We were honoured to welcome the BT 2012 Olympic balloon - one of its first events. And we were very
fortunate that it and 4 other balloons were able to fly on the Friday evening, just after 7 o’clock.

The weather forecast was for a mainly pleasant weekend, but the aviation data indicated that there would be strong breezes - even quite strong winds. Against the odds, at around 7.30, the breeze died and the balloon crews rushed from the pilots’ conference to unload, set up and inflate their craft. The word went round: “They’re up!” and people arrived in the park in haste, or climbed our War Memorial Hill, overlooking Strathaven and its mediaeval castle, or hung eagerly out of rooftop windows. Traffic on the surrounding road stopped and everywhere, folk scanned the evening sky. What a sight!

Gently, one after the other, the huge hot air balloons lifted gently up above the town and flew over the treetops, the East Church and the War Memorial, heading down beautiful Avondale, following the Avon Water, towards Stonehouse and beyond. For most, it was a pleasant evening’s flight, lasting just over an hour, before the gradually-weakening evening light meant that the pilots had to look for a suitable landing place. For one crew, however, the experience lasted longer, their balloon eventually landing some distance from any road accessible to their pursuit vehicle - or any farmhouse. It was after midnight before they returned to base .....

Saturday and Sunday conditions were windy, unfortunately, though the weather was mainly bright and dry, and huge crowds came along to the Family Fun Days. There was so much to see and do, the Fun Day programmes and surrounding stalls, entertainments and our Classic Vehicle Show giving plenty of choice and enjoyment, in and around the arena and on stage. Several hot air balloon crews set up their baskets and burners to let everyone see how this is done and many a youngster had the chance to be lifted into a basket for that perfect photo or video. Great excitement when the burners flared! The breeze meant that it would have been dangerous to inflate and tether any of the balloons, unfortunately, so we did not see them in full glory.

Would the Saturday evening afford us any calmer air for our famous Glow?

As darkness fell, just after 9 o’clock, our fingers were becoming sore, being crossed for so long. The wind was still gusting .... Finally, 3 crews decided to take a chance - a carefully-calculated decision - unloaded their balloons, tethered them extra-securely, and began to inflate them. The other crews lent a hand, to keep the aircraft stable, as the crowd of over 4,000 watched, intently. And then they were up, bobbing around on the tethering ropes! The envelopes glowed brightly, and around the arena the remaining crews flared their burners - our spectacle was in progress. As we watched, however, we could see that the balloons were lurching violently, the ground crews struggling to hold them steady, an impossible task, aware that a big gust could destabilise a balloon altogether and even cause it to lift one of the heavy vehicles being used as anchors. First one, then another balloon envelope lost shape, as their pilots reduced air and began to deflate them, for safety. Yet Don Cameron, whom many regard as the father of modern hot air ballooning, and his crew kept their balloon inflated for as long as they dared, before finally bowing to the conditions.

It had been a remarkable spectacle - and a reminder of just how powerful a hot air balloon can be.

An afterthought: almost 1,000 miles to the south, in France, a major hot air balloon festival was scheduled for the same weekend as ours. Our French ballooning enthusiasts can normally rely upon better weather conditions than ours, of course. Yet as we heaved a sigh of relief, reflecting upon the success of our own Festival, with flights on the Friday evening, we learned that we had been very fortunate indeed, as the reports from France came in:

“Pas de vol, vent trop fort! Nous attendons que la pluie cesse ….”

What a shame, after all their hard work. The success of any hot air balloon event depends upon the weather.