Last Sunday I popped along to the Gloucestershire Steam & Vintage extravaganza with my family. We go along every year and it gets bigger each time – next year we may have to make a full weekend off it as there were many displays we missed out on!
The show includes a huge selection of vintage transport, such as buses and coaches, commercial vehicles, classic cars, steam engines, traction engines, motorcycles, bicycles, military vehicles, emergency vehicles, tractors and historic caravans.
With a live action arena showcasing these vehicles in interactive demonstrations taking place throughout the weekend.
We started off with breakfast (dad and I had burgers as it was nearing lunchtime and mum had a bacon bap) but there are many food options from a lovely tea room, a military style “mess hall” and a beer tent. You can also bring a picnic with you but make sure you prepare for the unpredictable British weather. 😉 🌧
Bellies full, we started looking around the many trade stands which sell anything from tools and kitchenlia to vintage clothing and garden furniture. There is also a craft marquee offering various home made goods from across the UK, and a wood work demonstration (by George King.
As we went up and down the trade stands we also stopped to admire the steam powered machinery before heading to the vehicle displays.
Traditionally we play a game of “spot the campervan”, seeing who can spot the most VW campervans with our record being 12. However they were severely lacking this year! 🙁 We only found 5.
Luckily there were many other vehicles on display for us to marvel at, not forgetting the large traction engines. Which is one of my favourite parts of the show – we actually got to see them and the mini versions ride around the arena this year.
Last year we ran out of time and missed seeing the Victorian displays so made sure we headed there next.
The exhibitors we saw had a wide range of Victorian memorabilia on display ranging from antique sewing and knitting machines and model dolls houses to vintage garden tools, cycles to home wares and some miniture model displays. I was impressed by the display showcasing children’s toys throughout the years.
Do you see any you recognise from your childhood?
We had a great day and I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring to the show next year. 😁