bbml.org.uk

The British Balloon Museum & Library (BBM&L) has no physical museum building, but a growing part of its collection is available online, and you can search it in two ways: type a term into the Search the Collection box, or browse the category links on the Explore the Collection page. Both routes lead to images of items together with their descriptions. The search box is the faster option when you already have a name in mind; browsing suits you better when you want to see what exists in a particular area.

What the BBM&L is

The BBM&L is the official museum of the British Balloon and Airship Club. It was formed in 1979 by a small group of balloonists and is a registered charity. Its stated objective is preserving the many different items associated with, and used in, hot air and gas ballooning, and other forms of lighter-than-air flight.

Two practical points follow from that:

• There is no physical museum to visit, so the website is the main point of access to the collection.
• Items are added gradually, as they are catalogued and photographed, so the online collection is a work in progress rather than a complete catalogue.

Search the Collection

The site provides a search box under the heading Search the Collection, described as the place to "find a particular item, person or event."

To use it:

1. Go to the Search the Collection section of the site.
2. Enter your term in the Search for: field — an object type, a person's name, or an event.
3. Submit the search.
4. Expect results as collection records: an image of the item plus its description.

The three searchable angles named on the site are item, person and event. If a search returns nothing, that most likely means the relevant item has not yet been catalogued and photographed, not that it is absent from the collection.

Browse by category

If you would rather scan than search, the Explore the Collection page lists categories you can click through. Each category shows images of the items with their descriptions.

Browsing is the better approach when your interest is a format rather than a specific object — for example, if you want to see what photographs or logbooks the collection holds, rather than look up one known balloon.

A worked example

Suppose you want to see an early hot air balloon basket. Browsing Hardware would be the natural route, since baskets sit in that category. One item you would find there is a featured object: an open weave wicker basket made by Thunder Balloons, an early design from around 1973, with no burner supports and cow hide around the top. Its description notes that the open weave design is a throw-back to the gas balloon, which dominated balloon activity from the late 18th century until the modern hot air balloon was invented in the 1960s.

That record shows what a collection entry gives you: the object itself, its maker, an approximate date, and the context that explains why it looks the way it does.

Common snags

• Nothing found for a known item. The collection is being added to gradually, so coverage is incomplete. Try a broader term, or browse the likely category instead.
• Searching for a person vs. an object. The search box is intended for items, people and events alike, so a personal name is a valid search — useful for oral history interviews and for material connected to a particular balloonist.
• Expecting a visit. There is no physical museum, so plan around the online collection rather than a site visit.

If you want to go further

The site also offers a JOIN NOW option and a MAKE A DONATION route, under the line "Help save the past for the future." The BBM&L credits the National Lottery Heritage Fund with enabling many items in the collection to be explored online for the first time. Beyond the collection itself, the site carries a Latest News and Events section for news about people, balloons and airships, plus event details as they become available.

The British Balloon Museum & Library (BBM&L) offers two direct ways to support its work: a Join Now membership option and a Make a Donation option, both listed on its homepage. The charity's stated purpose is preserving items associated with hot air and gas ballooning and other forms of lighter-than-air flight, and its site frames support as helping "save the past for the future." If you want to get involved, joining or donating are the routes the organisation itself puts forward.

What the BBM&L Is

The BBM&L is the official museum of the British Balloon and Airship Club. A small group of balloonists formed it in 1979, and it is a registered charity. Its objective is preserving the many different items associated with, and used in, hot air and gas ballooning, and other forms of lighter-than-air flight.

One practical detail matters if you are deciding how to engage: the BBM&L has no physical museum to house its collection. Instead, thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, many items in the collection can now be explored online for the first time. The site notes that adding collection items to the website will be a gradual process as more items are catalogued and photographed.

Ways to Support the BBM&L

The homepage presents two actions side by side:

Both are framed by the site's own line: "Help save the past for the future." The National Lottery Heritage Fund is credited with supporting the work of making the collection available online, which is a concrete example of how external funding has already advanced the charity's mission.

The site does not publish membership fees, donation amounts, or payment methods in the material available here, so check the Join Now and Make a Donation pages directly for current terms.

Other Ways to Engage With the Collection

Support does not have to mean money. Because the collection is now largely online, you can engage with it directly:

• Explore the Collection — browse categories including Hardware (balloons, baskets, burners), Books, Oral history (audio interviews with key people), Advertising (posters and handbills), Clothing, Photographs, Post/Postal items, Art, Moving films, Memorabilia, Trophies & plaques, Records (logbooks, certificates, stationery), Publications, and 3D models.
• Search the Collection — use the search box to find a particular item, person or event.
• Featured Object — the site highlights individual pieces, such as an open weave wicker basket made by Thunder Balloons (early design, c.1973, with no burner supports and cow hide around the top). The site explains this open weave design as a throw-back to the gas balloon era, which dominated balloon activity from the late 18th century until the modern hot air balloon was invented in the 1960s.
• Latest News and Events — the BBM&L posts news items concerning people, balloons and airships, plus event details as they become available.

If you have ballooning-related items, records, or knowledge, the collection's gradual cataloguing process suggests the organisation is still actively building its archive — the Join Now route is the natural way to make contact about that.

Quick Answer

To support or join the BBM&L: go to bbml.org.uk and use either Join Now (membership) or Make a Donation (one-off or ongoing support). Both options are on the homepage. If you would rather explore first, the online collection and its search tool are open to browse, and the Latest News and Events section shows current activity.

