Many from the Scottish farming community attend the Great Yorkshire Show, but now more and more from the north are attending another great rural event in the county of the white rose.
This is the Yorkshire Vintage Association’s Tractor Fest held at Newby Hall near Ripon.
This event is growing in popularity and each year it picks a special theme.
This year it was no surprise to learn that Fordson Ford and New Holland were the focus. The number of blue entries alone would make many event organisers green with envy as a huge number exhibits were gathered around the policy park trees in the event’s usual manner.
In fact the numbers at this event are staggering – almost 350 tractors, trucks, vans and cars in the special theme alone while there were 400 tractors from other makes. Nearly 200 stationary engines with many driving equipment were entered along with more than 80 cars, a similar number of commercials and 60 military vehicles. Motorcycles and push bikes numbered 80 and the horticultural section saw more than 80 entries too.
With such huge numbers forward there was going to be plenty of variety in the exhibits with 100-year-old plus joining machines from the end of the 20th century. Superbly restored vehicles joined those in fantastic original condition and items of great rarity mingled with those developed for local conditions.
As mentioned earlier the tractors, some of which were hitched to matching implements are assembled around many of the large trees in the grounds of the historic estate. This makes for a very eye-catching layout especially when the one make club stands are in the centre of the display.
