Torbay Steam Fair (5th - 7th August, 2022)
This is one of a series of pages I have uploaded to illustrate facets of the steam rallies we have attended in the UK. Click here for the 2022 introduction and overall index.
After a four year gap, it was time to revisit Torbay. In the past this had been a medium / small show that had punched above its weight as it had a very strong working area (like Much Marcle used to).
Learning form our previous experiences, we left 'early' (07.30) on the Sunday and hence we were at the show gate more or less as I had expected at 10.30 with a '2022' normal' cloudless day ahead. Going home in the late afternoon look rather longer, Yuehong wanted a quick look at picturesque Brixham and the traffic on the M5 from Weston-Super-Mare was moving slowly in places. Nevertheless we were back home just ahead of sunset..
The rally has moved 'across the road' in Churston, I don't know why. Opinions were divided but it seemed to me that the site was smaller than the old one. The number of engines was down a little from 2018 which seems to be true of most rallies, numbers are sometimes maintained but very few have more.
I couldn't find the arena events in a copy of the programme I borrowed. Very much later I found a plastic laminated copy attached to the arena fence and, consequently, I was at the far end of the site when the parade started around noon. Inevitably the high sun made photography challenging for what for many engines was their only movement of the day and when a driver was tempted to crack open the regulator a little more, a thin cloud of red dust rose up covering spectators in a film of it, the steam car being the major offender. Of course, it did the photographer no favours either.
The working area was, frankly, a disappointment and I hope it will be restored to good health by the time we revisit.
Finally, the West Country (Devon and Cornwall) has traditionally not been densely populated by showman's engines but these are two new arrivals. I had actually seen them at Abbey Hill in early May but as they were largely covered by protective tarpaulins, their new ownership had not been apparent.
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