The British Balloon Museum & Library (BBM&L) is a registered charity founded in 1979 by a small group of balloonists, and it serves as the official museum of the British Balloon and Airship Club. Its purpose is to preserve items associated with hot air and gas ballooning and other forms of lighter-than-air flight. It has no physical museum building — instead, its collection is being catalogued, photographed and published online, a process supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

What the organisation is

• Status: a registered charity.
• Founded: 1979, by a group of balloonists.
• Affiliation: the official museum of the British Balloon and Airship Club.
• Objective: preserving the many different items associated with, and used in, hot air and gas ballooning, and other forms of lighter-than-air flight.

What is in the collection

The BBM&L holds a large collection of artefacts from the sport of ballooning — both hot air and gas — plus a good number of items from the world of airships. The website organises the collection into browsable categories, each with images and descriptions:

One example of a featured object is an open weave wicker basket made by Thunder Balloons — an early design from around 1973, with no burner supports and cow hide around the top. The open weave design is described as a throw-back to the gas balloon, which dominated balloon activity from the late 18th century until the modern hot air balloon was invented in the 1960s.

How to use the site

1. Explore the Collection — click a category link to view images of items along with their descriptions.
2. Search the Collection — use the search box to find a particular item, person or event.
3. Check Latest News and Events — the site posts news items concerning people, balloons and airships, plus event details as they become available.

Because there is no physical museum, the website is the main way to access the collection. The process of adding items is gradual, as more objects are catalogued and photographed, so not everything held by the BBM&L is necessarily online yet.

If you want to support it

The site provides JOIN NOW and MAKE A DONATION options, framed around the idea of helping "save the past for the future." The available page information does not state membership prices, donation amounts or any login requirements, so check the site directly for current terms.

The British Balloon Museum & Library (BBM&L) collection covers hot air and gas ballooning plus airships, and is organised into categories including hardware (balloons, baskets, burners), books, oral history audio, advertising, clothing, photographs, postal items, art, moving films, memorabilia, trophies and plaques, records, publications, and 3D models. There is no physical museum building; items are being added to the website gradually as they are catalogued and photographed, so what you can view online today is a growing portion of the whole.

The full category list

The site groups the collection into the following categories, each with images and descriptions:

What the scope actually covers

The stated objective is preserving items "associated with, and used in, hot air and gas ballooning, and other forms of lighter-than-air flight." In practice that means:

• Both balloon types — hot air and gas — not just the modern sport.
• Airships too, with a "good number of items from the world of airships" alongside the balloon material.
• Documents as well as objects — logbooks, certificates, magazines, flown mail and stamps sit alongside physical hardware.

A featured example gives a sense of the hardware end: an open weave wicker basket made by Thunder Balloons, an early design from around 1973, with no burner supports and cow hide around the top. The site notes the open weave design is a throw-back to the gas balloon era, which dominated ballooning from the late 18th century until the modern hot air balloon was invented in the 1960s.

How to find a specific item

1. Go to the collection section and pick a category from the list above to browse images and descriptions.
2. If you already know what you want, use the search box to find a particular item, person or event.
3. Expect gaps: the museum states that adding items to the website is a gradual process, so a missing item may simply not be catalogued or photographed yet rather than absent from the collection.

What BBM&L is, briefly

BBM&L is the official museum of the British Balloon and Airship Club. It was formed in 1979 by a small group of balloonists and is a registered charity. Because it has no physical museum to house the collection, the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported putting many items online for the first time. The site also carries news and events concerning people, balloons and airships, and accepts memberships and donations.

The British Balloon Museum & Library (BBM&L) uses these three sections for different purposes: Latest News and Events carries short posts about people, balloons and airships plus event details as they become available; Featured Object highlights one collection item at a time with background information; and the collection itself is browsable and searchable online. All three are worth checking if you want to follow lighter-than-air history rather than just look up a single artefact.

Latest News and Events

This is the section to watch if you want to know what the BBM&L is posting about right now. According to the site, it will carry:

• News items of interest concerning people, balloons and airships
• Details of events as they become available

Two things follow from that wording. First, the news is people-and-object focused rather than a general blog — expect items tied to ballooning and airship history. Second, event information is published when it becomes available, so the section is not a fixed calendar you can plan a year around; it fills in as things are confirmed. The site also links out to "a selection of articles" from this area.

Featured Object from the Collection

This section rotates a single item into the spotlight and gives it more context than a catalogue entry would. The current example is an open weave wicker basket made by Thunder Balloons, described as an early design from around c1973, with no burner supports and cow hide around the top.

The background note explains why that matters: the open weave design is a throw-back to the gas balloon, which dominated balloon activity from the late 18th century until the modern hot air balloon was invented in the 1960s. So the featured object is not just a picture — it is a way of reading a design change in ballooning history through one physical item.

If you only have time for one part of the site, this is the most self-contained: one object, one explanation, no searching required.

How these sections relate to the rest of the collection

The BBM&L has no physical museum to house its collection. Thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, many items can now be explored online for the first time, and the site says items are added gradually as they are catalogued and photographed.

That context explains the shape of the site:

The collection categories cover hardware (balloons, baskets, burners), books, oral history audio interviews, advertising posters and handbills, clothing, photographs, postal items, art, moving films, memorabilia, trophies and plaques, records, publications, and 3D models.

Practical points before you dive in

• Searching is the fastest route to a known item. The search box is for finding "a particular item, person or event" — use it when you already know what you are after.
• Browsing suits open-ended interest. If you do not have a target, the category links give you images plus descriptions without needing a query.
• Expect gaps. Because cataloguing and photography are ongoing, not everything held by the BBM&L will be online yet. If you cannot find an item, that is more likely a cataloguing stage than a statement that it does not exist.
• The featured object changes. Treat the Thunder Balloons basket as the current example, not a permanent fixture.

The BBM&L is a registered charity formed in 1979 by a small group of balloonists, and is the official museum of the British Balloon and Airship Club. The site also offers Join Now and Make a Donation options if you want to support the preservation work behind these sections.