The Ramsey Rural Museum’s 2007 Plough Day & Country Fair was considered to be another roaring success for the organising committee, so much so that they almost ran out of car-parking room, due to the normal parking field against the road having been cultivated this year. However, they managed to tuck vehicles into every available piece of space and as a result it was perhaps the biggest crowd I’ve seen since I’ve been going to this event.

The main ploughing fields did not look so good this year though, as it had already been cultivated and ploughing brown-on-brown never looks as good as cultivating virgin stubble. There was, nevertheless, a good turn-out of tractors ploughing for pleasure on this section including several examples of Fordson Dexta, Ferguson TE20, Massey Ferguson 35, 65 and subsequent variants, International 250, 275 & later 634, a couple of Caterpillars, solitary white David Brown and John Deere 1020.

Across the hedge and back towards the museum was a section of stubble that I believe was being used for competition ploughing. Amongst these tractors, there were a couple of standard Fordsons to be seen this year, an immaculate green example plus a nice orange version, the latter in the hands of junior competitor Richard Newman. Alongside were more of the afore-mentioned Ferguson, Fordson & International machines plus a Nuffield with front-end loader poised aloft, best described as in ex-farm condition!

Next came the horses, which appeared to be on display rather than actively competing. There was a goodly number this year with several pairs and singles with accompanying items of equipment for demonstration. They were supported by trade stands including the Eastern Counties Heavy Horse Association. The craft section was also housed here around the back of the museum close to the car park.

This area is one of the main display areas of farm machinery within the museum with many items housed out in the open and the more delicate wagons and tumbrills in the open-fronted cart sheds. Much of the smaller barn machinery such as corn mills, cake mills, mangle choppers and chaff cutters were clearly labelled as to use, and form a fascinating display for anyone interested in farming and the countryside.

Around the front, the stationary engine section in their customary chilly spot under the tress offered a mixture of the exotic and the ordinary. The former was represented by the Alamo, Jaeger (which took the stationary engine trophy), Teles and Italian-made Condor. The more ordinary engines represented were Wolseley, Ruston, Lister, Petter & Bamford, and somewhere in the middle are the Waterloo Boy and John Deere. However, there was very little working equipment this year other than water pumps.

Across the roadway, the stalls section seemed to have grown with a mixture of both commercial and charity stalls, as well as the odd bygones and model display. Behind the stalls ran the Fenland Light Railway with a steam-powered locomotive offering rides to both children and adults alike. Tucked away behind the railway was a nice selection of cars this year with a mixture of pre-war vintage and post-war classics to look at, plus an unusual short wheel base Bedford RL lorry in desert colouring.

There was a selection of static tractors including a pair each of Nuffields and Ransomes, plus a selection of no less than 5 Barford Atoms (including one owned from new) and various pieces of equipment in as-found condition. There were also several items of horticultural machinery within the stationary engine lines including a British Anzani Easi-mow lawn mower. Ironically, there was no threshing display this year, although the weather was the best it had been for this event in several years. We hope for more of the same in 2008.