Super September...

...a month to remember!

When chatting to people about the van, one question that often crops up is 'do you use it much?'. Now at first this always seems fairly odd and I usually answer with an upbeat 'Yes, you've got to' - meaning that six years of sinking all my hard-earned in to a campervan, do you think I just look at it?

If possible I'd be away in it more but the usual commitments always get in the way. But this last month has been fantastic and, in no way intentional, we have managed to be in the van every weekend since the end of August.

Weekend one
We left work on Friday evening and made the trip to Strensham services - we overnighted here to be at Busfest for first-light the next day. Busfest was as busy as ever, as a regular visitor I don't think it would be wrong of me to say it's getting a bit same-y. Maybe the format needs shaking up a bit, maybe we'll give it a miss next year... It was nice to have a look over the new T6 van but I don't think I'll be facelifting my facelift any time soon.
By 4pm we were ready for the off. It was back to the M5 for a quick jaunt to Gloucester Services (simply the best services on the motorway network) for a shower and grab some provisions to eat further down the road. By 7pm, with the aid of a good playlist, we were parked up in our usual spot at Taunton Deane. We'd toyed with the idea of going further that evening but that would have meant stopping at an unknown location, both feeling tired we stopped, ate pies, drank a bottle of beer, watched a bit of TV and fell asleep.

Our regular spot at Taunton Deane services

We slept in on Sunday morning! It must have been all the walking around Busfest. We used our breakfast voucher (as part of the overnight parking fee) and quickly got on our way.
It's not often we have a deadline to keep but our destination was Chapel Porth near St. Agnes for the World Bellyboarding Championships - British eccentricity at it's best!

The bit between weekends one and two
The first campsite we arrived at on Sunday afternoon was Dove Meadows at Marazion - we'd stay here for just two nights before moving on.

Just two minutes walk from the campsite at Marazion

From Marazion it was a quick hop up to Falmouth and Menehay Farm Touring Park - again two more nights here before moving on.
Our final stop was a new one - there's always that element of trepidation when first arriving at a site never before visited - but three nights at Padstow Touring Park didn't disappoint. Excellent facilities, a great location, friendly staff, nice camping neighbours (plenty of VWs!) meant this is one site we will definately be heading back to.

Great sheltered pitch at Padstow Touring Park

Weekend two
This would be our last night at Padstow before the long Sunday haul home. So far there had only been one spot of rain, during the night, I guess we'd been lucky.

Weekend three
Regular readers will know that we've done our fair share of VW shows over the last few years. But a 'festival' is somewhere the van has rarely gone. Partly down to a different crowd that may not be as appreciating of my shiny paintwork and partly as neither Mrs. Stone174 or I have been the 'festival' type. Back in December last year we booked early-bird tickets for the Good Life Experience, a festival we'd heard of via Instagram friends that looked to be our kind of thing. I'll probably go in to more details in a future post but I'll say now - we're booking tickets for next year the day they are released!

Our generous pitch at the Good Life Experience (beer open!)

Weekend four
The weather forecast was good again. We'd had barely a drop of rain in Cornwall, or at the Good Life Experience, and with the van still half-packed we started hunting for a campsite that could have us for just one night, ideally within an hour's drive of home. With a yearning for some sea air we chose Red Bank Farm at Bolton-le-Sands on the west coast, just above Morecambe. Two fields, both gently sloping, one with a view of the village and railway line, the other with sea views across the bay to Grange and the south lake district beyond. We chose the latter, leveled-up, went for a beach walk, barbecued and slept well. All in perfect clear weather conditions.

The fantastic views at Red Bank Farm

So all-in, September has been great to us. We're planning the rest of the year with enough trips to break up the winter boredom and feeling of hibernation. Then there's 2016; Dubfreeze... Volksworld... Cornwall...

Winter update

Here goes yet another post where I start by apologising for the huge gaps between posts; Winter is never the best season for getting out and about in the van or for just getting outside and doing all those little jobs and modifications that I'm wanting to do - it's been too cold.

So as we near the start of the 2015 show season I thought I'd jot down a little update whilst we all look forward to some warmer days and nights ahead.

I've had VWt Magazine chasing me again, asking if the van is ready for a feature yet. And again I've had to decline. The main reason still being that I don't feel the van is 'finished' enough yet - I'd be going against my 'no compromise' ethos by saying yes to a feature when there's still quite a few changes I'd like to make. So try and focus a little (and attempt to wrangle the savings and budgets in to shape) I've set myself a tentative deadline of Busfest 2016 to get everything done.

