printSewards of Petersfield - Rally Review
Our own personal reviews of the Steam and Vintage shows/rallies we visit throughout the season.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Ardingly Steam Rally
What better site to hold a vintage vehicle show then on the south of England showground at Ardingly in West Sussex, it has everything that organisers and exhibitors could wish for, toilet blocks, showers, a road network and plenty of space, what could possibly go wrong? We visited Ardingly on Saturday 9th of July with great expectations as we had visited in the past and had fond memories of this event but it turned out to be not as we remembered it.
On entering the site we had to walk through the extensive market and autojumble before we even caught sight of the first exhibit but we would not be side tracked, we had come to see the engines. After a while gazing at 'Princess Mary' generating on the fairground we found the steam model section hidden amongst a field of caravans which was rather a shame as we felt sure that some people would have missed these wonderful models. Next, the full size steamers, 22 in all, fewer then we remembered in the past but a good selection of makes and types, our only comment being the condition a good many of them were presented in, less then 'concourse'.
Other sections were well represented, tractors, cars, commercials and stationary engines etc with vehicle parades throughout the day, the steamers first arena parade was at 11.30, rather ambitious we thought!
Ardingly has gone down in our estimation and is not as good as in the past. The engines are no longer allowed to drive about the site, even with the network of roads which is a great shame and everything seems cramped and untidy when there is so much space to use. It would appear that, as with a lot of events, making money is more important then anything else so the traders are taking over at the expense of the exhibitors. Let's get back to the old way of doing things, it was no less safe and everyone had a good time.
posted by Sewards of Petersfield @ Friday, July 22, 2005
2 Comments:
At 9:21 AM, April 29, 2006, 
said...
Who is getting their wires Crossed?
The 'Ardingly Vintage Vehicle Show' is exactly as described, covering ALL types of exhibit from Models, Stationary Engines, Fire Engines, Tractors,Military, Wood-working, Commercials,Cars, Motorbikes, Cycles and Steamers.Each is as important as the other! Therefore it is not named the Ardingly Steam Rally!
There are two public entrances...one leading the public straight into the main thoroughfare. The other which Blogger entered takes the public through to the autojumble and trade stalls.
It is necessary for these to be close to an entrance so that people carrying their goodies can reach their vehicles quickly.
As regards to driving engines around the site with current Health & Safety regulations in this day and age no vehicles are allowed to roam the site unless going to and from the arena parades.The Showground certainly would not take kindly to heavy vehicles roaming at will breaking up their tarmac!
The aim of the organisers is for everyone to have a good time, meeting old friends and generally enjoying themselves.
I think they are successful in providing such a pleasurable event..and a safe one too!
At 10:00 PM, April 30, 2006, 
Brian Carter said...
Further to Caroline's comments, I would like to enter a few of my especially on the basis that you think making money is more important than running a good show!
As one of the organisers of the show, I can assure you that the amount of money made each year is pitiful against the amount of effort and financial risk put in by the organisers who are all volunteers. Our primary aim is to run a safe, enjoyable Vintage Vehicle Show, not a steam show for the limited number of people who are only interested in machines that hiss and drop water everywhere (This later comment is from 10 years of working with a Marshal Road Roller).
The sheer cost of hiring the site and it's associated services means that we are running a cost higher than most similar even before we budget for items like steam, organs etc. We do however acknowledge your comment about the model steam but the owners are insistent that they be displayed in front of their own accommodation. We have tried to change this in the past with little success as a model engine is obviously much smaller that your average family caravan or tent.
With respect to the autojumble and trade, we have found this location to be the best for both our traders (who go a long way to covering the hire of the sight) and for the majority of our visitors. We each have our own area of interest and at Ardingly we attract a first class autojumble and public that only come for the same. There are also the added problems of people getting their purchases off the site without causing major inconvenience to other people.
Most of the Ardingly site is covered with permanent roads, which have not been built or designed to take the ground pressure of a steam engine. To limit any damage to the surfaces, we are unable to have heavy vehicles continually trundling around the site. 20 years ago, steam engines were encouraged to move around as much as possible but with current driving and health and safety restrictions, we cannot allow or encourage this any further.
As a sign of good faith, we would welcome the opportunity to meet you again at Ardingly to discuss any concerns you may have.
Links to this post:
