Bristol Balloon Fiesta
Discussion
I wasn't sure if this was the right place to post, please move if incorrect.
Is anyone going to the fiesta this weekend? I want to go with my family but parking is sold out and were not really sure of alternative places that we can access the event from.
Does anyone know of a park and ride service or nearby car park that would be suitable to use?
Thanks in advance
Is anyone going to the fiesta this weekend? I want to go with my family but parking is sold out and were not really sure of alternative places that we can access the event from.
Does anyone know of a park and ride service or nearby car park that would be suitable to use?
Thanks in advance
You can park up in Clifton around the Downs which is just the other side of the suspension bridge. It is then a nice stroll across the bridge and then into the park.
What time are you going as early morning lift off is more special in my mind but there is lots to see all day before the afternoon lift off as well.
There is also a park and ride just below Ashton park, which is an easy walk but I suspect that will be full anyway.
You could always park in Bristol centre and there is a good bus service up to Clifton from the centre which if you are fit is a couple of mile walk to the park as well.
What time are you going as early morning lift off is more special in my mind but there is lots to see all day before the afternoon lift off as well.
There is also a park and ride just below Ashton park, which is an easy walk but I suspect that will be full anyway.
You could always park in Bristol centre and there is a good bus service up to Clifton from the centre which if you are fit is a couple of mile walk to the park as well.
I hate this time of year 'cause its a nightmare to get home.
Its difficult to park in the Clifton area, most of it is resident parking permits and the Clifton Bridge is shut for pedestrians on a few days so double check you can cross it if you do find somewhere to park in that area
http://www.cliftonbridge.org.uk/planned-closures
Your best bet is to park in the centre of Bristol, if you can actually get there due to the volume of traffic and walk to the "bottom end" of Ashton Court down past the Bristol City Football Stadium. Or look at parking in the Hotwells area
I would even come down the M32 and park in Cabot Circus, 24 hour car park and use one of the buses to Ashton Court.
No doubt Ill have to hit the M32 tonight and queue up with all the idiots that want to see balloons in the dark being ignited out of time to music that echos around Ashton court bowl. To save time and money just sit in one of the pubs up in Clifton over looking the bridge and drink beer.
Its difficult to park in the Clifton area, most of it is resident parking permits and the Clifton Bridge is shut for pedestrians on a few days so double check you can cross it if you do find somewhere to park in that area
http://www.cliftonbridge.org.uk/planned-closures
Your best bet is to park in the centre of Bristol, if you can actually get there due to the volume of traffic and walk to the "bottom end" of Ashton Court down past the Bristol City Football Stadium. Or look at parking in the Hotwells area
I would even come down the M32 and park in Cabot Circus, 24 hour car park and use one of the buses to Ashton Court.
No doubt Ill have to hit the M32 tonight and queue up with all the idiots that want to see balloons in the dark being ignited out of time to music that echos around Ashton court bowl. To save time and money just sit in one of the pubs up in Clifton over looking the bridge and drink beer.
Edited by oldaudi on Thursday 6th August 17:03
They closed the entrances down last night and were turning people away as the site reached capacity very early so plan ahead and get there in good time if you are going.
My Mum lives in Long Ashton so we always have a place to park and approach from the airport road but tbh I've given it a miss for a good number of years now, it's turned into another event that people just get smashed at and act like idiots.
M32 was backed up to Ikea last night at 7pm too, I was trying to get into town for a surprise 30th and only just made the surprise!
My Mum lives in Long Ashton so we always have a place to park and approach from the airport road but tbh I've given it a miss for a good number of years now, it's turned into another event that people just get smashed at and act like idiots.
M32 was backed up to Ikea last night at 7pm too, I was trying to get into town for a surprise 30th and only just made the surprise!
SkySailing said:
Got in this morning with absolutely no traffic at all, very quiet here at the grounds.
