Riverside Steam Rally.
A
very English pastime is getting yourself full of coal dust, oil & a few beers!
These are the kind of people who go to extraordinary lengths to transport these
mammoth monsters across miles to show us their ex-work horses from days gone by. With memoires of
what Fred Dibnah showed us, (and who did more to enhance the love of those
great machines on television?) we filled three cars with grandparents,
mums, dads & kiddie winkies & had a brilliant few hours amongst it all.
Apparently, Four friends called Alan Atkinson (the man who transported Fred's engine during the filming of the TV series), William Hunter, John Johnson and Peter Wareing have organised various rallies over the years and raised thousands of pounds for local charities. Between them, they have an impressive collection of steam vehicles.
The four have been
‘brought out of retirement’ by the Harrison Family, owners of the Riverside
Holiday Complex at Banks Nr Southport, which is the venue for the event. Mr
George Harrison said “We needed an event that would allow us to raise funds for
local charities, and as such allow us to pay something back to the community. We
are very pleased that Alan, John William and Peter have agreed to organise the
event on our behalf and hopefully we can make this an annual event”. So this
April 2009 a packed, sun drenched affair it turned out to be too.
I had not been to a rally for ages & I'd forgotten how varied a show it could be. Not just the steam rollers but every size of engine imaginable. Tiny engines, beautifully handmade in glorious detail, each enthusiast seeming to have their own unique angle on the hobby. Gigantic steam engines that were the working machines of their day. Then there were the lorries, ancient & modern. Vintage, veteran & classic cars & motorbikes with many a man (me included) saying "I had one of those ... and those ... & those!"
The fun fair was in full swing & food & drink was everywhere. In various corners of the field there was a huge rock climbing frame, a guy carving wood with a chain saw, a "Birds of Prey Exhibition" & even ferret racing!
![Emma & Ruby enjoy the tiny steam train.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-emma-ontrain.jpg)
![A beautiful Old Timer, magnificently restored.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-lorry.jpg)
![A steam roller that belonged to the Herefordshire county council.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-roller.jpg)
![It's not just old men that drive engines.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-young-driver.jpg)
![The visiting town cryer.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-cryer.jpg)
![Beautifully detailed engine.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-detail.jpg)
![Jake tackles the big cliff!](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-jake-climbs.jpg)
![A wise old bird shows off.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-owl.jpg)
![On a huge steam driven carousel.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-carousel.jpg)
![Steam engine line up.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-line-up.jpg)
![A superb 1933 jap engined Morgan.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-morgan.jpg)
![How to worry parents!](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-swing.jpg)
![Ethan on his flying machine.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-ethan.jpg)
![A stunning Bentley.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-bentley.jpg)
![Father & daughter get some rays.](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-ian-holly.jpg)
![What you NEED on a hot day ... is a BIG lolly!](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-ruby-andy.jpg)
![Fun fair & sunshine for our gang!](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-our-gang.jpg)
![Steam & a fun fair ... perfect!](Pandoras-box/steam-rally-engine4.jpg)