Greyabbey is a small village on the Eastern shores of Strangford Lough in County Down where, for the last few years, an annual classic bike and car show has been held, in aid of charity.
This year saw this sun shine bright for the duration of the event, which is quite a leisurely affair, starting late morning and finishing early after afternoon, with vehicles coming going throughout the course of the show.
Inside the Village Hall small selection of unique motorcycles could be viewed whilst enjoying a cup of tea and a bun, or perhaps even a burger and hot dog from those manning the barbecue just outside.
Outside of the hall was jam-packed with cars; trucks; motorcycles; model aeroplanes anything you can think of, in between.
There really was something for everyone on display, and no matter what your exact motoring love is, I think it is safe to say that you can appreciate every vehicle on show.
To name just a few that stood out to me on the day, and in no particular order.
I would start with the Citroen SM, a high performance Coupe produced in the early 70’s and a model I have never actually seen in the flesh, never-mind in the condition of this particular car.
Next up, a Ford Escort MkII, a car that I have seen a few times at various car runs, and a car with a track much wider than any escort I have ever seen before.
On chatting with the owner, I soon realised why, as this particular Ford is actually a Honda S2000 with the shell and panels of the Escort attached to it.
I think you would agree it is quite a feat of engineering, giving that classic look we all admire, alongside modern reliability and driving agility.
Parked on the grass at the back of the Village Hall was a red trike with teardrop trailer attached that really caught my eye, it’s the sort of build that gives the word custom a whole new meaning.
I didn’t get speaking to the owner to get the finer details of this build, however, I really do hope to see it again to find out more and get more detailed photographs.
Finally, another vehicle with three wheels is worth a mention, the Yamaha Niken, is it a trike or a bike?
I guess you can decide.
With reported handling characteristics very similar to that of a conventional motorcycle, the unique layout of this particular bike allows increased stability due to having two wheels upfront.
Paul Taggart, the show’s organiser commented “We cannot thank you [the show goers] enough, today we had the best turnout to date, this is year four for us and we were amazed by the turnout”.
“The weather obviously helps to bring in the crowds, and whilst we are named ‘classic bike & car’ our show is open to all vehicles of interest and today, we got exactly that with classic bikes; classic cars; vintage tractors; military vehicles; model aircraft; kit cars; super cars and not one, but two DeLorean DMC-12 models”.
Paul continued “let’s not forget the miniature Land Rover, aka ‘ToyLander’ featuring our youngest exhibitor who even took much younger spectators for a drive around the lawns of the village hall”.
“Thank you so much to our exhibitors, stall holders, show sponsors, public attendees and of course our helpers, all of whom we could not do our show without” concluded Paul.
Words and Photos: GRAHAM BAALHAM-CURRY
[images must not be used in any way without prior written consent of the photographer]
