There is so much to say about the Great Dorset Steam Fair that this could take forever, therefore I’m going to give you a few highlights of the show and what its all about.
This year was the 36th annual Great Dorset Steam Fair and as the name suggests it is a steam fair of mammoth proportions, ... Read review
Disc 1 - Fred Dibnah Getting Steamed Up: Fred Dibnah is unique he is well known to the ... more
British public through BBC television series "A year with Fred". This DVD offers an insight into the world of Fred Dibnah from chimney felling to a visit to the world's largest steam rally. You will enjoy Fred's wonderful sense of humour as he takes centre stage and captivates his audience with anecdotes and witty reminiscences. Disc 2 - The Great Dorset Steam Fair: The great Dorset steam fair 1996 got off to a fantastic start with the assistance of one of the hottest summers in British history. What makes the great Dorset steam fair 'great' is that you can see traction engines and mechanical exhibits doing the job they were designed and built to do. It's a museum of British history but here everything is working. Disc 3 - Traction Engines At Work: The trusty traction engine was the workhorse of British agriculture and industry at the turn of the century. We used traction engines for many applications; powering fairgrounds making roads threshing the corn and hauling huge loads all over the country. You might think that the skills of the engine died when they did but this is not the case as you will see in this DVD. 'Traction Engines At Work' is an education in itself as this DVD shows you preserved traction engines doing the job they were designed to do.
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Exceptional Holiday Disadvantages: Cost to get in, cant get round it in one day
...much to say about the Great Dorset Steam Fair that this could take forever, therefore I’m going to give you a few highlights of the show and what its all about.
This year was the 36th annual Great Dorset Steam Fair and as the name suggests it is a steam fair of mammoth proportions, you would not believe the size of the place. The Great Dorset Steam Fair is mine and my partners annual holiday. The show goes on for 5 days and is from ... ...order.
The Great Dorset Steam Fair is located at South Down, Tarrant Hinton, Near Blandford in Dorset, the show is actually the biggest of its kind in Europe and people from all over the world go to see it and exhibit in it. The show site is actually over 600 acres of Steam Engines, Steam Driven vehicles, tractors, cars, bicycles, motorbikes and working sections, oh, and don’t forget the massive amount of traders stalls, which if you ... more
There is so much to say about the Great Dorset Steam Fair that this could take forever, therefore I’m going to give you a few highlights of the show and what its all about.
This year was the 36th annual Great Dorset Steam Fair and as the name suggests it is a steam fair of mammoth proportions, you would not believe the size of the place. The Great Dorset Steam Fair is mine and my partners annual holiday. The show goes on for 5 days and is from the Wednesday to the Sunday of the last august bank holiday week. Believe you me, you need all of these five days to get round, its also nice to stay due to the high level of alcohol consumption there is in all the beer tents dotted around the place.
Anyway I’m beginning to waffle, therefore I will try and put some of this into some sort of order.
The Great Dorset Steam Fair is located at South Down, Tarrant Hinton, Near Blandford in Dorset, the show is actually the biggest of its kind in Europe and people from all over the world go to see it and exhibit in it. The show site is actually over 600 acres of Steam Engines, Steam Driven vehicles, tractors, cars, bicycles, motorbikes and working sections, oh, and don’t forget the massive amount of traders stalls, which if you tried to walk around them all in one go would take you the whole day and some, but I tell you something your feet would hurt!
STEAM ENGINES There was roughly 400 steam engines at this years show and most of them are working, they are stoked up and left running for most of the day so that you can appreciate quite how spectacular they are, they range from the showman’s engines, which look great by day, but absolutely spectacular by night all lit up, to the road haulage steamers and the heavy haulage steamers as well as the well known steam rollers.
CARS There is a display of vintage and post war cars and caravans, which are very interesting to look at, to see how things have advanced in the last 60 or so years, but I’ve got to say the older ones always look a lot more majestic than the modern cars and is well worth a look.
HEAVY HORSES There is always a great display from the heavy horse section, the whole idea of this section is to show how farming used to be done with the horses, this wasn’t such a long time ago as my Grandad is always telling us how he used to plough the fields with his horses, so its really interesting to watch how it used to be done. There is stabling for up to 100 horses and a working ring and a show ring therefore you can see all the horses shown off to their best advantage.
HOW ‘TWER DONE IN GRANFERS DAY This does exactly as it says it is a great display of how things used to be done not that long ago, it has a unique collection of farming machinery and miscellaneous items to show how it was done not that long ago.
