Carfest North hits Cholmondeley Castle.
On the 8th and 9th September, Carfest - brainchild of TV presenter/DJ Chris Evans - landed in the sculpted grounds of Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire. Following on from a successful Carfest South, the inaugural event, Carfest North had plenty to live up to. Benefiting from fantastic weather on both days, the signs are that the weekend was a great fund-raising success, and there seemed to plenty of people enjoying themselves throughout the day that we attended (Sunday). I'm sure that Pageant of Power organisers, some of whom were spotted walking around during the day, dream of such conditions for their next event, so unlucky have they been with rain at previous Pageants at the same location.
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Pre-booked tickets sold out within a short time for Carfest North. The event can be split into three broad bands - cars, food, and music. On the face of it, trying to excel in all three areas could have been a real struggle - trying to cover too many bases, and not succeeding fully in any one of them. For a first attempt Carfest went down well with those I spoke to, supported not only by the many people hosting and putting on the shows, but also the tidal wave of goodwill and commercial support that Children in Need tends to attract.
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The motoring element had a feel of "Pageant of Power lite" to it, however that would be missing the point I think. It isn't purely a car show, and cannot be judged on that basis. Equally it cannot be viewed as being just a music festival, or just a food fair. It incorporates elements of all three, packaged together and topped-off with some interesting side-shows and trade stands, supporting a worthwhile cause, and last but not least, featuring some wonderful aircraft displays to boot. The feel-good factor around the venue, buoyed by the excellent weather, really hit the mark and hopefully will be built upon at future Carfests, if repeat events are to happen. Unlike at some car events, there truly was something for all the family going on here, with enough to occupy children and adults alike - not just the petrolheads!
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On the aviation side, the appearance of that classic British jet the Gloster Meteor was a real treat, as was the later arrival and awesome display put on by the Avro Vulcan. Another Avro classic, the mighty BBMF Lancaster, had by that time already done a display. The aerobatic Extra was also a sight to behold.
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Away from the (un-timed) sprint course, Silverstone Auctions held a sale of classic cars on the Sunday afternoon, while all weekend members of the Sporting Bears Motor Club offered rides in members' supercars and sportscars, in return for a donation to charity.
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An interesting selection of cars - many of which came from Evans' own stable, and also that of Nick Mason - blessed with great surroundings, fabulous weather, the Lanc and the Vulcan, plus the "Ultimate Eagles" tribute band playing in the background, leaves us giving Carfest North a thumbs up. On the subject of music matters, other performers over the weekend included Texas, The Magic Numbers, Paloma Faith and Razorlight. I had wondered if the ticket prices - despite being for a good cause - might put people off from booking tickets in great numbers, but this wasn't the case and by the afternoon the place was heaving with cheery-looking visitors, many of whom had brought their entire family along for a day out supporting charity, basking in the Cheshire sun. A grand day out indeed.
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