It sounds a long way off but I don't have the funds to do all the changes I'd like in one go - all the time I'm becoming conscious of newcomers to the T5-scene jumping in with big budget vans making all the mods I'd like to make... am I being left behind? Will my van still be show-worthy?

There's no way I'm stopping though, this is my van built the way I want, not for anyone else. Plus I'm banking on the final result being pretty unique - there's a few changes and additions in the pipeline that I don't think anyone else has tried yet.

There will be more info on some of those modifications soon, and a return to more regular blogging as the year gets going. See you out there...

Stars & Stripes in SkegVegas

Shortly after man put a cart behind a horse he couldn't help but start to modify it. One of the earliest modifications was paint; on the cart, canal barge or commercial vehicle, if it was designed to carry a load and the owner took pride in their carrier, it would be adorned with some form of embellishment.

As a closet hot-rod and kustom fanatic, a lover of commercial vehicles, american cars and trucks, as well as working in the creative industry with a love of form and typography, it was only a matter of time before the camper received some form of freehand pinstriping.

Now at this point you're thinking has Stone174 deviated from his current course of keeping things unfussy, clean and 'factory'? Well... maybe.

As the T5 scene has progressed over the past five years that we have owned this vehicle there has been a lot of development resulting in hoardes of converters and enthusiasts turning out good quality campers and vans. So here's our chance to add in a little individuality. Something that doesn't conform to the 'norm'.

I've admired the work of a handful of UK pinstripers, all have their style and something about them. Around a year ago I got chatting to Seaside Neil (one of the UK's finest) about the possibility of laying some stripes on the van and after plenty of communication it was agreed it would be done as part of a striping demo at the Viva Skeg Vegas VW Show.

We had decided it would only be the door shuts that would receive the treatment - a hot-rodders favourite - and in-keeping with my less-is-more ethos the striping would be kept to two colours, one darker and one lighter than Stone Blue. After some chatting about the locations on the van, composition and colour samples, Neil set to work:

Thankfully the weather was looking on our side... kind of. The wind had started to increase to the point that Neil could barely lay the brush on the van without the wind moving it - at one point one of us would be leaning on the opposite side of the door whilst a small group of friends gathered round to create a human windbreak. Things were not going well... the stripes in the picture above ended up being wiped off and started for a second time.

You can't help but admire Neil's work; as a creative I hate an audience or anyone looking over my shoulder as I try things out, but Neil would happily chat whilst striping even though the wind (and the occasional drunk) were really starting to get on his nerves. After almost three hours of battling the elements, laughter, frustration, restarting some sections and walking away from others, he was almost done.

As a final touch we had the table leg done to match, thankfully this could be done in a more sheltered spot and was finished in no time - handy as the next paying customer had been hanging around for over an hour!

By the end I felt drained, stressed, relieved, but happy that the job had gone relatively well. I've not photographed all of the striping, you'll have to have a good look around the van next time you see it. My philosophy of less-is-more still stands, you could walk around the van and barely notice anything has been done - which is the result I wanted. I also feel it could stand a little more in some spots... but only time (and the weather conditions) will tell.

Stanford Hall camping perfection...

Just back from yet another glorious weekend with great weather, great friends and a great atmosphere. My only concern is that camping at Stanford Hall is becoming a little too popular and the evening's once-quiet noise levels had certainly risen this year. It's only a minor quibble about what was an otherwise perfect weekend.

What better location for camping over the bank-holiday weekend than the grounds of a stately home? Extremely good value for money too. See you there next year - just turn the volume down at midnight alright?

Living the Vanlife - a long overdue update

Apologies again for what seems like a long break between posts but with the good-weather on our side every time we take the van out, you can't blame me for not posting as regularly as usual.

Since the last post we made our annual trip down to Sandown Park for the Volksworld Show; aweful weather on the Thursday night's half-way trip had us thinking we were in for similar to 2013 but the Friday morning dawned bright and the rest of the weekend was just glorious.

In terms of sheer variety and entertainment the Volksworld Show 2014 was a hard one to beat; the best aircooled metal from all corners of Europe, a swapmeet that you need to go around four or five times to see everything, club displays, skate and BMX displays, breakdancing, live music, sunshine, a chilled-out campsite, a few beers in Esher, this one will stick in the memory bank for a long time to come!