Did you get in early enough to see the mass ascent? I went down there on Friday morning with the kids and I think more than a hundred went up. I actually prefer going to the morning ascents as the evening ones get too crowded. I think they closed the site last night as it was full. How many people would need to be in there to fill it up? No not that early, and thank god. Dunno about you but it was the most boring event I've ever been to. Constant waiting around, average displays, nothing todo, too many food stalls.. Was extremely bored. Watched the balloons go and headed for car.
Took two hours to get out the car park but this meant we got to watch MotoGP so it wasn't all bad!
I won't be back next year, it was an utterly disappointing event for us, unfortunately.
Took two hours to get out the car park but this meant we got to watch MotoGP so it wasn't all bad!
I won't be back next year, it was an utterly disappointing event for us, unfortunately.
We went on Saturday (well tried), spent the day in Bristol and followed it up with 2 hours stuck in gridlocked traffic before giving up and heading home.
Glad we did as they turned people away at 6.30 and we were still stuck in a jam 2 miles away then. Forget the bus too, they were stuck in the jams with us.
Real shame and lots of disappointment for the kids but I suspect the organisers were just overwhelmed with the numbers and did what they had to do to keep those already there safe.
Don't think I'll ever go again and at least we got to watch the mass ascent while we were stuck in the traffic.
Glad we did as they turned people away at 6.30 and we were still stuck in a jam 2 miles away then. Forget the bus too, they were stuck in the jams with us.
Real shame and lots of disappointment for the kids but I suspect the organisers were just overwhelmed with the numbers and did what they had to do to keep those already there safe.
Don't think I'll ever go again and at least we got to watch the mass ascent while we were stuck in the traffic.
Blaster72 said:
We went on Saturday (well tried), spent the day in Bristol and followed it up with 2 hours stuck in gridlocked traffic before giving up and heading home.
Glad we did as they turned people away at 6.30 and we were still stuck in a jam 2 miles away then. Forget the bus too, they were stuck in the jams with us.
Real shame and lots of disappointment for the kids but I suspect the organisers were just overwhelmed with the numbers and did what they had to do to keep those already there safe.
Don't think I'll ever go again and at least we got to watch the mass ascent while we were stuck in the traffic.
Yeah, it was a shambles. They should really ticket these events, and hire better organisers because no one would seemed to know what they were doing! Glad we did as they turned people away at 6.30 and we were still stuck in a jam 2 miles away then. Forget the bus too, they were stuck in the jams with us.
Real shame and lots of disappointment for the kids but I suspect the organisers were just overwhelmed with the numbers and did what they had to do to keep those already there safe.
Don't think I'll ever go again and at least we got to watch the mass ascent while we were stuck in the traffic.
This was my first and probably last time going, because I was simply fed up most of the day anyway.
We went to the Balloon Fiesta a few years ago for a day.
A fantastic event.
Would I go again? No. The traffic was crazy.
We queued for nearly 3 hours to get there on a day with the temperature in the 80's. We were in a Convertible with no aircon. Roof up - roof down - roof up - roof down as we queued in the car fumes.
Getting home wasn't much better.
We had pre-booked parking but just couldn't get to it!
A fantastic event.
Would I go again? No. The traffic was crazy.
We queued for nearly 3 hours to get there on a day with the temperature in the 80's. We were in a Convertible with no aircon. Roof up - roof down - roof up - roof down as we queued in the car fumes.
Getting home wasn't much better.
We had pre-booked parking but just couldn't get to it!
Ah sorry I missed this!
Local's tip for next year:
A farmer on Begger Bush Lane opens his feilds up for parking.
Ignore signs saying 'No access to Balloon Fiesta'. Drive across bridge (before 18:00), park on farmers land, walk across golf course.
You'll find all us locals with hampers and champers enjoying a peaceful mass ascent away from the rabble and hotdogs down the bottom!
Local's tip for next year:
A farmer on Begger Bush Lane opens his feilds up for parking.
Ignore signs saying 'No access to Balloon Fiesta'. Drive across bridge (before 18:00), park on farmers land, walk across golf course.
You'll find all us locals with hampers and champers enjoying a peaceful mass ascent away from the rabble and hotdogs down the bottom!
DoubleSix said:
Ah sorry I missed this!
