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BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Everything you need to know about Northampton Balloon Festival
Thousands of people are expected to go to the 2025 Northampton Balloon Festival, which returns for three days from Friday. As well as the balloons, organisers say it is a chance to eat great food, watch other live events, take part in crafts and see fireworks. What is the Northampton Balloon Festival? The first balloon festival took place in 1989 and was supported by the now defunct Northampton Borough Council until 2008. It was held at Billing Aquadrome before it stopped hosting the three-day event in a four-year hiatus, dozens of balloons took to the skies again in 2023 from The Racecourse in Northampton, with about 65,000 people attending that year, according to organisers. The present festival is supported by Northampton Town Council and local businesses. What can I expect to see? The balloons of course are the highlight, and they typically fly at sunrise and sunset, with launches planned for 18:00 BST and 19:30 each day on 15th, 16th and 17th the weather conditions are not right, the balloons will not take off. Balloons do not fly in wind or well as the balloons ascending, this year's festival includes a vast array of entertainment, including Viking and Civil War drills and displays, birds of prey, a circus skills workshop, traders and charity stalls. The arena events will include a motocross stunt show and a funfair will provide extra thrills for the young and young-at-heart, with fireworks rounding off the event on Sunday evening. Where can I get tickets? Tickets are the same price for each day and cost £5 plus a booking fee from the festival website, or they can be bought on the day at entrances. Early bird tickets at £3.25 remain available until midday on under 1m tall (3.3 ft) will get free allow entry into the site from 12:00 BST until 22:30 but do not include a balloon flight, which can be booked and paid for separately. Dogs on leads and picnics are welcome, but no glass or alcohol will be permitted and bag searches will be carried out. Anti-social behaviour "will not be tolerated", organisers said. How do I get there? Festival organisers are encouraging people to use public transport if possible, although a field car park is available next to The Racecourse with some parking for disabled people. "Please plan your journey, the roads can get busy, so leave plenty of time," the website Northampton Railway station it takes about 20-minutes to walk to The Racecourse. Buses will also take people to the is off the M1 at junction 15 and is also on the A45 and A508. The forecast is for very warm weather - temperatures will be heading towards 30C - so don't forget hats, parasols, sunscreen and water bottles. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Silencing the 'mouth of hell': 10 years on
Saturday marks 10 years since Northampton's notorious Greyfriars Bus Station was demolished. More than 2,000 explosive charges were needed to bring the building, designed in the "brutalist" architectural style, crashing to the ground. A decade later, the site is still undeveloped and construction work on a regeneration scheme is not due to start until 2028. So what did the site used to look like, and why did it have to change? Greyfriars Bus Station was very much a building that divided opinion. It opened 18 months late and well over budget in April 1976 - a massive in-your-face brick-coloured monument to brutalism. The ground floor was dominated from the outside by two gaping voids, framed in grey, lit by largely ineffectual orange lamps, and known as the "mouth of hell". Buses would be swallowed up like live insects as they entered the void, only to be disgorged later as their drivers emerged with blinking eyes into the daylight to begin their next journey to exotic destinations like Lumbertubs or Blacky More. The Beauty of Transport website offers a miserable description of the passenger experience, describing how they were "forced to grope through what can only be described as Stygian darkness to reach their buses". Above the bus station was a pair of three-storey glass-sided trapezoidal lumps which were designed as office blocks, but spent most of their life empty, decaying and unloved. Possibly intended as a distraction from the brutalist rawness of the building, roof gardens were created between the office blocks. The idea had been that the rental income from the office block would pay for the building, but the demand for that kind of office space, if it ever existed, was clearly diminishing. It took five years to rent the office blocks out, and the first tenant, a Dutch engineering firm relocating from London, was given a five-year rent-free period. As the fifth anniversary of the firm's arrival approached, it announced it was pulling out of the UK. Barclaycard then spent 10 years in the building, but the lights went out for good in 1998. Alongside the struggle getting and keeping tenants, Northampton Borough Council (now defunct) also had to contend with other problems with the building. Everything from lifts breaking down to stalactites forming on the ceilings plagued the Greyfriars complex, and its poor reputation did not help. In 1989, it was named as Britain's third most-hated building in a survey in The Guardian, being cheated of a higher position in the table by Cumbernauld Shopping Centre and the Imax Cinema in Bournemouth. In 2009, the council decided enough was enough and announced plans to create a new bus station elsewhere and redevelop the site. The "mouth of hell" was silenced forever when the last bus left the station on 1 March 2014. Just over a year later, some 2,000 explosive charges were installed in the building, and people in 414 nearby properties were told to evacuate. DSM Demolition pressed the detonation button on 15 March 2015 to send the doomed edifice into oblivion. Work then started removing the debris, which the council said would mostly be recycled. The cost of the demolition was said to be £4m. In September 2011, the council announced that Northampton's fish market would be site of a new bus station. Work started on North Gate station in 2013 and the first buses emerged from the facility on Sunday, 2 March, 2014. It did not get off to a particularly positive start, with traffic grinding to a halt in the town centre, buses being cancelled and roads being closed. The whole saga even inspired a song. Some users criticised the smaller size of the site compared to Greyfriars, which meant many