Days out

Near me in devon is a large estate and gardens open to the public called Bicton Park. It holds an annual event for fathers day which is based around vintage vehicles, stationary engines, tractors etc but includeds a section of model boats with a rather nice pond to sail on. I managed to get myself invited along for the weekend and it was a good one, the weather was kind and lots of people attended. The model boat world was represented by a handful of resident boaters, the surface warship association and myself. Here are a few pictures to give a flavour of the weekend.

 

As usual i made my annual pilgrimage to the Southern Model Show at Headcorn aerodrome in Kent. Always a huge event with all manor of models including Radio control aircraft, cars of various sorts and trucks and of course lots of boats. I had my own stand this year and showed the big type 45 pre refit. On the way back monday morning i dropped the beast of with my teammate Matt Beck of becksmodelmarine. He now not only owns what was formerly sheerline model submarines but also the old mastman range. He now has the hull to be fibreglassed and sealed ready for a total refit and detail. I have only included pictures of the boats here but many videos of the show in general can be found on youtube.

Chickerell Steam and Vintage Show is a local family show, organised and run by enthusiastic local volunteers.  The show caters for all ages and has an impressive display of vintage cars, lorries motorbikes and Steam Engines.  Music is provided by many talented local bands! 

Birds of Prey, Axe Men, Food, Model Exhibits, fun fair, classic cars and much more, Chickerell Steam and Vintage show has it all! 

A huge line up of fantastic live music , entertainment and all the usual incredible vehicles, engines , rollers, crafts, food, beer and much more

The model boats will be in a marquee next to the onsite lake with sailing.

 

Having  been to this event now i have to admit the description is pretty accurate a good local event well run. There were two marquees full of models. One i was in by the pond which had a large selection of model boats from various clubs plus some amphibious aircraft models and some wooden 3d kit models. Included is sailing all day if you wish. There was also another model and craft tent round the corner with 3 model boat clubs in it and some mamod style vehicles and some train layouts. Plus as usual for local events Chris from Bridport representing the south coast modellers. Photos below.

 

Yesterday 1st of may 2023 i went to visit the Weymouth and Portland model  boat club at one of there three sailing waters at Mangerton mill. Considering they only have 25 members a good proportion were in attendance sailing at the pond. They also have a pond at Symondsbury near Bridport they use on wednesdays and there main lake Radipole lake in Weymouth previously well known for the excellent Weymouth model boat festivals that were previously  held. Good friendly bunch and enthustiastic plus happy to do shows and events just my sort of boaters. If your looking for a club in the area you could do worse. Some photos to follow.