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Sudeley Castle Ballooning Grand Prix boasts to be the third largest balloon gathering in the UK this year. This event was held over the 14th – 16th June.
With around 50 balloons confirmed it was going to be a great sight in the skies above the Gloucestershire countryside.

Pilots from around the world attended including Nick Donner, ranked 3rd in the world, and Dr David Bareford, twice world champion and 3 times European champion. I went along on Saturday about lunch time to see what was happening and I have to say not a lot balloon wise so we had a look around the castle grounds which was very pleasant. It was advertised as events going on in the arena with flights from £10 in a tethered balloon, but no not a thing.

The crowds started gathering around 6pm for the evening launch only for the weather to be a little breezy with a very light rain shower. We enjoyed watching a wedding that was taking place to pass the time, then it was announced that the Somerfield balloon parachute team was setting off a few miles away hoping and succeeding to parachute into the arena. This was about 8 pm, in the meantime the announcer over the tannoy kept saying they were hopeful of a launch but were just waiting for a weather front to pass over. Then at about 7.45 pm the trailers came out and at 8.15pm around 34 balloons launched on what turned out to be very pleasant evening.

The Gordon Ramsey balloon took off and put a marker down a few miles away, with the rest following hoping to drop their streamers as close to it as possible.

On the Sunday I arrived at about 6.15 am with about 40 other spotters to be told that the balloons were going to launch from a school field about a mile away and fly over the castle to drop their streamers on a target laid out in front of us. It was a lovely morning with the sun shining. At about 6.30 am the first balloons flew over with around 41 in total.

I have to say apart from the weather on the Saturday evening which delayed the launch by an hour or so it was a great event and well worth a visit if they do it again next year.





CLICK HERE TO VIEW DAVE SALISBURY'S PHOTOS FROM SUDELEY CASTLE