For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to visit a steam fair. I see them online and think, oh I would have liked to have gone to that, then never actually do anything about it the following year. So, imagine my delight when an invite to the Duncombe Steam Rally popped into my inbox via the Series I,II,III club. Would we like to put on a display of our Land Rovers at this year’s event? Well, yes. Yes, we would.

Duncombe Park is located at Helmsley, North Yorkshire and has been holding a Steam Rally for many years organised by the Great Yorkshire Traction Engine Club. It’s a great event and was well attended, with the option of camping for the entire weekend. Checking out the weather forecast, it looked quite mixed. Fine weather on Friday and Saturday, but thunderstorms were forecast on Sunday. Wishing to avoid a wet pack up I elected to sleep in Minty my 1967 109” which, when I bought it 8 years ago, came with a full-size caravan bed in the rear. So that was that sorted then.

After work on the Friday, I packed Minty, and we set off for the 75-mile journey to Duncombe. Rain showers aside, it was all going well, then I got to the bottom of Sutton Bank. Friends of mine may recall a slight incident I had previously at the bottom of Sutton Bank, which required the assistance of Paddington the Series 3. An event which I have since taken a lot of banter for. This time however, Paddington wasn’t required. A truck had got stuck and the road was closed. Bugger. Quite a long detour and 30 minutes later than planned I arrived at the park. It was raining quite vigorously, to say the least, rain which hadn’t been forecast I might add. I really hoped this wasn’t going to be the weather for the weekend I thought as I pulled up Minty in our designated spot. Paul, another fellow Series I,II,III club member was already in place with his rather tidy 1960 Series 2 and camping trailer all set up, as was Keith who was sat in his Series 3 waiting for the rain to stop. The rain was on and off all evening as the other members of the club turned up, but it didn’t really matter to be honest as it wasn’t raining in the beer tent, which is where we all ended up.

Above – Sean Lawlor’s rather splendid Series 3 High Capacity Pick up was just one of the handful of Classic Land Rovers on our stand.

That is one of the great things about the Land Rover community, whilst we were all members of the club, most of us didn’t really know one another. We had all met previously at different events, but we had never sat round a table as such and chatted. The beer flowed and the Rockabilly band played, and it was a rather pleasant evening indeed. By the time bed beckoned the rain had stopped, and the forecast for Saturday was looking good.

Waking early, the coffee was brewed and we all gathered. The number of Land Rovers was increasing as other vehicles started to arrive. In front of us was the classic car section, which was also slowly filling up with various vehicles, one from 1911. Behind us was a fairly innocuous looking lorry, we had noticed it but didn’t really pay it any attention. Come the Saturday morning the side was opened and behind it was a vintage organ, this will sound lovely we all thought whilst we made breakfast.

Above- This rather lovely Series 2B forward control had been converted into a camper and was found in the camping section of the field.

Below – The Series I,II,III club wasn’t the only club to display. The Land Rover Campers were also there.

Just as the organ started its repertoire, I decided to have a wander around to see what was on display. For those that like classic vehicles, a steam rally is a must. Along side the Land Rovers and cars were displays of vintage commercial vehicles, old tractors and classic motorcycles. All lined up, looking rather splendid indeed. Then there were the Traction engines. As an engineer I just love the barn door engineering of these magnificent machines. Big gears, huge chains, very large flywheels and well-oiled pistons all reciprocating, turning and moving as the vehicles slowly trundled around. The displays covered everything from immaculately polished and highly decorated examples to the more honest working vehicles that looked like it hadn’t been painted in several decades.

Below – Classic Land Rovers of all shapes and sizes were on display.

Getting back to the Land Rovers I sat down to listen to the aforementioned organ. It was a bit loud, making conversations difficult, but it did help the atmosphere of the event. But I must admit that after 20 minutes it was getting a bit, erm, repetitive? Through out the day it belted out top tunes from the hit musical Grease, Swedish pop stars Abba and even the odd Celin Dion. Twice…. It did get a bit too much, and the best bit was certainly the Sound of Silence. No not the song, actual silence.

The day progressed and we met lots of nice people. It’s funny, but most people you meet have a Land Rover story from their past. Land Rovers are such a relatable vehicle and in my opinion the most classless vehicle ever made. Come the evening, several of the Traction engines were to drive into the centre of Helmsley so after a kind offer to drive from Ann, we all hopped into Paddington and went to join them. It’s fair to say that the centre of Helmsley was chaos, but good chaos. The atmosphere was fantastic, and the smell of the traction engines filled the air. We even had the local mayor welcome us from the back of an old trailer!

Above Left – Paddington was our taxi for the evening as we headed to the chaos that was the centre of Helmsley. Above Right – It wasn’t just old traction engines that were on display in the village that evening.

After some time, we once again hopped into the back of Paddington and headed back to camp for some lovely Greek food courtesy of one of the many food trucks there, the beer tent beckoned again and this time we had the pleasure of listening to a Glam Rock band. Getting to bed, later that evening we braced ourselves for the thunder and lightning promised for the next day.

During the night, there were a few heavy showers, but come the morning it wasn’t that bad. We even joined the vehicle parade and drove around the central arena, chatting to the compare about our Land Rovers. We all lined back up on the stand and spent the day looking around and chatting to more people. Come later afternoon, we all packed up and headed home. We had all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and all vowed to return next year. The organisers did a great job and were more than happy for us to return next year – with more Land Rovers! If you are a member of the Series I,II,III club look out for more details next year!

Above – A few of the Clubs vehicles got to star in the central arena!