West Cumbria Vintage Rally 2006
West Cumbria Vintage Rally 2006
Rally Vintage Modern Bikes Commercial Tractors
Another scorching hot day for the West Cumbria Vintage Club annual rally at Hayes Castle Farm, Distington. The rally featured several steam engines including this Fowler T31A built in 1937.
As usual the event was geared to producing a great day out for all the family and this year so a new attraction in the form of free horse and carriage rides around the show field.
As usual there was a fun fair with traditional carousel and big wheel and try your luck stalls along with more modern rides which this year included a flight simulator. There was also a large number of stalls selling crafts and collectibles plus trade stands and charity stalls. Demonstrations of crafts such as wood turning provided a lot of interest and there was as usual an auction.
The auction took place in another field behind the rally and you could buy the strangest assortment of items at a bewildering range of prices. One minute they would be bidding for a box of anonymous air filters for a pound the next item could be a vintage tractor for £800 - so you had to be careful not to scratch your nose at the wrong time or you could end up taking home an axle for a Bedford lorry. I did wonder if this contraption might help me rake up the grass after mowing the lawn but I arrived too late to put in a bid.
Of course the basis of the rally is steam engines and vintage cars and small static engines like this would be a good way to start the hobby and very useful for pumping water if you have a flood.
On approaching this vehicle from behind I thought someone had entered a rocket powered moon buggy but from the front it was more recognisable as a stock car.
One of the coolest exhibits was this customised mini from the Cumbria mini cruisers club. It had body panels hammered out into the shape of flames around the front and along the roof and was brilliantly finished off with a red and gold paint job.
Link: www.cumbriaminicruisers.co.uk
the 2007 Rally will be held on 1st July
WCVC membership Secretary:
Mr. Trevor Johnstone, Briary Bank, Sunderland Road, Bothel,Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 2JN
Video or DVD available from J. Bennett, 6 Distington Park, Distington, Workington, CA14 5UN