VINTAGE TRACTORS This is the section that my partner and I exhibit in. There are two sections to the vintage tractors, the working and the static. Within the static section there is a line up of around 140 common and not so common tractors, there is a varied display and there is always something there for everyone to see. The working tractor section involves the vintage tractors working down the working field with vintage machinery and there is always a varied display here with over 100 working tractors. Around this section there is also displays from parts dealers, so if you need something for your vintage tractor this will be the place to look.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLES Over 400 different types of commercial vehicles are displayed here, they range from around the 1910’s up to the present day, from a 1913 Albion A12 to Land Rovers and Ambulances to Fuel Tankers and HGV’s. There is always a big display here and owners are always proud to show off there vehicles.
MILITARY SECTION This section has a huge display of military vehicles, American and British. They include amphibious vehicles to ambulances, Land Rovers, weapon carriers, recovery lorries and general cargo lorries. It is a fascinating insight into how the army got around all those years back. Some of the vehicles in this years display also crossed the channel for the 60th anniversary of the Allied Landings in Normandy.
RURAL CRAFTS There are two huge marquees dedicated to rural crafts where you can go in and buy anything from salt and pepper pots to toys to leather belts, this is well worth looking into, but be warned don’t try when its raining you wont be able to move! There is also a food hall, where lots of people show off there wares. There is wine, which I can definitely say is not for the faint hearted, its very drinkable and very very strong, there is freshly baked bread and cakes as well as sausages and pies etc.
FAIRGROUND This is one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen, there are rides from the modern era back to times gone by, and although I am not one for fairground rides just walking around it is enough. The noise is deafening, but the atmosphere is amazing, everyone is having fun and it just lights up the night. There is also the Wall of Death motorbike show, a boxing and wrestling booth and lots of things to try which in all fairness will make you look silly, but you don’t even think about trying them until you are well and truly drunk!
MUSIC FESTIVAL This has to be the best entertainment at night for miles around when the steam fair is on, there is a huge range of music on offer. There are five stages included in the music festival, these are all dotted around the show ground, and they are free of charge to enter, they also all have a bar which is in the tent as well. The main marquee features 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s music as well as The Wurzels, which are always a good laugh. The folk marquee has Irish, English, Scottish, American folk music as well as folk rock. The real ale bar features a little less harsh music like the steam fair choir. The country marquee is for those that enjoy country and western music, and the single artist marquee has wonderful single artists in it and the music varies from instrumental music, to country and western to rock and roll to heavy metal.
TRACTOR PULLING When we need a sit down this is where we go, this is tractor pulling, they have fun and have a lot of horse power under the bonnets of their tractors, there is lots of smoke, lots of noise and lots of fun, this is great to watch at night as well because you can see the flames shooting out of the exhausts of the tractors. The point is to try and pull a weight down the track as far and as fast as you can.
FACILITIES AVAILABLE ONSITE Administration office, this handles all enquires and lost property, SITE SECURITY AND DORSET POLICE – they handle the onsite security which is handy as there is a lot of people about. ST JOHN AMBULANCE – this are on hand all day and all night. DUTY DOCTOR – a doctor is on call 24 hours a day and has two surgeries daily. FIRE SERVICE. RADIO CONTROL AND PA – this is manned 24 hours a day and is a good help in trying to locate lost children and reuniting them to their parents. ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIRS – there are a selection of electric and manual wheel chairs for hire. PUBLIC PAYPHONES. POST BOX – this has collections daily. STEAM FAIR FM – this broadcasts 24 hours a day and has the latest news around the fair and the weather. BEUREAUX DE CHANGE – this is a currency exchange facility as well as cashing cheques and cashback on credit and debit cards.
Also on site there are shops for those camping, public campsites – these have showers provided, a large amount of toilets – which sometimes it has to be said leave a lot to be desired but most aren’t too bad. There is a vast array of food on offer from burger and chips to strawberries and cream to Chinese, Indian and others.
COST TO GET IN This is the only problem I have with the steam fair, it costs a lot to get in, luckily because we don’t exhibit it doesn’t cost us anything but these are the prices:
Adult Per Day around £15.00 per day Child Per Day around £7.00 per day (this is a rough guide as I have lost the leaflet!)
Camping £10.00 per unit per night you also have to pay for entrance to the fair as well.
