Stonor Park VW Show 2019

Walk in the park

The sun was out and so were the show folk. Stonor Park VW show was heaving by mid-morning with a really well balanced mix of old- and new-skool VWs

Words & Photos: Paul Knight

Organised by the Association of British VW Clubs (ABVWC), this event has been running for 30 years on this site. It has always been popular for those looking to show and display their VWs.

Stonor Park is a fabulous old stately home nestled between rolling hills and ancient woodland. It is located between the M4 and the M40. It’s actually very close Henley-on-Thames, making it just a 30 min drive for our Reading lad, AlGoo, and 90 mins for Jolly Jim and I, who were travelling from Southend in Essex.

Camping

We arrived on Saturday afternoon to join the Campers in the field alongside the main event on one of the hottest days of the year. Incidentally, Camping needed to be pre-booked (i.e. you can’t just turn up without a reservation). The good news is that £22 paid for Camping and entry to the event on Sunday.

Speaking of pre-booking stuff, it’s important to remember that the same is true of show/exhibition cars, club stands, trade and swapmeet etc. You need to get organised and book things in advance as this is not an event for the last-minute.com kinda guy.

Camping was a relaxed affair at Stonor Park VW Show and Goo stood in for Pete ‘the meat’ at this one by marinating some fab steaks and bringing along sausages from his uncle’s butchers shop (how he hadn’t mentioned a butcher in the family before now, I don’t know!). So we slept well and were ready to roll on Sunday morning.

The Show

There was a light breeze and the sun was shining. Great car show weather and the perfect combination for a little sunburn if you weren’t careful.

Stonor Park VW show has always packed in plenty of swapmeet and trade action. Not to mention kids activities and even a little light musical entertainment throughout the day. However it’s the club displays and concourse line-up that floats out boat, and we certainly weren’t disappointed this year.

In fact, it’s been a good few years since I was last at Stonor. It was clear that there were a lot more Transporters on site than there was last time I visited.

Show ‘n’ Shine

While this was once regarded to be quite a tough concourse event targeted at largely stock or restored vehicles, things have certainly relaxed in recent years as there was a great mix of stock and modified air- and water-cooled VWs on site.

That said, having judged at this event in the past, I can promise you that the concourse is not only held in high regard but also that the judging is far more involved than at some other events I’ve assisted at.

In short, a trophy here is well earned, so well done to those that walked away with something for the mantelpiece.

Anyway, enjoy the photos and perhaps we’ll see you at this firm family favourite in 2019?

www.abvwc.com/stonor.html