This car show took place in 2nd August 2021 on the outskirts of Colchester which is the oldest town in the UK. This was a new show for me and I was looking forward to it especially as I hadn’t been there before.
The weather apps said there was a round thirty percent chance of rain later in the day. When I got up the sky looked grey but felt dry, so I decided to go for it. I got the car out and set up the Sat Nav for a scenic route and set off for an unknown journey.
When I got to the castle there was a board outside that said “closed to visitors no entry”, I was not impressed. I couldn’t see any cars inside and and also couldn’t see any cars arriving.
I backed out onto the road to drive around and look to see what was going on. I saw a guy walking his dog and asked him if he knew anything about it. Lucky for me he did. He said that they put the sign up to stop castle visitors but the car show was on. So I drove back again and past the sign. A very slight curve and I saw the marshals and a few cars parked up. I was directed to the field that was on a bit of a slope and wet. I was having trouble trying to get traction where they parked me and said I could move over a little on the flatter part of the field. I was grateful for her consideration and said thanks, but I mentioned if it rains I would have trouble getting out.
The plus side is that I had a great view of the castle from below.

I got out to speak to the guys next to me a couple of nice guys I knew who were walking over to me who are also in the Bury Retro Car Club that I’m a member of. About ten minutes later the head marshal came over to tell me that a car club had cancelled (around 125 cars) and would not be coming due to the potential weather, would I like to move?
I said yes and pointed to the main walkway which was on a path where my two friends had just come from. She agreed I was allowed to move and parked up near them with a fantastic backdrop.

Then it happened, a few spots of drizzle! Rain wasn’t due for another three hours or so. As I stood looking up to the sky another friend who owns a newer Mustang pulled next to me.

The area where I was parked is such a nice place with walk ways and a large pond.


I decided to walk around and take some pictures before it started to rain.





























I was quite taken with this truck and would be my a project I would like to do next.




Walking up the slight incline the was a little bridge over to the castle on the left.

I reckon my car would have looked good under these arches but it wasn’t being allowed from what I could see, a real shame though.

Towards the top of the incline there was a house with a few big luxury cars.

Turning to the left you walk over the bridge to the castle which was planted in the middle of a large green and the cars were parked around the outside, mainly clubs from what I could see.











Towards the back of the Alfa Romeo there was a drop and an opening where you could look down on where I was parked.


With a little bit of zoom.

By the time I got back to the car there was a few new cars arrived, this brand new 2021 Mustang Mach1. Why this is even in a car show i don’t know, I can see this in any Ford car showroom that stocks them.





A little further down I had a childhood flashback, my first bike, ‘Raleigh Chopper’. This are now holding stupid silly money like £1,000 for the early models.

The rain started to fall and I found a nice shaded area under a tree where I could keep dry. Obviously I had to close the hood.



When the rain stopped the hood went back up along with the show board.



There was the occasional spells of sun but more frequent and longer rain showers. With that in mind I decided to leave, I was only there for a few hours in the end. The drive home was getting wetter by the minute, it was a good choice to leave I’m sad to say.
Hi. It’s been far too long since I checked in on you and the ‘stang, but this post from you is a classic. Those vintage machines all look great under that overcast sky. Especially (to my taste) that blue Porsche 1600. When you visit us here near the Port of Los Angeles, you’ll find any number of classic old pickups tooling around, but they’ll all be 50s Chevys, not Fords. For whatever reason, it’s a Chevy town. No Fords need apply. Great shot of the raindrops on the paint job, but it must’ve cost you a couple hours of work to clean ‘er up after you got home. And Hedingham Castle is just as perfect as anyone can ever imagine. Back then, “Beowulf” was brand new, just off the presses. Hah!
Thanks for the comments Brad. That Porsche sounded as good as it looked. Not overdone, just a well tuned engine. I would visit there again for a car show as it’s a great venue, shame about the weather this time. On the plus side the sky did get moody sometimes.
Cleaning, it never stops for me on that car. 👍
A old truck would be a fantastic project. I once thought about one of the Factory Five kits; and maybe had I a bigger garage. Anyway, aside from the blue Mustang, I like the (1970?) Mercury Cougar.
Thanks for sharing.
I believe you are right about the cougar, it made a wonderful noise when leaving.
I gotta do a truck, not full rat rod, but just a real fun car without having to worry about the paint all the time.