CONTACT www.steam-fair.co.uk
VERDICT I love it and it is a great holiday, I would definitely recommend anyone to go and have a great day out.
Advantages: Great day out for all the family Disadvantages: Too much to see in one day
...the 40th Anniversary of the Great Dorset Steam Fair. This is the worlds largest of its type. It happens every year at the end of August - beginning of September. The weather is usually quite hot but you should always go prepared for the worst.
It was started by Michael Oliver and his friends from the Dorset Steam and Historical Vehicle Club. The original site was a 400 acre field near Stourpaine Village in Dorset.
It is now based at Tarrant Hinton ... ...site so as you can imagine you cant get round the whole show in one day, luckily it takes place over several days. It attracts over 200,000 people each year.
It features traction engines, road rollers, heavy horse displays.
There are several large show rings which at designated periods throughout the day have different shows in them. Such shows are a display of heavy haulage both steam and diesel powered vehicles.
The showground is sub divided ...
wildtinsey 16.07.2008
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Great Dorset Steam Fair
Advantages: Plenty to see and do Disadvantages: Does require a lot of walking
The Annual Great Dorset Steam Fair, has been running since 1968 at Tarrant Hinton in Dorset, and for five days each year is the premier tourist attraction in the county.
The Fair has grown to be one of Europe's biggest outdoor shows, covering as it does 600 acres of farmer's fields in Dorset. It is difficult to convey just how big the fair has grown to, but the first glimpse of the site always astounds me as to how much land is taken up. There is ... ...hour or so.
The Great Dorset Steam Fair is a great day out for the family, and for people of all ages, though as it is set in a collection of fields, the ground is not the best surfaces for pushchairs or wheelchairs although plenty of people do manage. Overall my recommendation is to pre-book your tickets, get there early and take your time going around the site, and seriously consider camping overnight to get the full flavour of the fair. The only ...
mrtimharry 03.12.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Great Dorset Steam Fair
Quality of Rooms
Standard of Service
Quality of Food & Drink
Quality of Facilities
Quick review of Great Dorset Steam Fair
Want a day full of atmosphere then you can't go far wrong by visiting Blandford annually the last week of August. Huge fields are transformed into a massive showground and this is the best display of working steam engines that you will ever witness. Get your history, culture and fresh air in one day and then just before bedtime wash all the soot and dust out of your hair. For the more delicate there are craft marques and food tents; shopaholics have plenty of market stall choices and for the funfair addict you are well catered for too. As long as the sun shines it's a great day out. Finally don't forget the beer and cider tents! ...
katy.williamson 15.07.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Great Dorset Steam Fair
Quick review of Great Dorset Steam Fair
explained really well priced and detailed it was not hard to understand and not all full of filling in it all made sense ...
angelwild 17.07.2008
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Great Dorset Steam Fair
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Great Dorset Steam Fair"
GreatDorsetSteamfair is off to a flying start again this year, Traction Engines, Market Stalls, Craft Fayre, exhibitors of all kinds of machinery, fair ground, horses and displays. A really good day out for all the family.
The fair finishes on Sunday 3rd September so better get there fast, a really good day out, so much to see and do.
The atmosphere at the show is very nice and people are very helpful.
The entrance price is quite high at £10.00 but it is well worth it.
Night life - mainly around the fairground and beer tents, excellent rides, good food at the pig roast, dancing girls, lots of people.
Good for both adults and children, plus half price tickets if you get there after 5pm.
A really good event, well worth a visit. ...
![The Great Dorset Steam Fair - A Celebration Of The Age Of British Steam [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78487426.jpg "The Great Dorset Steam Fair - A Celebration Of The Age Of British Steam [DVD]")
![Heritage - Heavy Horses At The Great Dorset Steam Fair [DVD]](http://images.ciao.com/ide/images/icons/no_pic_generic_S1.gif "Heritage - Heavy Horses At The Great Dorset Steam Fair [DVD]"){kind=icon}
![10 Pack: Heritage (including Heavy Horses At The Great Dorset Steam Fair, The Beautiful World Of Mechanical Music, Heavy Haulage, National Museum Of Street Organs, Festival Of Transport,&five more) [DVD] [2007]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/77952159.jpg "10 Pack: Heritage (including Heavy Horses At The Great Dorset Steam Fair, The Beautiful World Of Mechanical Music, Heavy Haulage, National Museum Of Street Organs, Festival Of Transport,&five more) [DVD] [2007]")
