I didn't realise I had been away for so long, but I hope to write properly again soon!
I didn't realise I had been away for so long, but I hope to write properly again soon!
Member since:06.08.2002
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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 beertents 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.
Apologies for this being so long.
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My gosh! you made my hubby so happy! it is his childhood dream, I called him to read this as it means so much to him for upgrade information. For him it was such a mostalgic, energizing and most delightful review/ So on his behalf here is the reward!
avril
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Oct 6th, 2004
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