A few pics:

Check out the blue sky

One of the stars of the show for me

Gorgeous lowlight Ghia

Cool-flo's BMX display had men my age drooling

Vintage Speed display was jaw-dropping

Old-skool breakdance display was a nice diversion

After Volksworld we made the short trip over to the Chertsey C&CC site for two nights with a day trip in to London. On arriving and having a nice meal we headed back to the van and just as I was checking the front blind on the van a figure walked over and in broken English asked "you have been to Volksworld show? You come far?", to which I answered "yes, from up north, Yorkshire", "oh, I come far too... from Israel". Crikey. It turns out Benny (who runs a VW shop, known as Dr. Bug) has flown in to Heathrow, hired a T5 California and filled his suitcases with parts bought at the swapmeet - so many parts that he needed to purchase another suitcase before heading home the next day. We chatted for around half an hour about the VW scene in Israel, the difficulties he has finding parts, showing each other photos of our projects on our phones etc. We parted after giving him some travel tips so he could go sightseeing in London the next day where I assume he bought another suitcase!

After camping at the show next to Belgians, French, Dutch and German campers, to meet a chap from Israel who shared our passion for all things VW made the whole weekend a truly cosmopolitan experience.

Good weather, good omens...

...and a long-overdue update.

It's Dubfreeze again! Back out of hibernation and raring to get the 2014 show season underway. I did start to question what on earth we were doing on Saturday morning; packing the van in the rain with a cold wind blowing sideways, meeting friends and driving over the M62 and down the M6 on a day when the media is telling us not to travel unless you have to... and we're going camping!

Good morning Stafford!

But the morning after the beers had washed away the memory of bad weather dawned crisp and bright. The temp gauge said 0.5˚C and the ice on the bonnet confirmed it. The inside temp was around 12˚C thanks to the Eberspächer and the roof staying down overnight.

Roof popped, kettle on.

The journey down was yet another confirmation that the recent DMF and clutch replacement had been a complete success - no more judder under load, everything operating as it should.

If you search previous posts you'll read about my love of Dubfreeze and the fact that it's not so much a 'show' as a reason to get out - and I'm so glad we (and many others) did - it's amazing what a little bit of sunshine can do for the spirit!

On another positive note, we chatted to someone about another 'upgrade'... not so much a modification, but definitely one to keep an eye out for. It won't be happening until mid-August but fingers-crossed this will be one thing that will make the van truly unique amongst it's stablemates. Sorry, I'm not giving anything away just yet...

The van will also be going back to The Camper Shak on Friday for a few interior tweaks and a repair to some damage done last year; nothing major, just a freshen up ready for camping at the Volksworld Show in March - see you there!

Show report: VAG Squadron at JCT600

They say there's no such thing as a free lunch. Well 'they' are wrong - nothing like a bit of good old Yorkshire hospitality courtesy of the newly opened JCT600 dealership in Wakefield who kindly opened their doors (and their forecourt and their car park) for the VAG Squadron crew to put on a little Sunday Show.

The free hog-roast was a bit of a welcome surprise and was perfect nourishment after the hours of polishing the van. The event was also VAG Squadron's first birthday party and a good excuse to get together on an un-seasonally warm and sunny afternoon and raise a bit of money for charity.

I spent most of the weekend's daylight hours trying to get the van as spotless as possible, as far as my detailing skills (and lack of equipment) will allow.

Pic courtesy of Savage Photography

Parked up with another five T5's we definitely held our own and received loads of positive comments from young and old alike, just one minor negative when a few 'characters' decide to just climb in the van, I was not impressed.

In all, it was a great little gathering; a few show trophies and a raffle, money raised for a worthy cause, and a free lunch. Who could ask for more...?

Apologies again for the lack of 'regular' blogging. There's a few projects and maintenance jobs to do over winter, and we're attempting to camp at least once a month throughout winter too, right through until the show season starts again in 2014.

Cornwall trip & Busfest 2013

I know what you're thinking; there hasn't been a post on here for a while. So here's a long-overdue update...

There's nothing much to report on the van front other than it has been in regular use as Camper, show vehicle, bike transporter, spare room, and chill-out area. Early September saw us make our annual pilgrimage to the Southwest for some camping, surfing and general lazing about, with the return journey being interrupted by a stop at the Busfest show under the Malvern hills.

Our first stop was at our regular haunt, Trewan Hall campsite near St. Columb Major. As the week progressed, the campsite emptied leaving just us with a field to ourselves.

