Northampton Balloon Festival Northampton reviews by real event-goers

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Great event especially when even a few balloons went up which I know isn’t always guaranteed! Very exciting and nostalgic! I used to go as a youngster and the first time I took my own children! They also enjoyed the fair! Only downside… prices of fair were mind blowingly expensive! Two kids £10 for hook a frog! 😫 they only went on a couple of things because if this!
Apart from that a fantastic event!

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

It was good to see this back after 14 years of it being away from Northampton was good price to get in and parking but prices of food and drinks were high and I liked the craft tent but should of had more.
Plus it should of been bigger years ago it took up the whole of the park

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Prices were high as compared to other events we been to. Also there were no Halal or vegetarian option for food. When asked an organiser/helper , his comments were “no fake food” which seems inter racial intolerance.

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

A good day out with the kids, but traffic was really bad because a road to it was closed

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

The parking and entry price were very steep for what was actually available. Next time more planning should be done for parking. There should be more on offer such as workshops from local artists and musicians etc, some live music and a better variety of stalls.

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Wouldn’t go again and certainly wouldn’t recommend. Entry price was fine but rides and food were a complete rip off.

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Well what can I say that hasn't been said it was a shambles we live 20mins away yet sat in traffic around the race course for almost 3 hours as all roads were closed off so was directed all round back streets we also had brought tickets online. But we had enough with 2 boys stuck in the back of the car weturned round and just went home the council /organisers should be ashamed we not bother next if there is even a next time if I could it would get zero stars from me and my family

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Was really pleased it was back at the Racecourse and you know you take a punt with the weather, but it was really expensive when you got inside £5 for an icecream and the rides were similar. Not many stalls like there used to be and I only spotted one bar. You couldn’t really see the shows in the ‘arena’ unless you were at the front. Could be so much better.

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

It was absolute rubbish. Just a glorified fairground. One balloon flapping about on the ground the whole time we were there - if you are not there for the early or late session there is no point calling it a balloon festival as there is nothing at all there related to balloons. As many other reviewers have said, access to the site was a nightmare. Fairground was as you would expect. Food options awful. What a waste of money - will not return.

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

This was just the same as the town festival run by generic event company with very little to do with Northamptonshire. How they get away with the fake Mr Whippy ice cream vans at so expensive prices I don’t know.

In the old days companies from Northamptonshire were involved and had a good presence. Wouldn’t go again unless more involvement from the local businesses and communities.

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

The logistics of the event were chaotic. Getting in traffic was seriously backed up. Then once in the park it was held up again to pay for parking. Noone had any idea where the disabled parking was. When we got to the gate for pre-paid tickets the tickets weren't checked or scanned. The idea of the event is nice however the extremely "hilly" terrain is a nightmare for wheelchair users. There were no staff to ask about viewing areas for disabled for the shows and people were 10 feet deep making it impossible to view any of them . We didn't stay for the fireworks as I could see that leaving was going to take hours because of the nightmare parking situation. We were parked about 200 yds from the exit and it still took 40 min to exit the park at 7:30. Dread to think how long it would have taken after the fireworks.

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

What a disappointing experience. Having attended in previous years we were looking forward to a visit to the festival now back on the racecourse site, and being able to introduce our grandchildren to the event after taking our children years ago. Driving into the town there was no signage giving directions and just closed roads due to roadworks (which must have been approved by the Council despite knowing the event was happening at the same time). Having travelled nearly an hour to get to Northampton already, we were then in gridlocked traffic for nearly two hours. By the time we could access the parking and event, we had missed all of the shows! Hoping we would still get to see balloons we thought we would look around the stalls. This was a further disappointment as there was hardly anything to look at. The only one worth visiting was the book people bus. We then tried the fair and discovered that it was going to cost nearly £10 for each ride as we had two children to pay for. The food choice was also a complete combination of being overpriced, and not good quality. Previous festivals had been so different with lots of independent stalls to look at and sample/buy quality goods.
It was then time to use the toilets. Unfortunately from the viewpoint of the female members of our group this was again completely unacceptable After queing to discover the toilets were in such a state that they could not be used they were forced to go off site to a nearby pub. At the same time, from a male perspective, the toilets were usuable, but given recent times and hygiene in general, it would have been nice to find that at least one of the soap dispensers actually had soap in so you could wash your hands.

Staying until the balloon glow in order to at least salvage something from the day, even that was a let down in comparison to previous events as there were less balloons and there seemed to be no planning between the balloonists and the music.

In summary, if you want to experience a balloon festival, you are best to go to Bristol. It's understandably a weather dependent event, but given that will always be the case, sufficient alternative entertainment and stalls need to be in place to occupy anyone visiting, and something that resembles planning needs to be done with the signage and traffic management in the area.

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

What a great 3 days.im realy looking forward to next year.had the best 3days out in years.the event staff were amazing.well done to you all.thanks again

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival

Review of Northampton Balloon Festival