The history of hot air and gas ballooning, and other forms of lighter-than-air flight, is important and fascinating, but it is fast in danger of being lost. The BBM&L was formed in 1979 with the purpose of trying to preserve the many items associated with this very popular activity.
As a registered charity, it is run entirely by volunteers and is funded by subscriptions from Friends and donations.
We have saved dozens of historic balloons and built up a large collection of equipment such as balloon burners, baskets, instruments, and a wide range of ballooning memorabilia such as stamps, posters, prints, cards, models, photographs, trophies, badges etc. There is also a comprehensive collection of books, technical papers and magazines.
We have a display in the reception area of Cameron Balloons Ltd. in Bristol, which demonstrates the varied nature of items in the collection.
Every two years, the BBM&L hold an Inflation Day. Many of the older envelopes are taken out of storage and inflated. As many as 100 balloons at Inflation Day make a spectacular sight.