Up, up and - almost - away

Finally - time to take off

BBC News Online's Bryony Jones tries her hand at hot air ballooning for the first time at Bristol's International Balloon Fiesta.

The smell of damp grass, strong coffee and barbecued breakfasts wafts across the field towards me as I make my way between the half-unpacked balloons, huge baskets and four-wheel-drive vehicles.

The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is one of the biggest events in the city's calendar and, despite the painfully early hour (0530BST), hundreds of people are already up and about.

Old ballooning comrades greet each other with hugs as warm as the day's weather promises to be as they busy themselves preparing their kit for their flights.

There is one ominous sign though - mist is masking anything but the immediate view across the Fiesta site.

Heavy mist

Thursday's early morning flight did not happen because of this mist, and things are not looking promising.

I introduce myself to my pilot, Lenny Vaughan, who heads off to his briefing, returning to break the news that we won't be able to take off until at least 0630 BST because of that dreaded mist.

"We can't go until we are sure it is clearing and not thickening," he explains. "We need 3km of visibility and at the moment we only have 1km.

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"As it is, it could turn into fog, and ballooning in fog is scary stuff - it is not an option. That is one of the few rules everybody sticks to."

But everyone is still hopeful - balloons are beginning to be filled, and there are coffees all round to ward off any early morning drowsiness.

Lenny, who has been flying balloons for 15 years, senses that I am somewhat nervous about taking my first flight in something a little less substantial than a jumbo jet, and sets about putting my mind at rest.

He tells me how the balloon itself is made, explaining that the fabric is designed not to tear under pressure or catch fire in the heat.

And that despite years of research, no modern material has been found that works better in balloon baskets than good old-fashioned wicker.

Blasts of flame

The sight (and deafening sound) of more and more balloons being inflated in the field around me soon takes my mind off my nerves.

I am quickly surrounded by brightly-coloured walls of fabric and blasts of flame from the burners as the sun begins to rise above the site.

There is a moment of excitement as we wait for more news of the weather conditions when some of the cast members from Bristol-based drama series Casualty arrive and start running around inside the balloon as it is being filled.

Balloons of all colours and shapes are taking part in the fiesta

Lenny - a former professional balloonist who used to fly a beer can shaped craft - gives them a guided tour, though how they can hear anything over the noise of the burners is anyone's guess.

Then the news comes through - the mist is getting worse, not better, and the morning take-off is cancelled.

Seeing my disappointment, Lenny offers to take me up in the balloon on a tether, which will at least allow me to get off the ground.

He and his colleague Tim help me into the basket, and its ropes are tied firmly to a nearby four-wheel-drive vehicle and another balloon.

Then, slowly but surely, we are off.

It all happens so gradually I barely notice at first, within seconds there is a definite gap between us and the ground.

All too soon though - just as I am getting a taste for ballooning - we reach the end of the rope, and the end of the ride.

After a couple of minutes admiring the view - which is mostly of other balloons (and that horrible mist), we head back down to earth - not with a bang, but with a gentle thud.

With luck I will get just a little bit further off the ground next time.