Local's tip for next year:
A farmer on Begger Bush Lane opens his feilds up for parking.
Ignore signs saying 'No access to Balloon Fiesta'. Drive across bridge (before 18:00), park on farmers land, walk across golf course.
You'll find all us locals with hampers and champers enjoying a peaceful mass ascent away from the rabble and hotdogs down the bottom!
Why couldn't I have known this before D: hahaLocal's tip for next year:
A farmer on Begger Bush Lane opens his feilds up for parking.
Ignore signs saying 'No access to Balloon Fiesta'. Drive across bridge (before 18:00), park on farmers land, walk across golf course.
You'll find all us locals with hampers and champers enjoying a peaceful mass ascent away from the rabble and hotdogs down the bottom!
Sorry you had a crap time.
The festival itself is a rather tawdry affair the great unwashed seem to revel in.
Food stalls are awful, nasty 'fun'fair rides and second rate attractions.
It's a shame really as the balloons themselves are fantastic and quite a sight, ditto the night glow.
As such one would be better off by passing all the above rubbish and focusing on the mass ascent - perhaps simply viewing from Clifton and going for a nice meal - or having a picnic on the golf course as I mention above.
Of course the whole thing is free which might explain a lot...
The festival itself is a rather tawdry affair the great unwashed seem to revel in.
Food stalls are awful, nasty 'fun'fair rides and second rate attractions.
It's a shame really as the balloons themselves are fantastic and quite a sight, ditto the night glow.
As such one would be better off by passing all the above rubbish and focusing on the mass ascent - perhaps simply viewing from Clifton and going for a nice meal - or having a picnic on the golf course as I mention above.
Of course the whole thing is free which might explain a lot...
Just go to the morning ascents, well worth it and easy to get in and out. the crowds make the evening ascents and the nightglow difficult to get to and worse to get out of.
Despite some issues with parking and organisation, Its still a fantastic event for which Bristol should be rightfully proud and anyone who says otherwise can get in the sea.
Despite some issues with parking and organisation, Its still a fantastic event for which Bristol should be rightfully proud and anyone who says otherwise can get in the sea.
Obiwonkeyblokey said:
Its still a fantastic event for which Bristol should be rightfully proud and anyone who says otherwise can get in the sea.
I have to agree with DoubleSix I'm afraid. The food stalls naff, and far too many, the attractions and things todo are few and far between. The entertainment during the day is okay, but okay at best, and once you've seen the same act three times, it gets a bit tedious. The balloons themselves were awesome, it's just a shame I had to wait all day, bored out of my mind to see them, and then the heavens opened, which can't be helped.
Doubt I'll be going back anytime soon, but if I do I'll be sure to use the farmers field as getting out of the event was a nightmare.
Obiwonkeyblokey said:
Just go to the morning ascents, well worth it and easy to get in and out. the crowds make the evening ascents and the nightglow difficult to get to and worse to get out of.
Despite some issues with parking and organisation, Its still a fantastic event for which Bristol should be rightfully proud and anyone who says otherwise can get in the sea.
Despite some issues with parking and organisation, Its still a fantastic event for which Bristol should be rightfully proud and anyone who says otherwise can get in the sea.
Nice turn of phrase at the end there! 
Tis true though. As I've said before, we went to the Friday morning mass ascent. Left my house in Oldland at 5.05am and parked at Bedminster CC at 5.30am. Took 20 minutes to walk to the main arena, ten minutes to catch my breath. Balloons started going up around 6.15am till gone 7.00am so we hung around for another half an hour. I had to go to work in Aztec West and having left the cricket club at around 7.50am, I was at Aztec at 8.15am on the dot.
No queues and we saw 103 balloons. Yes, I was half asleep come mid morning but I didn't have any food there, the fair rides weren't open and most people were too knackered to even think about causing trouble.
ETA: The local radio did a piece on this on Monday morning. Someone rang in and suggested the event should be a week long so as to spread the half a million visitors over six or seven days instead of 3-4 days.
Edited by GloverMart on Wednesday 12th August 00:40
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