Stonor Park 2008

Floor
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

Stoner park (insert joke here...) is one of those VW shows I've meant to go to for about 15 years but never quite made. With a bit more time on my hands I decided that this was the year. Then I found it clashed with a load of other things. Anyway, looking at the map the show ground is only just off the M40 so if I used a modern car I could bat up and down there comfortably in a day. And I didn't get to Stanford Hall this year and needed some wiper blades.

Today was the day and off we set. The trip from Leamington was pretty easy and only 63 miles. That's about an eggcup of fuel in the Berlingo as far as I could tell from the gauge.

Anyway I'm not going to write a book but here are a few notes:

• The car park is on a hillside. A steep one..


• The grass needed cutting..


• Walking through the car park there were a higher than normal percentage of old VeeDubs..


• The autojumble is better than Stanford Halls..


• The trade however isn't as extensive as that at the Hall. Not bad but I've seen bigger. Pretty varied selection of stalls though with not too many selling “lifestyle” products. I'm an enthusiast and want to see lots of rusty bits !.


• The traders can't get a signal to their chip & pin machines thanks to the surrounding hills. I saw this cost at least one money as the punter simply didn't have that much cash in their pocket. If you don't take cheques the customer has to walk. There's no cash machine for many miles..


• Yet again no-one had any Dormobile table track. I've been looking for this for years and never found any not attached to an interior. If anyone has some they would like to sell, get in touch. Please..


• There were people carrying odd shaped objects and large chunks of VW. I used to think this was odd until I did it myself a few times..


• The house doesn't open until 2pm. Daft when the tea room could do terrific business. With admission included in the entry fee it would be a popular addition..


• Getting out is bad in a low slung modern car as you exit across the steep hill. I wouldn't have fancied being in the Type 2 ahead of us. How everyone gets out without tipping over sideways is a mystery..


• The concours display is fantastic with a huge range of vehicles. Some more bays and wedges would be nice though.

I'd go back if I could combine it with a camping trip. The area is good for this so manybe next year...

Loads of pictures on Flickr