Evening flight

balloons popping out of the trees like smarties. (This was taken from      1 1/2 miles away.) The two red brick buildings are old Wills tobacco factories and just below them are little old cottages for workers that looked after the locks, sluices and bridges in the Docks.  The Balloon Festival held at Ashton Court is certainly somewhere that I would take out of town visitors if they come on the second weekend of August every year.  It starts on the Thursday evening with the 'glow' - many tethered balloons light up in the dark to music and then there are fireworks.  Mass ascents happen at 6am and 6pm (depending on the weather) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (104 balloons up together this year.) The 'glow' and firework display are repeated on Saturday night and many thousands attend.  There are demonstrations in the main arena, flying displays,  music,  hundreds of stalls to investigate, fairground entertainment too and some visitors camp out for the whole weekend