services did not stop at North Gate, and many were angered by the decision to charge people for using the toilets. More than 1,500 people responded to an initial consultation about the future of the 14-acre (56,700 sq metre) Greyfriars site. The resulting blueprint describes its destiny as a "new neighbourhood". It would have a creative hub, showcasing local talent, which might be based in the Corn Exchange building, and a town park. There would be a "playful space" with areas for children and an outdoor gym for adults. There would be a "spectrum" of different types of home, including accommodation for students and "later living" houses for older people. The vision promised "a neighbourhood that is fully stitched into Northampton, accessible by foot, cycle, and better served by buses". West Northamptonshire Council (the unitary authority that has replaced Northampton Borough Council and the county council) has found a partner to take the project forward - English Cities Fund, which is a joint venture between Legal and General, Homes England and Muse. It may still be some time before work actually starts as a formal agreement will not be signed until the summer. But, after its troubled history, it is hoped a bright future awaits the site to lay the ghost of the mouth of hell to rest forever. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Agreement for ex-bus station to be signed in summer New neighbourhood planned for 'mouth of hell' site Former bus station regeneration plans unveiled 'Mouth of hell' reduced to rubble We are Northampton - Greyfriars English Cities Fund West Northamptonshire Council
BBC News
15-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Northampton Greyfriars bus station demolition: 10 years on
Saturday marks 10 years since Northampton's notorious Greyfriars Bus Station was than 2,000 explosive charges were needed to bring the building, designed in the "brutalist" architectural style, crashing to the ground.A decade later, the site is still undeveloped and construction work on a regeneration scheme is not due to start until what did the site used to look like, and why did it have to change? What was the old bus station like? Greyfriars Bus Station was very much a building that divided opened 18 months late and well over budget in April 1976 - a massive in-your-face brick-coloured monument to ground floor was dominated from the outside by two gaping voids, framed in grey, lit by largely ineffectual orange lamps, and known as the "mouth of hell".Buses would be swallowed up like live insects as they entered the void, only to be disgorged later as their drivers emerged with blinking eyes into the daylight to begin their next journey to exotic destinations like Lumbertubs or Blacky Beauty of Transport website offers a miserable description of the passenger experience, describing how they were "forced to grope through what can only be described as Stygian darkness to reach their buses".Above the bus station was a pair of three-storey glass-sided trapezoidal lumps which were designed as office blocks, but spent most of their life empty, decaying and intended as a distraction from the brutalist rawness of the building, roof gardens were created between the office blocks. What prompted its demise? The idea had been that the rental income from the office block would pay for the building, but the demand for that kind of office space, if it ever existed, was clearly took five years to rent the office blocks out, and the first tenant, a Dutch engineering firm relocating from London, was given a five-year rent-free the fifth anniversary of the firm's arrival approached, it announced it was pulling out of the then spent 10 years in the building, but the lights went out for good in the struggle getting and keeping tenants, Northampton Borough Council (now defunct) also had to contend with other problems with the from lifts breaking down to stalactites forming on the ceilings plagued the Greyfriars complex, and its poor reputation did not 1989, it was named as Britain's third most-hated building in a survey in The Guardian, being cheated of a higher position in the table by Cumbernauld Shopping Centre and the Imax Cinema in 2009, the council decided enough was enough and announced plans to create a new bus station elsewhere and redevelop the site. What happened to the building? The "mouth of hell" was silenced forever when the last bus left the station on 1 March 2014. Just over a year later, some 2,000 explosive charges were installed in the building, and people in 414 nearby properties were told to Demolition pressed the detonation button on 15 March 2015 to send the doomed edifice into then started removing the debris, which the council said would mostly be cost of the demolition was said to be £4m. What replaced it? In September 2011, the council announced that Northampton's fish market would be site of a new bus started on North Gate station in 2013 and the first buses emerged from the facility on Sunday, 2 March, did not get off to a particularly positive start, with traffic grinding to a halt in the town centre, buses being cancelled and roads being whole saga even inspired a users criticised the smaller size of the site compared to Greyfriars, which meant many services did not stop at North Gate, and many were angered by the decision to charge people for using the toilets. What is happening at the Greyfriars site? More than 1,500 people responded to an initial consultation about the future of the 14-acre (56,700 sq metre) Greyfriars resulting blueprint describes its destiny as a "new neighbourhood".It would have a creative hub, showcasing local talent, which might be based in the Corn Exchange building, and a town would be a "playful space" with areas for children and an outdoor gym for would be a "spectrum" of different types of home, including accommodation for students and "later living" houses for older vision promised "a neighbourhood that is fully stitched into Northampton, accessible by foot, cycle, and better served by buses". West Northamptonshire Council (the unitary authority that has replaced Northampton Borough Council and the county council) has found a partner to take the project forward - English Cities Fund, which is a joint venture between Legal and General, Homes England and may still be some time before work actually starts as a formal agreement will not be signed until the after its troubled history, it is hoped a bright future awaits the site to lay the ghost of the mouth of hell to rest forever. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
