It was our wedding anniversary this week. Instead of going out for a meal or exchanging presents, I suggested heading off for the day to look at hot air balloons.

Every year there is a festival to the west of us, a two and a half hours drive away. Every year hundreds of ‘montgolfières’, as they are called in French, after their inventors Joseph and Etienne Montgolfière, gather on an aerodrome close to Verdun. The balloons come from 67 different nations and the week long event attracts tens of thousands of visitors.

As we got closer to the airfield, I said that we should play a game to find out who could be the first to spot a balloon in the sky. I had expected to see the sky full of wonderful multicoloured shapes with their small baskets -‘nacelles’ hanging underneath. When my husband had been in hospital it was one of the things that gave him joy when groups of hot-air balloons flew silently over Reims.

Car parking was free, but there were not very many cars, though camper vans were in abundance. We still had not managed to spot a balloon, even though we were now on site.

The airfield hangers had been taken over by various large companies and there were displays as wide ranging as milk production through to a flight simulator. Many children were present as part of their summer holiday play schemes. We watched a Triathlon which consisted of the children riding little bikes though a course, then jumping small obstacles followed by a running event. Children were having fun. Others could have a rugby initiation session.

We still had not seen a hot air balloon. Several light aircraft were landing on the airfield but we were not sure if they were part of the event or whether they were part of the normal daily activities. The sound system was playing mostly Elton John’s hits but gave out no announcements of activities to come.

We learnt that 6.30 in the morning and 6.30 in the evening are the stillest parts of the day and flights usually take off at these times. But surely there would be one or two balloons inflated on the ground and tethered, even if they were not due to fly? It was not a windy day after all! Could it be that a camper van camped for the week was the best way of seeing these illusive objects, as 6.30 in the morning would pose no problem to families sleeping on site? Whereas for us to arrive at 6.30 a.m. would need a pre-dawn depart.

There were rows and rows of Range Rovers with trailers that contained packed away balloons, neatly folded into their baskets, but no magnificent inflated colourful orbs.

Should we have lunch from one of the fast food stands? The same foods seemed to be on sale at all of them, the prices were inflated and the calorie contents were high. We cut our losses and drove home.

We must be among just a few people who have gone to a balloon festival that attracts people from around the world, that boasts 10’s of thousands of participants and who have come away without seeing a single one!