The weather was kind so we made our usual trips up and down the spine of Cornwall; St. Ives is one of my favourites - but it's always better when you take the park and ride train from Lelant rather than struggling to drive into town and find a parking space.

The Eden Project is always quite high on our list and one we hadn't visited in quite a while. The addition of the new aerial walkways adds a great new perspective to an already spectacular site.

Plenty of chilling out with our fellow van-campers took place. If ever there was a perfect time and location for the 'snail-like' lifestyle of carrying eveything around with you, it's Cornwall in early September when the weather can change three times in a day. One minute you're sat in the fog, the next minute you're getting ready for a spot of surfing under clear blue skies.

Perranporth sunsets are always a bit special in September.

Feeling refreshed from a few days in the southwest, it was time to head north to our next stop; the Blackmore Camping & Caravanning Club site just a mile or so down the road from Busfest at the Three Counties Showground. Being on a designated hard-standing pitch isn't quite the same as the freestyle Cornish camping, but having electric hookup was nice as the temperature had cooled.

A small selection of the awesome vans at Busfest:

Busfest was as busy as ever and there seemed to be even more of our European bus-loving cousins making the trip to the show. Loads of Germans, Dutch and Belgians in attendance - they always come over with the really cool vans that never really sold in the UK; syncro T4s and cool early bays were in abundance. The show and shine was a little thin on T5's - more than last year, and the quality/taste is getting better year on year.

This year really highlighted the need to get our interior done. Sticking with the 'no-compromise' ethos, I'd really like the dash and door cards trimmed along with the front seats and rear seat/bed. Cost-wise I fear this will have to be done in two stages; we'll get the seating done first as Mrs. Stone174 can no longer deal with making the bed up with just bare foam and an Ikea throw.

As ever, keep watching this space. I'll try and put up a few musings as to the direction I'd like the interior to take, without giving too much away! Apologies for the break between posts - but you can't blame me for being out in my van all the time!!!

Show Report: Fueled Society 2013

The youth of today - don't you just love 'em. I guess this is a statement said by many over the generations, last weekend I found myself mumbling it. And before you think 'here we go, Stone174's on another show rant' hang on, this one was a really good show, helped no-end by the glorious sunshine.

Gates opened for camping at 10am on the Saturday morning - a really good idea as it meant a real lazy day of doing very little, bagging a good camping spot, watching cars and vans arrive and generally sitting under that sun with a cold beer.

Watching the type of vehicle and owner arriving we suddenly realised that the show had a somewhat 'split personality' to it. Hoardes of young lads in nearly new cars running static drops to the ground. Thankfully they were in 'general' camping and we were in the designated 'quiet' camping - more on that soon...

The show's appeal on paper was a mix of live music, quality food stalls and a vintage fair. Combined with a line-up of show vehicles from different scenes, it can't fail to be good. But the majority of the live music was hard-rock (not appealing to the bass-loving lads), the food was a great mix of Noodles, Chili Dogs, Brazilian street food, Beers from a local brewery etc. (the majority of punters seemed to be eating chips and drinking Budweiser), the vintage fair was really cool but retro-phones, vintage tweed and teacups aren't exactly 'scene' either.

With a more diverse crowd I feel this show could really work. But should the organisers play to the masses? Or push their promotion towards that more discerning audience?

My grumble at the youth of today started when, on each visit across the field to use the facilities (of which there weren't enough), I would find myself picking up the aforementioned Budweiser bottles - carelessly discarded on a field where the next day the youths would be driving their vehicles!
Bins and loos; the two things that should be in abundance at every show.

Quiet camping didn't really work. Of the 500 camping passes sold, 400 must have been in general camping. I was amazed at 6.30pm that a security gang would come rushing over to me to check that my barbecue wasn't in the grass - but where were they at 1.30am when there's still a noise nuisance?
The location of quiet camping just wasn't right - stuck in the middle with the live music stage in one direction and general camping in the other. One of the organising crew asked us on Sunday morning if it had been okay so we explained a few issues, he agreed pointing out an area that had been suggested for quiet camping that would have been far better, so maybe next year...

Rant over. The rest of the show was great - it's still in it's infancy and the first year of being a two-day event - so I'll happily forgive most of the negative points. And a massive well-done to the organisers who never get enough praise for putting on events like this.

We woke early, tidied up, breakfasted, stuck the van on the show field and sat in the sun.

We got some great comments for all different walks of life - even the youth of today seem to like it! The mix of cars on the show field was fantastic; everything from Vdubs and Audis to Lancia, Ford, drag cars, rally cars, American cars and trucks.

