Sports Listings / Ballooning: Bristol International Fiesta - Ashton Court

The Unipart Bristol Fiesta this weekend is the largest hot-air balloon festival in Europe. The balloons will take off in the early morning and evening when the air is cooler, thus avoiding the turbulence a warmer atmosphere creates. During the day, some of the 147-strong entry will be tethered for public display. The modern generation of computer-designed balloons allows for magnificent shapes. Top hats, dragons, Beethoven's head and Rupert Bear, the tallest balloon in the world at 147ft, are among some of the different shapes on show.

How to get there: Ashton Court public park is across the Clifton Suspension Bridge, west of Bristol. Admission and parking: free.