2008 Show report

NEW BELVOIR SITE A TRIUMPH!

Over 10,000 people enjoyed the first Belvoir Castle Steam Festival to be held on Knipton Pasture. The move to the new venue became necessary after the Estate management declared that the old site needed to be re-seeded ready for the 2009 Game Fair, which consumes just about all of the available land at Belvoir Castle such is the scale of the event.

In spite of having to cope with a completely new set of arrangements, the site plan came together well and feedback from exhibitors, traders and visitors is that they liked the new site better. It is certainly much flatter and has good quality roads to help get traffic in and out, whatever the weather. Being surrounded by trees also helped give the event a special atmosphere, something that had been missing at the previous site.

After a dry week for build up, the forecast for the weekend was good. However, organisers and participants woke up to rain on Saturday morning, and although it wasn’t particularly heavy and the ground coped with it well, it had a bearing on the attendance and numbers were very disappointing. The rain stopped mid-morning, but Saturday remained overcast and cold.

Saturday night was cold too, and although showman’s engines and the magnificent ‘Wonderland’ organ illuminated the main ‘drag’ in front of the beer tent and fairground, it was uncomfortably cold for most people and the fairground was quiet, as everyone huddled in the beer tent listening to Dr Busker and drank the stocks of real ale dry.

But Sunday was glorious, with much warmer weather featuring blue skies and sunshine and the public turned out in such great numbers that the car park struggled to cope and at one point, for around an hour, traffic was tailing back several miles as everyone it seemed was heading for Belvoir Castle Steam Festival!

Around 300 vintage tractors turned out, including 40 single cylinders for the special gathering and over 50 International Harvesters, including some very early examples of Titan and Mogul. Many of these tractors took part in the road run organised by Andy Watson on the Saturday evening, and for once, the drivers didn’t get wet!

There was plenty of interest in the steam section, organised by Paul Worbey – a separate steam report is being posted, including photographs of some of the engines that took part.

Working areas included two saw benches, a threshing demonstration staged by the Vale of Belvoir Vintage Club and stone crushing and road laying by the Il’son Crushers. There was also a dynamometer in action testing the output of vintage tractors.

Approximately 60 stationary engines were in the line up organised by Barrie Paul and these looked out onto the Autojumble, a new section organised this year by Phil Wing.

As always there was an excellent display of vintage motorcycles on display in a marquee and up to 250 classic cars were present on the Sunday, organised by members of the Grantham Classic Car Club.

The Road Rescue Recovery Association have made Belvoir Castle home for their annual gathering and around 60 vehicles took part in their display, which included a separate arena with winching and recovery demonstrations taking place. Another star exhibit was brought in by Lord Atlee, the former Transport Minister, who brought a Centurian tank all the way from Hampshire on the back of his Scammell tank transporter, which also took turns in the arena behind a Mighty Antar tractor which travelled down from Horncastle especially (doing something like three miles to the gallon!).

The military vehicle section won the Michael Gates Memorial Shield for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Show’. Ably led by section stewards Ian and Mandy Durrant, there was a superb off road course offering tank rides to the public, a fine array of military vehicles and a whole posse of re-enactor groups, including Russian, British and German armies. Members of these groups were seen entertaining the public as they arrived through the pay gates, subjecting their vehicles to impromptu security checks and also carrying out pack drills and inspections at the road side. Their camps were ‘dug in’ complete with sand bags, camouflage and weaponry.

To view the military vehicle section photos >>

Nich Stanyard assembled a fascinating display of around 40 period caravans, many of which had bygone displays in their awnings, complementing the 30 or so special displays in the awning collection and display section organised by Norman Appleton. One display included a superb selection of Aveling Barford machinery

The 60th Anniversary of the British-built Land Rover was celebrated with another special display, organised by Chris Keast – a special birthday cake shared out amongst Leicestershire & Rutland Land Rover Club members and their guests who had just about every Land Rover variant between them, including one equipped with flanged wheels (as well as rubber tyres) for railway maintenance use.

The model tent was the biggest yet at the show, with around 60 exhibits, all organised by Rod Sherwood whose Foden showman’s tractor supplied power for the tent from its generator set. There were many other Fodens and the derivative ERFs in the commercial vehicle section, which also featured the REVS ERF promotional trailer as part of the ERF 75th Anniversary celebrations. Scammell showtracs and living vans flanked the busy commercials section, which featured everything from the Coors Museum’s Bottle Car to eight-wheel rigid Albions and Leyland artics.

The Coors Museum (formerly Bass Museum) in Burton-upon-Trent is due to close its doors to the public at the end of June and Russ Cooper and his colleagues from the museum’s volunteer group were busy recruiting support for their anti-closure petition throughout the weekend. If you didn’t get to sign it make sure you do if you see Russ about.

The vintage fairground featured the Howard Bros’ gallopers, Paul Hyman’s dodgems and Edward Howard’s newly restored big wheel.

A very special exhibit that makes only rare appearances at vintage vehicle events, due to its need for lots of power, is the vintage Southern Television Bedford VAL outside broadcast unit, complete with vintage cameras that the public could actually operate.

Close by was the Road Roller Association’s marquee, which was full of machinery including full size steam and diesel rollers, pavement rollers, graders and other equipment and paraphernalia, much of which has a local connection with Aveling & Barford, the Grantham based engineering firm.

The arena was busy both days with an intensive schedule of entertainment, which as well as vehicle parades included a dancing JCB digger and the Backwood Birds of Prey. Tom Hemfrey was also on hand with his superb Park Percheron heavy horses and there was a very popular parrot display alongside the rare breeds tent. Close by, Victoriana were demonstrating their latest acquisition – an early sewing machine as they showed visitors what life was like in days gone by.

There was plenty more going on, with the FA Cup Final screened live in the beer tent, hundreds of trade stands, a busy craft tent and a miniature railway giving children rides. There were helicopter rides too and quad bikes, a giant inflatable slide and even an inflatable assault course.

No doubt some things will have been missed from this report, and the show seemed to have something from everyone. Plenty of families were heard to say afterwards that they wished they had got there earlier as there was so much to see they didn’t get round everything!

2009 SHOW

Planning for 2009 is already underway and the dates have been set as 16th & 17th May.

Details on how to get an entry form or book a trade stand will be posted on this website in due course.

PHOTO GALLERY

Below is a selection of photos from the 2008 show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MILITARY VEHICLE SECTION PHOTOS

The winner of the Michael Gates Memorial Shield for 2008 for 'Outstanding Contribution to the Show' was the Military Vehicle Section, presented to the section steward Ian Durrant and his wife Mandy on behalf of everyone in the section. The judges recognised the major contribution the section made, including organising tank rides, having living history re-enactors who interacted with the public and for providing two teams of stewards to help with marshalling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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