The Herefordshire and South Wales air balloon festival was held this weekend at the Hereford Racecourse, and I thought I’d pay it a visit to see what it’s all about.

Sadly, on my visit there were no hot air balloons. The festival announced earlier today (September 8) that due to the extremely bad weather, there would be no flights taking off.

I wasn’t too surprised at the announcement considering the extended period of bad weather, and that last night, festival organisers had to make the tough decision to call off the highly anticipated nightglow balloon show, after the weather had let them down.

However, visitors on Saturday did see some balloons go up, with several stationed around the event, guests were at least able to admire the balloons if not see them float up into the sky.

On my arrival, I saw visitors gathering around the monster truck arena, which the festival had advertised as one of the highlights of the weekend. It was clear it was popular, with many families gathering around the fencing in anticipation of the jumps and stunts.

The monster truck show was brief but had some impressive jumps.The monster truck show was brief but had some impressive jumps. (Image: Julia Baker)

There were some impressive jumps, but sadly it only completed around four rounds, before retiring for the day, so was a brief performance compared to what I expected.

As usual, the great British weather made this event slightly different than I expected, not just with the lack of balloons, but the mud and the rain which followed.

There were a good amount of food stalls within the grounds, including those serving sweet treats.There were a good amount of food stalls within the grounds, including those serving sweet treats. (Image: Julia Baker)

However, the grounds were full of quite a varied spread of food stalls. From candy floss to pizza and hotdogs, and plenty of sweat treats around, I’m sure some were delighted with the offerings.

There was a line-up of tribute acts over the weekend.There was a line-up of tribute acts over the weekend. (Image: Julia Baker)

The event had a main stage, hosting several tribute acts today, including odes to Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Little Mix. There were crowds during the performances I saw, clearly trying to make the most of the live music despite the slightly off-putting weather. However the main stage area had become a slight mud slide by the time I visited.

There were a good amount of rides throughout, including some for younger children.There were a good amount of rides throughout, including some for younger children. (Image: Julia Baker)

There were a good amount of fairground rides dotted around the site, with the dodgems seeming popular with families today. Prize-winning stalls, a Ferris wheel and several smaller fairground rides for younger children were also on display throughout the race course grounds.

However, some ticket holders weren’t happy with the outcome of the weekend, with one commenting on one of our posts: “Waste of money, rides were really expensive! Monster truck didn't go ahead broke down, balloons didn't go either should of cancelled event!”.

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Another festivalgoer shared their thoughts on the price of the event, saying: “To be honest, it was an entrance fee and disgraceful parking fee only to be met with more huge expenses. The weather can’t be their responsibility but there wasn’t really anything of value for the cost of entry”.

Another commentor expressed their disappointment, saying : "wouldn’t recommend at all, luckily I got tickets when they were £1, but wasn’t even worth that. Wouldn’t attend if it was free entry".

It seems some customers were happier than others, with some visitors taking a more sympathetic stance to the unpredictable weather.

“Very good music food and saw some of them up understand. When weather not possible to do love the night glow which is fab when they can do it. well done to everyone for the hard work,” one commentor added.

Another commentor recommended the festival, saying: "We had a great time despite the weather, took a picnic and enjoyed the Tribute Acts and danced in the rain".