Apley Farm Shop’s Classic Motor Day a huge success

3 Lambretta motorbikes, Se7ern Soul Scooters

Jackie, Lydia, Donna, Lora & Sarah

Head chef on the courtyard barbecue cooking Apley butcher sausages & beef burgers

Natasha with prizes

Apley Farm Shop’s Classic Motor Day was a huge success today, of course partly thanks to the sunshine & 27 degrees! Over 100 cars & motorbikes were admired by 1000-1500 visitors.

Steve Watts of A Decent Exposure photography took these & many others wonderful photos.

We had a great variety of cars & motorbikes which were admired by visitors from as close as Norton, less than a mile from Apley Farm Shop, to as far as Lanarkshire & Spain.  There’s clearly a huge interest out there, as this event has grown year on year since it began in 2012.

It was our biggest & busiest event since our jousting fairs in 2013 & 2014. We’ll definitely be repeating it; Many asked for next year’s date which will be Sunday 16 July 2017, 10-4pm. The sounds of the old engines being occasionally turned over filled the air. Many of these cars are only brought out in the warmer months, a few times a year, to be displayed at car shows usually within a 100 mile radius. We organised the cars into these groups:

1. Black Country Classic Car club
2. MGs
3. Jaguars
4. 1970s onwards
5. 1950s & 1960s
6. 1940s & before
7. Motor cycles

Winner – Terence Tully’s Bond Bug

I met some of the car owners including Alan Wolf who brought a modern classic – an X-power grey, ZTT MG (2004), one of the very last to be built at Longbridge. David Terry brought a yellow 1978 MGB which he bought as a show car & has restored bit by bit himself, with some help. Other cars & motorbikes included three Lambretta motorbikes (1963, 1964 & 1967) brought by the Se7ern Soul Scooters club, a grey 1965 Singer Vogue owned by Brian Howell, a replica Captain America [Harley Davidson] motor bike signed by Peter Fonda, a 1957 MG Magnette & a 3.8 Jaguar.

Gavin & Venetia chose 4 winners:

1. Mr Weiss – Norton ES2 motor cycle
2. Sean Thompson – VW Camper 1965 splitscreen
3. Terence Tully – Bond Bug
4. James Morgan – Triumph roadster 1800 1946.

Mr Weiss lives a few miles from the farm shop told me about his 1936 Garden Gate Norton motorbike. His grandpa also had one in c. 1936 & shared his passion for cars & bikes with his grandson who also has a ‘Burlington Arrow’ in his collection. It’s similar to motorbikes used in the Second World War, though the only history of this particular motorbike has been gathered during restoration work.

As usual it was a truly family affair – Octavia helped in the cafe, Sybilla got a great suntan on car parking duty, Francis tested the go karts & Venetia helped judge winners!

Winner – James Morgan – Triumph roadster 1800 1946

Winner Sean Thompson – VW Camper 1965 splitscreen

Listen again by clicking HERE to Ryan Kennedy’s BBC Radio Shropshire’s Treasure Quest. Apley Farm Shop was one of their destinations yesterday. 2:35:44, 2:47:48, 2:48:21 & Gavin comes on at 3:05:25 – “the good Lord himself”, as they said!