Want to get a taste of things to come? We have updated the balloons booked to attend page showing you a selection of balloons that will be at the 2012 Northampton Balloon Festival.

Please note, special shape balloons are even more weather dependant than standard shape balloons.

Northampton Balloon Festival

With only 6 months left to go until The Northampton Balloon Festival 2012 kicks off, the 2012 balloonist application forms are now available to download.

The event takes place between Friday 17th to Sunday 19th August 2012 at Billing Aquadrome for the 4th time.

Keep your eyes peeled on the website over the coming months as news is announced and as balloon entries are confirmed.

Download here

The 2012 event will take place between 17-19 August at Billing Aquadrome

We are still sifting through the hundreds of e-mails we recieved during the weekend with all of your fantastic photographs, we hope to have the 2011 galleries online in the next day or so.

Several Balloons braved the windy conditions on Friday evening and around 20 balloons flew Saturday morning and evening.

The nightglow was a huge sucess on Saturday evening with thousands in attendance and for the first time at Billing Aquadrom we had Balloons inflated during the glow.

About 15 balloons took off between the Showers on Sunday morning heading towards the east of Northamptonshire.

The next pilot briefing is at 6pm, remember, if you have any pictures from this years event, please e-mail them to web@thenorthamptonballoonfestival.co.uk

With light surface winds taking the balloons to the south east of the county, it really was a sight to see.

If you have any pictures from the morning please email them to web@thenorthamptonballoonfestival.co.uk and we will get them on the website.

The next pilot briefing is at 18:00

Have you ever wondered why Balloons only fly first  thing in the morning or a few hours before sunset? Or what sort of fuel does the Balloon use to keep it in the air?

Well look no further, we have put together a Frequently Asked Questions page to give you some inside knowledge of how ballooning works.

Daily admission rates for 19th / 20th / 21st August to include both shows

Pedestrians Adults £5
Child 5-15 yrs £2.50
Vehicles (all prices include passengers and secure parking)
Car (up to 5 people max) £10 (reduced from £15)
MPV (Up to 8 people max) £25
Camping Pitches available for the w/e starting at £70 inc admission charges

The annual event, in its 22nd year, will be held at Billing Aquadrome for the third time.

Around 40,000 visitors are expected to watch the twice daily spectacle of the balloons launching into the sky over the three days.

Balloons have been launching over the past few weekends over the skies of Northampton in preparation for the festival between Friday, August 19 and Sunday, August 21.

A highlight of the festival will include a ‘balloon glow’ on the Saturday night when the balloons will turn into giant lanterns tethered to the ground for a display put to music.

Mark Johnson, operations manager at Billing Aquadrome, said: “We’ve been building up to the festival over the last few weeks by sending balloons into the sky and raising awareness, and will continue to do so until the festival.

“The balloonists can only go up in good weather, but even if unfortunately they can’t, there will still be lots to do at the park.

“The fantastic balloons in all shapes and sizes will be tethered to the ground with their owners on hand to talk about them and explain all the facts and science behind ballooning.

“It’s a great event for families and balloon enthusiasts and a wonderful spectacle.

“Billing Aquadrome is very excited to be hosting it again, we think the location really adds to the atmosphere of the event.

“We’ve got our fingers crossed for the weather and hope to attract about 40,000 people.”

An American classic car rally will also be held over the weekend at the park, where families were able to enjoy a funfair and many of the park’s attractions.

Balloon pilots and crews were also on hand to run daily demonstrations and to talk about ballooning.

The daily launches will be from 6am and 6pm each day depending on the weather, but each balloonist is hoping to fly.

Last year the balloons were only able to fly on the Sunday in front of a crowd of tens of thousands.

Source: Northampton Chronicle and Echo

It shows a selection of the Balloons that are to take to the skies of Northampton (weather depending of course!) between 19-21 August 2011.

Taking part this year is the popular Palletways Dragon Shape balloon, BT, New Holland Agriculture and Omega Resources Balloons just to name a few!

Why not take a look for yourself here

Remember, the whole event will be kept updated on twitter @officialnbf