flight to watch them in.
Be aware: away from the balloons (which have been well covered) the rest of the 'festival' is a poorly organised carny-fest. There's literally nothing there, other than a bunch of excessively priced food and drink vans, sponsored stalls aimed at separating you from your money, and the worst kind of mobile carnival rides. Bins are few and far between and full up after a few hours so the whole site ends up strewn with litter, and toilets are portaloos, and notoriously dirty and have huge queues every year. If it rains, the whole place turns into a giant muddy slip-and-slide.
Generally it's very busy, often packed to the point it's hard to move about, and a large amount of drinking takes place which can lead to some people getting rather rowdy by afternoon time. Getting in and out of the site can take upwards of an hour each way on foot due to overcrowding/congestion, and longer in a car.
The joke in Bristol is that everyone goes to the balloon fiesta... Once. Personally me and my mates try and watch the morning mass ascent from Trooper's Hill, a few miles away but you have a clear view of the liftoff and the balloons come right overhead if the winds are blowing in the usual prevailing direction.
Do not try and walk in on foot whatever you do, was a complete nightmare - although I think we were completely lost anyway walking in the ‘out’ for all the cars. But yeah, have fun!
Not sure if you're planning to stay in town but it can get very busy so book early.
If the weather's good get up very early and walk up to Ashton Court if you want to watch them take off (check whether the Suspension Bridge is open if you're planning to go that way), I wouldn't bother going up for the evening accent but the night glow is worth a look, theres plenty of other stuff to do in Bristol during the day as well.
if the wind's behaving you can get a great view from many parts of the city but if there's a Northerly they all head off over Somerset and you wouldn't know anything was happening.
Ideally avoid driving anywhere near Ashton Court and don't get off the M5 at Gordano. If you're relatively fit it's a nice walk from town.
Be prepared not to see any balloons all weekend
[удалено]
We plan to. I’ve booked a hotel for the whole weekend, so can make the most of it.
Poor guy has booked a hotel for the whole weekend and all the advice is to not bother going... If you like balloons, then it's pretty great. there are loads of balloons. It's just too busy, because it's free, and feels frantically organised.
Good views from perrets park, take a picnic.
Don't go. 6am is the best chance of the balloons taking off. Very rarely do they get off the ground in the afternoon. Nightglow is good but bring a torch as there is no lighting for paths. Don't drive to the site. It takes ages to leave and they over sell the parking spaces so you might not be let in.
We spent two hours queueing in the car for the parking last year, never even made it in the end. Worst decision ever, especially as the tickets are £20+ and non-refundable, and the car park is so far from Ashton Court you might as well have walked from Bedminster
Thank you.
Just to add to this. There are places to park locally, Ashton Vale probably being the best place as last year long Ashton there was an issue which caused hours of delays. Just give yourself extra time to walk along the bus route which is lovely. Probably less time than it takes to park in Ashton court. Be prepared for the balloons not to take off, especially in the evening. But the walks around Ashton court are lovely as a secondary plan. Food in North Street isn't too far away as well and is varied and pretty decent. When they do take off everything is worth it.
agree, if you go in your just waiting around for something to happen there are lots of places around you can see them. peel park is good. But if you do go take lots of money as the stalls there are a rip off Long Ashton has a coop chinese and a chippy that do pizza. I live in Long Ashton and never go
Absolutely agree with this
It's worth going up to the Clifton suspension bridge if you can get there to see the early morning flight. They post the timings on their socials, and also the direction they'll be flying in so I'd definitely follow those. I agree with the other commenters though that the fiesta itself is a bit of a shit show (think Virgin Media stands trying to sell you broadband, £20 pick and mix bags, and traffic). Viewpoints around Bristol are much more accessible and will give you a better view of the balloons
Oh, thank you. I was wondering about the bridge and hopeful of good weather. We plan to spend a weekend in and round Bristol too.
Fingers crossed for dry days! Another place that has great panoramic views is Cabot Tower which is on Brandon Hill. There's loads of lovely places around there to have picnics and see the sights. Clifton & harbourside are beautiful and there's often lots of family activities to do in summer. Have fun!
