The 2nd annual Skylark Country Show organised by the Cambridge Vintage Tractor Club at Skylark Garden Centre, near March in Cambridgeshire, was a very well supported event, doubling in size from the inaugural show in 2005. With the working season approaching, there were several working displays to be seen around the site.

Considering the organising body is a vintage tractor club, they were very well supported by the vintage vehicle brigade with Wisbech & District Historic Vehicle Club supporting them with a club display. This consisted of a line up of classic cars and accompanying classic caravans, including a couple of Portafold examples towed by vehicles one would not expect, namely an Austin A30 & Ford Popular.

Elsewhere, amongst the cars were some quality items, including a Lanchester, Lea Francis, Daimler Consort, Riley RM series, Ford Pilot & Morris Cowley. There were three different marques of the BMC Farina saloons with Morris Oxford, Austin Cambridge and MG Magnette versions, together with the earlier 1950s version of the Magnette. Badge engineering also gave us the BMC Vanden Plas 1300 and Austin 1100/1300 and examples of both were on show. There were also examples of Ford Anglia, Popular & Prefect using their same basic bodyshell.

The cars were ably supported by the vintage commercials with several fleets of locally preserved vehicles. The Gowler fleet of three different eras of Leyland Comets were on show; also the Salter fleet of Karrier, Seddon & Foden, now with a period load of two Fordson tractors. Another well-known collector showed his Morris lorry with a load of wooden trays, so typical of the smallholders' transport of four decades ago. A couple of 1970s caravanettes, a Ford Transit and a Bedford CF, plus a Bedford mini-coach & Ford Transit truck completed the line-up.

Motorcycles also put on a good show for visitors with examples of Triumph, BSA, Honda, Indian, Ducati, Francis Barnett & Royal Enfield. Not quite vintage but definitely of interest was a motorcycle side-car combination powered by a 1300cc Metro engine with a sectioned Reliant Rialto as the side-car, apparently inspired by Postman Pat's little red van!

There was even a steam presence at the show with a total of five full-size steam, three miniatures and a diesel-powered road roller. This formed part of the lamented roadwork's crew's only outing so far this year, but it did lend the display a bit of authenticity, let down by the washing-on-the-line element. Getting back to the steam, these were Waling's Foster "Lord of the Isles", Copeman's Aveling roller "George", Ransomes Sims & Jeffries "Garioch Queen" and "The Leprechaun", plus the Foden wagon in the livery of Newquay Steam Beers.

The stationary engine section heralded quite a few unusual and are engines including the steward's own Canadian Macleod, a Witte (unusual in that it's not of the sloped hopper design as used on their infamous drag-saws), a carrot-hopper Ruston Hornsby PT (beloved to be only one of 15 known survivors out of approximately 222 made), a Gray and an Emerson Brantingham. There were 3 different corn mills on display, our own Corbett kibbler mill and Archibald Kenrick mill grinding wholemeal flour, plus a Bamford. Another working element was the semi-commercial woodturning demo using a petrol-paraffin Wolseley, the same make of engine as powered both our corn mills.

And so finally to the tractors, which were roughly split 50/50 between static and working machines. A Minneapolis Moline model R, owned by a mucker of mine who always wants to pose for a photo, was busy with a sail binder, and his John Deere model H was busy driving his half-size barn threshing machine. Alongside, a Crossley engine ground the corn down to flour using a Bentall mill. Next to this display, a pair of Shire horses was busy with a hay-rake for a while.

Further across, a multitude of tractors were busy ploughing for pleasure but a few were taking it seriously and producing a match standard of work. Classic, rather than vintage, was the order of the day with examples of International, Fordson, Ferguson, Allis Chalmers, David Brown, John Deere, McCormick Deering, Caterpillar & Massey Ferguson all strutting their stuff, with a variety of trailed & mounted ploughs. Some of the younger lads seemed intent on speed rather than quality, with wheel spinning of MF tractors particularly noticeable!

Over in the main field, the John Deere Lanz tool-carrier looked particularly nice, as did the bright yellow Sun Mechanical Cart. The David Brown Taskmaster in un-restored but unusual blue also caught the eye, as did the Fowler tracklayer. Nearby, collections of petrol cans, Triang toys, Fenland skates and a couple of model railway layouts completed the attractions. Oops, sorry, forgot the car-boot sale on Sunday, which has featured on television, and of course, the garden centre run by the owners of the site. Plenty to see here.