Would we go again? The jury's still out at the moment. I guess having a modern, watercooled campervan and searching for that perfect car-show, I too need a 'split personality'.

Show Report: Deva Dubs & Rods 2013

Ask any die-hard v-dubber about their favourite show and they'll probably give you a handful of events that have been just right; where all the variables have been perfect - the planets were all aligned - so to speak...

Deva Dubs 2013 was looking to be such an event; the all important weather forecast was for wall-to-wall sunshine with light winds, the location - a showground by the river just a few minutes walk from town, a great mix of vehicles on show - the usual German metal mixed up with some great American cars which makes the show field a refreshing change from the usual format. The usual mix of camping friends all excited at the prospect of a great couple of days chilling-out, eating well, drinking well and creating the memories for the next time you are asked about your favourite show.

Packed and ready to roll, two wheels and four

The quest for show-perfection had begun. The journey down was fine if a little warm, but who's complaining? Our camping plot (that a few early-arriving friends had bagged) was surprisingly large with plenty of space to spread out without feeling like being camped on top of one another.

All the hours of cleaning certainly pay-off under bright sunshine

Friday night was pretty much perfect; lamb kebabs, a few shandys, a wonderful sunset and subsequent stargazing lead to a great night's sleep - the showground fell pretty much silent shortly after midnight.

Saturday dawned a little cloudy but with the warmth of the day came the glorious sunshine. After a lazy start we headed along the riverside walk into Shrewsbury to sample a few of the town's finer ale-houses and stock up on provisions.

Have we gone back in time?

Bathed in sunshine, Shrewsbury looked like a place worthy of further exploration. As time was ticking on we headed back to the showground ready for more barbecue and to sample the party atmosphere that Deva Dubs has become renowned for.

But at the end of Saturday night things went a little downhill - and this is where, for me, the planets fell out of alignment...

I'll admit I'm no spring chicken. At the age of 39 I've done my fair share of partying, but have also learnt when to stop; hangovers are harder to recover from and there's too much to see at the show on Sunday to be lying in the van with a pounding head. I also need a good night's sleep.

Nobody would be so naiive as to attend a Volkswagen show without thinking their would be a little noise intrusion from those campers that are having a good time. Many shows, Deva included, have a designated Family (or quiet) Camping area where there is a loud music curfew of 10pm. These areas tend to fill up really quickly and in this instance we were camped in 'General' camping which has a similar curfew on sound systems and stereos at midnight. As it says on the Deva Dubs website - this isn't Bug Jam!

So why at almost 3.30am am I still lying awake listening to a group of inconsiderate campers screaming at one another and shouting over the top of loud music? I vividly remember 3.30am as that was the time on the clock when I was about to get dressed and find either security or organising staff to do something about the situation. At that point someone with the same thoughts as me must have done exactly the same as I could hear the group being told enough was enough and it was time to call it a day.

Given the time I think security went in fairly serious as I could clearly hear them saying turn it off or we'll throw you off site. This was then met with 'you can't throw us off site, we've had a drink, it's your duty of care, you can't throw us off site, we know the law'.

Thankfully the music stopped at this point. But the shouting continued for another half an hour or so about how they couldn't be thrown off site, duty of care, we know the law, etc, etc.

And this got me thinking - what's the point of a noise curfew if it can't be controlled? It really annoys me that some people; fellow show-goers with a common interest, should behave in such a manner with complete disregard for those around them and the rules of the show.

What could or should be done in such an occasion? They can't be moved as vehicle movements would be far too dangerous around tents etc. They can't be walked out of the show and left at the roadside. Could registration numbers be taken and then be asked to leave first-thing the next day? Excluded from buying tickets for next year's event?

It's always a small minority that causes these issues but it's now me, the regular punter, that is thinking twice about attending in future - and not just this show, any weekend show - would it be easier to camp close-by at a campsite and then visit for the day on the Sunday? It means missing out on many great elements that go in to making those perfect-show memories, but if there are many more of these negative experiences I'll call it a day on VW shows.

Anyway, rant over. It was a great show, just not as perfect as it could have been.

Sunday dawned and the sunshine certainly helped with my lack of sleep - as did a nice curry lunch from one of the food vendors - yet another plus point of this show over others. A meander around the show field and those great American cars rubbing shoulders with Volkswagens really is a refreshing format. It's great to see vehicles from a different 'scene' to see how others modify, restore and care for their vehicles.

Size difference is just one of many contrasts.

