The South West is the original home of ballooning. The first modern hot air balloon flights took place in Bristol in the 1960s, igniting a magical tradition that would travel the world.

Following our heritage, hot air ballooning is an integral part of the show. You can get up close and watch them take off around you, or take flight yourself and observe the show from a bird’s eye view – a truly unique way to experience the festival. Whether you’re watching from the field or looking down from the basket, it’s a chance to behold the rolling festival grounds, and the festival you helped shape from somewhere new. 

Flights last anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the weather conditions. Part of the joy is the mystery of not knowing where you’re going to end up. You’ll ascend to somewhere between 2,500 and 5,000 ft above sea level – in the space of an hour you’ll have been 5x higher than The Shard in London!

You can purchase hot air balloon flights on our tickets page when tickets go on sale in January.