Wickham - Boxing Day 2010 http://edwardnyephotography.co.uk/
The temperature outside is -7, combine this with a dash of 'leaving the house at 7am' and finish it off with a splash of 'Boxing Day'; none of which makes sense to a lot of people, however I'm heading for Wickham Square in Hampshire for their annual car, bike and anything-on-wheels fest - a recipe for fun!
Situated 5-miles north of Fareham, Wickham is a small market town that thoroughout the year serves as a picturesque location surrounded by acres of woodland, yet on Boxing Day hundreds of car and motorbike enthusiasts descend upon the square turning this normally sleepy village into a place possessing a carnival-esque atmosphere.
Even the freezing temperatures haven't dampened attendance, and by 9am most of the car park spaces are filled with rare, gleaming and exotic cars plus there are hundreds of people milling about eyeing up the motors on display. The guest list is extremely loose, you want to see an early Lotus Esprit - tick, you want to see Kawasaki ZX10 - tick, you want to see a tractor - tick, they're all here.
It does appear that every motoring internet forum in existence has something representing them in the Square and nestled inbetween two coffee vans and some other rare marques I stumble across two of my favourites, a late E39 BMW M5 and a rare-as-hens-teeth Peugeot 306 Rallye. In fact the owner of the M5 has only been in ownership since Christmas Eve and covered a healthy 200+ miles since; what a great christmas present! Although this guy was no newbie to cars of immense 'oomph' as he soon shows me a picture of his previous car, a gorgeous looking supercharged E46 BMW M3 pushing out well over 500bhp (Bet that was fun on the icy roads of late!)
On wandering around, it's obvious that this is a well attended and well supported event. The local shops are open, tea, coffee and breakfast vans are pitched up and, due to the minus temperatures, are all in high demand. It's not often you get such a diverse collection of all things on two & four wheels in one place (there were even some cyclist about too!), all of course united by a sense of passion and enthusiasm.
But for Wickham Square, what makes this event so special is a simple combination of a great location, an anything-on-wheels welcome policy and a great atmosphere...bring on next year.
Last Updated on Friday, 13 January 2012 22:11