Some awesome German metalwork on display

So the quest for the perfect show goes on - it will happen, it's happened before - maybe that's what keeps us all going. I tip my hat to all the show organisers; you've one hell of a job to do and doubt you get the thanks you really deserve, it's such a shame you have to deal with those that have no respect for their camping neighbours.

Perfection? Almost.

Show Report: Bustypes 2013

I'm going to start scaling-down the show reports on here; I feel they're getting a little 'same-y' - talk about the weather, whinge about the food on offer, etc, etc. Whilst I enjoy giving you a 'punter's-perspective', I think it's time to knock them on the head.

Maybe I'll continue them in the future with just a few pics from my Instagram feed:

I'm hoping to be submitting images and words on a freelance basis to Volksworld's VWT Magazine in the not too distant future so my writing up of shows will 'hopefully' be seen there instead.

The show itself is still, year on year, very good. A tried and tested formula that doesn't need messing with. The weather played ball and after what has been a fairly rough Winter, it was great to be able to sit outside our vans and get together with friends from last season. Camped by the entrance there were a couple of thoughts running through my mind on the Friday afternoon; the first was 'where are they going to put everyone?' - an almost constant stream of campers came in from 3pm until around 7pm! Secondly, it was great to see so many T4's and T5's; later model vans have been truly embraced by the scene with many people selling-up their old vans in favour of the newer varieties... but why so many non-VW campervans (or motorhomes to give them the correct title) this year?

I've already seen a few negative comments on the forums from people that couldn't arrive until Saturday and then struggling to find a space - should the camping be VW only, or limited numbers of tickets available to non-VW's? I'm not sure it could be possible.

Finally the food. Many camper-owners (ourselves and friends included) love our food. I enjoy nothing more than a good social barbecue with everyone dipping in, buying and cooking their own food, sitting around talking, drinking and grazing on what's available. But come Sunday morning after maybe a few too many shots the night before it's time to see what the show's food-court can offer...

A 'speciality' coffee van with no hot water telling us to go and get coffee from another seller - instant coffee!!! Over-priced and borderline-under-cooked burgers and hot dogs being sold at ridiculous prices. I just don't get it. Are the organisers putting the contract out to the highest bidder or the highest quality? This year's selection was dire.

Surely a few hours research could source some local independent caterers - the type that attend farmer's markets and food-fayres? It's not that people aren't willing to pay but as a show-goer we shouldn't be expected to pay for poor quality food. It might cut in to the show's overheads but surely the positive feedback and increased sales would enhance the show's reputation and add another reason for visiting year after year - just my thoughts...

I'll definitely be there again next year. Maybe I'll be brave enough to put the van in the show'n'shine. Either way - I'll be bringing enough food for the whole weekend!

Volksword Show 2013 Highlights

You're probably thinking why does a staunch modern-van fan go to the Volksworld Show? There's no T5s in there... no T4s (except one being given away as a competition prize) and no T3s. Most of the traders and all the swapmeet stalls are selling stuff for older VWs, why go?

It's all to do with VW's heritage. As a die-hard Volkswagen fan, the Volksworld Show will never disappoint; it's the show that many new, restored, discovered, rare and original cars are first debuted. This year was no exception.

I checked my Instagram feed early on the Saturday morning long before the gates opened, to find that just a few hours earlier the Volksworld crew were still adding the finishing touches to one of this year's surprises - a recreation of a fifties dealership - filled with early and rare coachbuilts.

Great attention to detail and filled with cars from Karosserie Rometsch and Beutler, to name a few. Simply jaw-dropping. I've always had a soft-spot for the Rometsch Beeskow, to see this 1951 example in the flesh was fabulous.

Other vehicles of note; the 1952 Barndoor painstakingly restored by Status VW:

The body-dropped Split by Type 2 Detectives with flawless body and paint by iKustoms:

The Lightning Bug. Found, restored and shipped to the UK. This should be racing again at the European Bug-in later this year:

Outside, this gorgeous Audi 100 was displaying this year's trend of going lower than most:

Back inside, this Notchback with stunning body and paintwork - another area where many people have upped-their-game this year. Some of the paintwork and finishing levels were just off the scale.

Will I be going again next year? More than likely. The weather could have easily put people off but it really wasn't that bad - with the pop-top roof staying down and the diesel heater ticking over, we were quite comfortable... or was that the drink keeping me warm? Here's another pic of that cold camping:

See you there next year, hopefully it will be warmer!