For those of us who have a fondness for the leaf sprung Land Rover, then the Leafer’s at t’pit gathering is a bit of a gem. Note the use of gathering, not show. You won’t find large commercial offerings here. What it is, is a chilled out gathering of like-minded enthusiasts, who turn up either for the day or the weekend, park up their Land Rover, then while away the day chatting and being sociable. It really isn’t more complicated than that. You are allowed to turn up in non-leaf sprung Land Rovers, however you will be made to park up in the regular car park, the main field is for one type of Land Rover only and is strictly adhered too.

Leafer’s at t’pit started, many years ago and was run by the Seriously Series Forum, over the years it has been run by different individuals, and the current team manage it via their Facebook page. The original location was the National Coal Mining Museum, between Wakefield and Huddersfield, hence the name Leafer’s at t’pit. In 2019 the current location of Apedale country park was announced. Luckily for the team, Apedale Heritage centre was also a mine, so the name still worked. The event itself is held over the August bank holiday weekend, so camping for 3 nights is available if you wish.

Below – Minty my 67 109″ Camper has been my Leafer’s transport for many years, and was actually purchased at the 2018 Leafer’s event!

You arrive on site, to a laid-back affair, all the people camping had to book and be allocated a camping number to help manage numbers. If you follow the Facebook page, the sentence “Is the camping list open yet” usually starts to appear early on in the year. As soon as it is announced, emails fly as people try to book their camping spot. The event does get booked up quickly, so people generally don’t hang around. Once you find your spot, you pitch up and park up your Landie and start to socialize.

The location itself hosts the Mining Museum, Apedale country park and also Apedale Light Railway. There is a café on site, so breakfast is sorted as well. It’s a nice quiet spot to be honest, and visitors to the country park and railway usually have a meander around the Land Rovers as well.

Friday is a quiet day, with people arriving and pitching camp around the periphery of the grassy area set aside. In the evening firepits and BBQ’s get lit, and people gather in groups to catch up. Come the Saturday the central part of the grassy area starts to fill with the day visitors, all parking up neatly in rows. There is always a good selection of Land Rovers on display, and each owner is more than willing to discuss their pride and joy with you. The show is about driving there in your vehicle; trailer queens are generally frowned upon.  However, one year a blind eye was turned as one visitor turned up towing his Land Rover behind a fully working steam engine. The 12-mile journey took them around 4 hours to complete!

Above – There is always a wide array of Series Land Rovers vehicles on display, from regular models, to specialist vehicles like these Fire Engines, the Pink Panther or even an alfresco Lightweight.

Come the evening Saturday becomes a bit more social. Once the general public have left, the railway light stays open for those attending the meet. For a contribution to the railway, you get to drive a steam train (under close supervision I might add) up and down a section of track. The station platform is full of wannabe train drivers, and the pressure is on to drive it smoothly when you take your turn. Spinning the wheels at the start or sliding to a stop will result in friendly banter and general **** take.

Once the train has been put away in the shed, the communal BBQ is lit and the whole field gathers outside the Land Rover Arms, a marque that serves as shelter if the bad weather arrives. The entertainment usually consists of a game of swivel housing boules, a charity auction and a game of tinned food bingo. The aim being to read something off the label and challenge the rest of the crowd to beat you by having less or more (you decided) of a said ingredient. It is fair to say that I had never heard the phrase “mechanically separate chicken” before I started attending Leafer’s.

Below – Yes, we really did play swivel housing boules.

As the night draws in, the firepit draws the crowds and usually someone with a guitar will start to play. A pleasant evening indeed. Sunday comes, and once again the middle of the field starts to fill with the day visitors. Some are the same as the day before, but others are new for the day.

For me the key to Leafer’s is the atmosphere. Relaxed with a definite family feel to it. For those that have been attending for years, you see the same people and Land Rover’s. It really has a dedicated fan base and people go out of their way to attend. One Land Rover, with his father and daughter owners, travels from Belfast every year just for the event. Visiters from Belgium and the Netherlands have also attended over the years. It doesn’t pretend to be a big event; it doesn’t have to. That’s not what it is about.

On Sunday the organizers walked around and decided on the winning vehicles. There were five categories this year. Best Series 1, 2 & 3, Best Military and Best in show. It’s not always just shiny well-presented vehicles that win. It’s the vehicles which tug at the heart strings of the organisers. The ones with character. After the award ceremony most people pack and leave, however a small hand full stay on Sunday evening. I mean when it comes to swivel housing bowls practice does make perfect.

Above – the award winning Land Rovers, left to right, Best Military, Series 3, Series 2, Series 1 and Best in Show.