suffolk car show

2024 Festival of Classic & Sports Cars set up and take down.

Set up began early for us on this year’s stand at the Festival of Classic & Sports Cars at Helmingham Hall Gardens. The week prior to the event was glorious sunshine all week and the forecast looked good going in to the weekend so with that in mind we started the installation of the stretch tent from our friends at Events Under Canvas on the Thursday. That meant we were able to start transporting our vehicles over to site and start to lay out the display.

It was certainly less hectic this year having time on our side and the centre tent was a new feature for us this year which was an exciting new addition.

Sunday morning was a bit of a breeze to be honest. A few banners and flags to put up and then we could sit down as a team, grab a coffee and enjoy the surroundings.

The day itself is always so busy at the show that you don’t really get time to enjoy what else is there. This year especially, I didn’t even get to leave the stand so I didn’t manage to see any of the cars on display but Nick, Molly and Rob got to enjoy it a bit more when they were out and about filming the show.

You can check out the proper photos from the day here

And after a full on day which was a huge success, I think the part that was truly quite special was being the last to leave the site after clearing down. I dropped Tamas back off by his car on the top field and then had the opportunity to look back at the incredible all. A few hours previous to these photos the fields were bustling with thousands of cars and spectators all enjoying the atmosphere.

The Festival of Classic & Sports Cars is one of the best shows of the year for us and this year was one of the best of all time. Thank you so much to the team at Helmingham and we are so proud to be a big part of this show and hope to continue our relationship for many years to come.

Bridge Classic Cars Classic & Sports Car & Bike Show 2022

The morning began with a haze. The rain from the night had settled into a fine mist as the team arrived at The Hangar. As the early morning sun rose higher, and the cars made their way out of the ex-aircraft hangar the stillness was broken by the sound of friends.

Friends driving everything from the latest supercars to the most humble of pre-war saloons and everything imaginable in between.

The crowds grew larger as the blanket of rain eased off and row upon row was filled with eclectic machines. This was the starting point for the 2022 Bridge Classic Cars Classic & Sports Car & Bike Show.

Our friends, which came out in their masses, walked around and checked out not just our own cars but others. Familiar faces greeted new arrivals bringing them into the community which sits at the core of all petrolheads. The clock got closer to 10 AM, the point at which all of us would leave the airforce base start point on a 13-mile tour of the surrounding areas towards the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at Pettistree where the rest of the team excitedly awaited their arrival.

As the line of cars stretched as far as the eyes could see in either direction, the Pettistree team organised everyone into their spaces.

Dozens of neat rows stretched either side of the main entrance, and as far back as possible. The mixture of cars coming through the front gates was a wonderful sight, people of all ages and backgrounds coming together to celebrate the simple cause of everything automotive.

As our friends milled and ambled their way through the countless dozens of cars – The energy ramped up towards our workshop where the party was happening. The team had organised the amazing Powters to handle the food and coffee while the incredible Three Chordettes supplied the soundtrack to everyone’s morning.

The weather came in dribs and drabs but it didn’t change the atmosphere. The constant wave of people going through our workshops to talk to our restoration teams about things we’re doing or questions they had settled into a rhythm. The streams of people looking around our competitions building at our latest competitions created a buzz and extra excitement in the air.

Throughout the day, more cars came and went with the top fields and the concrete pads always filled with the sound of engines and the smell of slightly overrich carburettors.

Our shows are always a highlight of our year. In recent years, due to world events, we have missed being able to have all of our friends in one place. Since coming back last year, the Classic & Sports Car & Bike Show has grown from strength to strength with this year being the biggest attendance of all the years we’ve been doing it.

The whole team at Bridge Classic Cars would like to thank each and every person who came out to display, support or enjoy. We can’t wait to see you all next year!

Take a look at the full Official Gallery below:

Also, check out the various Instagram stories from our friends!

Out & About – The Long Shop Pre-’60s Rally at Bentwaters

On Sunday the 22nd of May, the Bridge Classic Cars team welcomed The Long Shop Museum Pre-’60s Rally to our secure storage facility, The Hangar, as part of their tour.

It was an absolute pleasure to have so many classic and vintage cars, motorcycles and buses at our site and to learn more about the stories of each of the cars and their owners. Everything from the very early turn of the century European touring cars to 1950s American classics and everything in between.

During the stop at our site, Craig and Freddie did a walk-around to show all of our audience this amazing event which you can rewatch here:

To see the entire gallery have a look below!

Bridge Classic Cars at the 2021 Helmingham Hall Festival of Classic and Sports Cars

What a weekend! Now we’re back at base, it’s time for a re-cap of another classic car-fueled weekend. After a canceled 2020 show, Helmingham hall played backdrop for a wonderful show. Charlotte and the Bridge team were all at the show to present our restoration projects and current competition lineup. We even closed out the show by drawing the winner of our 1959 Jaguar MK1 which was Shaun Clarke, with ticket number 1486.

Here are a few snaps we took at the show.

Were you at the show? It was lovely to meet so many of you yesterday.