Classic car show returns to Yattendon

Yattendon’s Classic Vehicle Day welcomed its largest turnout yet as it returned to the West Berkshire village at the weekend, writes Emily Pennington.

Hundreds of display vehicles turned up to the event, now in its seventh year, which took place on Sunday and had everything from Maseratis, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, to Minis and Ford Anglias.

Spectators enjoyed viewing the ensemble of around 600 vehicles, which also included a wide selection of vintage tractors and commercial vehicles, plus a number of Second World War military vehicles and a very shiny 1940s fire engine.

The star of the show, however, was the Sherman tank, which arrived on Saturday evening in the display field for everyone to see.

This particular Sherman, owned by Nigel Stoate, was in the Brad Pitt Second World War action film Fury, partly shot near Thame, where she was dubbed ‘Old Phylis’.

With the show at an end, however, the tank got stuck in the entrance gate and took 40 minutes to get out.

Refreshments were on offer too, with coffee served from a classic Land Rover and a vintage Citroën van, and

beer served from a West Berkshire Brewery van called ‘Dave’.

Visitors were also able to wander around the vintage and craft stalls in the display field and village hall, as well as walk up to Yattendon Garage to see classic car restoration in action.

Best in Show prizes were presented by Lord Illiffe, who allowed the event to be run on his Yattendon Estate, to a 1930's Vauxhall, a 1950's Austin Healey Sprite and a scooter and sidecar.

For the second year running, all money raised at the free event will go towards the Thames Valley Air Ambulance and other local charities. The total is expected to be around £3,000.