Held over the weekend of 8th and 9th August, this must surely be one of the biggest off road shows in Britain. And what a setting, the beautiful grounds of Weston Park. The organisers were certainly blessed this year with two full days of sunshine drawing in the crowds.
The aim of this event is to provide a family day out, with plenty for both the newcomer or expert to look at or do. The central arena provided a continual display for visitors, whilst the off road circuit and mudrun gave the more adventurous something to have a go at.
In the arena there were demonstrations of winching techniques, equipment and various vehicle displays. Sunday saw the final of the Adam Jenkins Challenge, where several teams fought it out for a place in the Malaysian Rainforest Challenge. We'll bring you the results in a seperate article. Trade stands selling everything from a shackle to a complete vehicle were positioned all around the arena together with all the refreshment facilities you could possibly want.
Just along from the arena an area had been set up for the auto jumble with parts being sold for almost any 4x4. Bargains galore and plenty of people looking for them.
Further up the field was the home for the various clubs over the weekend. A wide variety of clubs filled this section, with exhibitors ranging from the Forward Control club to the Dakar owners club. There was even a MAN 8x8 Cruise Missile tractor unit on display. Also in this area were the team from GLASS (the Green Lane Association) with a large display of their activities.
Moving further up the field again, brought you to the start of the off road course and the mud run. The off road course was designed to be a non-damaging scenic drive in the grounds of Weston Park. The mud run however was at the other end of the scale. A very deep 200ft long hole had been carved out of the ground, big enough to loose a tank in. The bottom of the hole had then been turned into glutinous mud. And I mean really thick sticky stuff. The aim was to try and drive as far as possible through this hole and if possible out the other end. Not easy I can assure you.
Amongst all this there were other activities going on designed for the children, these included gokarts, a punch and judy show and much more.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable day out for everyone. One not to be missed next year!
Here are some of the photos we captured during our visit:
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