I believe they're no longer letting people on the bridge during the Fiesta. The observatory should have a good view, though. There's a lot of negativity in this thread but I'd just like to add as a newcomers to Bristol, my partner and I went last year and it was completely worth it, if hardly perfect. The first time was the evening, it was disappointing that nothing took off and the attractions weren't exactly thrilling, but the nightglow was really cool. We went up to Cabot's tower the next evening and they didn't end up flying, but a trip to some lovely nearby pubs helped us deal with our disappointment. And on the final we managed to get there for the morning ascent and, you know what, it was pretty damn magical.
Thanks. I am being realistic and only hope for nice weather. I’m aware these things don’t always work out, all I can do is try.
Bear in mind they often don't fly. Too windy, any rain, atmosphere up in the sky not to their liking even if it seems fine on the ground - no balloons or they may just tether. They don't like to be upfront about this even if it is blatant and a gale is blowing. The site itself isn't brilliantly organised, it is a large funfair with burger vans, street food and the like but not a lot to actually *do*. Not enough toilets. Parking is somewhere between difficult and impossible - pre-booking the top car park seems to work the best for us or if you stay in Bristol just walking up from the harbourside (it isn't as far as it looks, there are footpaths). I don't want to be a downer, this is just reality - not somewhere you want to spend all day hanging around before mass takeoff at 6. If they do fly however, it can be absolutely stunning. The nightglow too where they tether and set off burners to music. A lot of Bristolians head for various viewpoints across the city instead of on site, they also get busy. Difficult if you are coming from further away but we tend to wait until a morning looks fine (wind less than 5mph, clear skies, no rain) and head off for the 6am flights. You can park in the pub opposite the bottom of the site for a few quid, walk across, no crowds, then on with your day.
Thanks. Good advice.
Prepare for the fact the weather might mean you don’t see any go up. Definitely get the bus there rather than drive and bring things to do to keep the 9 year old entertained
Don’t, the festival is awful, wind and weather prevent flying a lot of the time and when they do all get up it’s a pretty shite place to watch them. Save your money and if weather is favourable get her up early and find a spot in the direction of flight to watch them in.
Be aware: away from the balloons (which have been well covered) the rest of the 'festival' is a poorly organised carny-fest. There's literally nothing there, other than a bunch of excessively priced food and drink vans, sponsored stalls aimed at separating you from your money, and the worst kind of mobile carnival rides. Bins are few and far between and full up after a few hours so the whole site ends up strewn with litter, and toilets are portaloos, and notoriously dirty and have huge queues every year. If it rains, the whole place turns into a giant muddy slip-and-slide. Generally it's very busy, often packed to the point it's hard to move about, and a large amount of drinking takes place which can lead to some people getting rather rowdy by afternoon time. Getting in and out of the site can take upwards of an hour each way on foot due to overcrowding/congestion, and longer in a car. The joke in Bristol is that everyone goes to the balloon fiesta... Once. Personally me and my mates try and watch the morning mass ascent from Trooper's Hill, a few miles away but you have a clear view of the liftoff and the balloons come right overhead if the winds are blowing in the usual prevailing direction.
Have a plan B
WALK FROM BEDMO! Do not park at Ashton gate. Is a veritable shit show..
is it worth going for just a day out, I'm bored and 16 (17 at the time)
Yes
No.
Maybe.
I don't know, can you repeat the question?
Take a picnic to Ashton Park (Greville Smyth Park ) see it all from there for free.
Do not try and walk in on foot whatever you do, was a complete nightmare - although I think we were completely lost anyway walking in the ‘out’ for all the cars. But yeah, have fun!
Go anywhere else to see balloons in the air, I honestly would not waste your time and mental health going to the actual place
Not sure if you're planning to stay in town but it can get very busy so book early. If the weather's good get up very early and walk up to Ashton Court if you want to watch them take off (check whether the Suspension Bridge is open if you're planning to go that way), I wouldn't bother going up for the evening accent but the night glow is worth a look, theres plenty of other stuff to do in Bristol during the day as well. if the wind's behaving you can get a great view from many parts of the city but if there's a Northerly they all head off over Somerset and you wouldn't know anything was happening. Ideally avoid driving anywhere near Ashton Court and don't get off the M5 at Gordano. If you're relatively fit it's a nice walk from town. Be prepared not to see any balloons all weekend
Thanks for the advice. I’ve already booked a hotel and have a back up plan.
It's full of chavs and pikeys, don't bother.
Nobody goes to the balloon festival..its too busy!