Ballooning has long had deep roots in Bristol, going all the way back to the 1960's.
Inspired by advancements over the pond in the USA by Ed Yost, a group of members of the Bristol Gliding Club were inspired to build and fly their very own hot air balloon.
One of these members was Don Cameron, who went onto form the iconic Cameron Balloons. Now recognised as the largest hot air balloon manufacturer in the world, the company still to this day has its home base in Bedminster, Bristol.
The group worked together to build the now famous Bristol Belle, the first modern hot air balloon in the Britain. Completed in 1967, media covered the first flight of this new marvel. It was far from the last time that the Bristol Belle would capture the imagination of the nation and media. It took part in many more famous flights, including one off of HMS Ark Royal's deck and landing on Malta!
In 1979, the first Bristol Balloon Fiesta took place from Ashton Court Estate with 27 balloon teams attending from all over the world to take part. The increasingly popular Fiesta grew rapidly with the number of balloons increasing year-on-year. Within a few years the city of Bristol was globally recognised as the epicentre of hot air ballooning and the Fiesta became one of the city's most popular summer events. Each summer the sky over Bristol would be filled with balloons of many weird and wonderful shapes and sizes could be seen gracing the skies. Special shape balloons such as Rupert Bear (now with the collection), Caramel Bunny (also now with the collection) and the Scottish Bag Piper further added public appeal bringing thousands of spectators to Ashton Court to witness these marvellous creations take flight. The fiesta continues to this day.
Many of the balloons in our collection have their own personal history with our local area of Bath and Bristol. Some were locally based and flown frequently over the city, some merely visited our Fiestas over the years. Most of the collection now are sadly no longer airworthy and do not fly, but we enjoy continuing to celebrate the history of ballooning in Bristol by inflating and displaying these old friends!
Inspired by advancements over the pond in the USA by Ed Yost, a group of members of the Bristol Gliding Club were inspired to build and fly their very own hot air balloon.
One of these members was Don Cameron, who went onto form the iconic Cameron Balloons. Now recognised as the largest hot air balloon manufacturer in the world, the company still to this day has its home base in Bedminster, Bristol.
The group worked together to build the now famous Bristol Belle, the first modern hot air balloon in the Britain. Completed in 1967, media covered the first flight of this new marvel. It was far from the last time that the Bristol Belle would capture the imagination of the nation and media. It took part in many more famous flights, including one off of HMS Ark Royal's deck and landing on Malta!
In 1979, the first Bristol Balloon Fiesta took place from Ashton Court Estate with 27 balloon teams attending from all over the world to take part. The increasingly popular Fiesta grew rapidly with the number of balloons increasing year-on-year. Within a few years the city of Bristol was globally recognised as the epicentre of hot air ballooning and the Fiesta became one of the city's most popular summer events. Each summer the sky over Bristol would be filled with balloons of many weird and wonderful shapes and sizes could be seen gracing the skies. Special shape balloons such as Rupert Bear (now with the collection), Caramel Bunny (also now with the collection) and the Scottish Bag Piper further added public appeal bringing thousands of spectators to Ashton Court to witness these marvellous creations take flight. The fiesta continues to this day.
Many of the balloons in our collection have their own personal history with our local area of Bath and Bristol. Some were locally based and flown frequently over the city, some merely visited our Fiestas over the years. Most of the collection now are sadly no longer airworthy and do not fly, but we enjoy continuing to celebrate the history of ballooning in Bristol by inflating and displaying these old friends!