Our only previous visit to the Doddington Country Show had been in 2005 when we exhibited on the Saturday before attending the very different Euston Rural PasTimes event the following Sunday. Suffice to say that two years on, Doddington has grown and can now certainly hold its own as a weekend event with lots more to see and more people to see it than was evident before.

This show is perhaps different to similar sized events we attend as being not just a vintage rally. For instance, there was a separate arena with a dog agility show demonstrations and competitions running throughout the weekend, an American Civil war re-enactment group with Confederate and Unionist camps, Alpacas, Fenland Goat-keepers & Small-holders Club and Wisbech & District Kart Racing Club.

On the transport front, displays of period caravans from the Caravan Section of Wisbech & District Historic Vehicle Club, Porsche and Range Rover owners clubs, an American car & custom van club, and the local Capri club all attended. The American car club had some lovely vehicles on display, including several different versions of the Mustang, included one commemorating the film "Bullitt" and another "The French Connection" with airbrushed paint schemes.

Returning to the vintage side of things, the stationary engine section was very diverse with only a few engine types repeated. Perhaps the most unusual marque to be seen was Powell with two very different examples on show, both travelling considerable distance from the Norwich & Wroxham areas to attend. In 2005, there was a half-size threshing machine on the engine line-up, but this year it was replaced by a potato grader, being demonstrated using a selection of different-sized coloured balls.

There were also three full-size and two miniature steam engines to be seen near the gate as the public entered. The smallest roller, a 1901 Aveling & Porter 4hp engine was making its rally debut under new ownership, the other Aveling & Porter roller is owned by the chairman of the Road Roller Association, and the Foster "Lord of the Isles" showman's engine which arrived late on Saturday fresh from the Gorefield Show complete with it Chiappa organ.

The commercial vehicle section had also grown in size with several well-known local vehicles on show, including the Palmer fleet and Robinson's 1936 Albion and Atkinson Borderer. Harry Wahlandt's International & King of the Road living van was also on show, but it was sad to see the late Paul Harwin's similar outfit being offered for sale following his sudden death earlier this year, but good also to see his son still attending with his Ford Anglia.

The car section has much improved since our last visit when the main attraction was the classic hearse club who outnumbered any others 3:1. Sadly, the hearses weren't about this year but two lines of cars of varying types ranging from 1930s Austins to a mid-80s Citroen made a good display. The motorcycle section also put on a good show with examples of Triumph, Royal Enfield, Rudge, AJS and Harley Davidson making a change from the more common BSAs usually seen.

The tractors, in the main members of the Cambridgeshire Vintage Tractor Club, were showing their usual Fordson, Ferguson, Nuffield and International offerings, plus the odd David Brown, Caterpillar, Zetor and Case examples. On the horticultural front, a quartet of Ransomes and a homemade Wolseley WDII powered tractor made the line-up a bit more diverse.

The trade section was also better this year with four or five rows of trade stands to browse through, and one hopes that they had a successful weekend. There was also a small car-boot sale on Sunday morning. The large beer tent was open for business throughout the weekend and the catering facilities of burger van, donut van and tea & sandwich stall provided at least some choice of what to eat and drink.

All in all, this show turned out to be not a bad substitute for the Euston event being only half the distance to travel and a full weekend away in the caravan. There will have to be some discussion around the family table but I'd like to make this a regular event on our calendar, so hopefully we'll see you next year.