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The Club Shop crew have been out on your behalf of the Club, this time to the grounds of the historic Stanford Hall, built in the 1690s for Sir Roger Cave, it is still home to his descendants and is one of the most exquisite examples of the architecture of the period. Stanford Hall is situated in the village of Stanford-on-Avon, about 5 miles South East of Lutterworth, on the South Leicestershire border. The show is held in the grounds, in front of the main hall and stable block, along side a picturesque stretch of the river Avon.
The event is run by the Leicestershire & Warwickshire VW Owners Club and is often described by competitors as having “the best Concours D’Elegance in the country” and I think it would be difficult for anyone to disagree. With 17 classes, including an “invitation only” Super Class and a Display Class for New Beetles, the Concours D’Elegance caters for all Volkswagen and Audi models. This years Concours D’Elegance seemed to have more entries than previous years, a packed field you might say, with all 17 classes having sufficient numbers to run without any merging of classes. We were also tipped off that this year saw an increase in the number of traders of about 15%, a reminder that Stanford Hall remains one of the best VW events in the UK. Even the number of visitors seemed higher than previous years, although this may be deceptive due to the dry, sunny weather we experienced on the Sunday.
The Club Shop was well supported this year, with additional help coming from Brendan Collis, a Staffs Centre member, and Roy Gasson, a long standing member of the club and a recent Life Member; many thanks to you both, it certainly makes a big difference to the Club Shop Regulars when extra help is on hand. Generally, from a Club Shop point of view, the show went well, we gained a couple of new members and many others showed interest in the club, taking membership forms with them. Club regalia sold well and the newly acquired stock of key rings and badges are showing a lot of promise in giving a good return for the investment. For those members of the family that wanted a break from the VW scene the Hall and Stable Yard offers much more to look at, although the £5 per head (adults) entry fee to the show did not include entry to the hall or other attractions. In the stable block sits a motorcycle museum with an outstanding collection of racing and vintage motorcycles, opposite is a full size replica of “The Hawk” a flying machine said to have flown in the late 19th century. There are also tea rooms, a 14th century church and a craft centre plus many other family monuments.
Back to the VW’s, the quality of the vehicles turned out onto the concours field were exceptional and included a T25 (Transporter Van) fitted with a 5 cylinder Audi engine. This was no conversion, it is a genuine VW model that is still made in Africa, with the extra power from the Audi engine and the right hand drive configuration as used in Africa, I rather fancied this one myself, even the sliding door was on the correct side. Could be an alternative to the New Type 2 Bay with its air cooled 1600cc engine and left hand drive. I have tried take pictures of as good selection of the concours vehicles, however, there were so many that I soon ran out of memory on the digital camera. To sum up, Stanford Hall is one of the best VW shows for all the family in the UK – long may it continue. |
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