This ever-popular Volkswagen event was ever popular again yesterday. I’ve been going as long as I’ve been attending shows on the VW scene (since 1992 since you ask), and 2009 celebrated the 33rd running of the traditional show season opener. It’s always blessed with good weather, and an outstanding collection of standard vintage Volkswagens, and yesterday was no exception.
Old and new Beetles rubbed tyres with campers, Polos and Derbys jostled with Corrados and Sciroccos, while Golfs parked next to Audi Coupes. The concours d’elegance is one of the most well-regarded in VW show circles, and for the first time, there were enough Polos to have a separate class for these unlikely scrubbed and polished everyday hatchbacks.
Aside from the 40-minute traffic jam to get off the A14 and into the grounds of the historic house, the highlights of the show for me were the Disney ‘Herbie’ look-alikes, a flawless lime green VW-Porsche 914, and of course, the early Polos, three of which hadn’t been at the show before. The standard of cars both in the concours and club displays was again typically Stanford high, and while the autojumble offered more to the water-cooled enthusiast, air-cooled parts were still in the majority.
Arriving in time for lunch, and not displaying in the clubs area, meant that we saw the show from a different perspective this year. Parked in one of the public car parks with the rabble (a mild-mannered one at Stanford Hall), let us walk around the grounds admiring the other cars, and rummage through the parts bins with no time restrictions. The need to be back at the car for club duties didn’t exist, and with lunch in our backpack, we grabbed a food table when we could.
Yes, there was something (I don’t know what) missing, and it didn’t quite feel the same (I don’t know why), but that’s to say it still wasn’t enjoyable. A May Day Bank Holiday weekend tradition, and probably my favourite Volkswagen event for the mix of classic and factory fresh-looking cars and relaxed atmosphere, there’s (thankfully) no sign of the Stanford Hall appeal dimming just yet.
Tags: Cars, Journal, Volkswagen