Well, I had a great time! It was my first visit to Tank Fest so I was unsure of what to expect. I still find it strange to walk around the re-enactors displays/dioramas and come face to face with Field Marshall Rommel! In fact, by the end of the 2 days I'd seen 2 Rommels!!!!
The arena displays were excellent if a bit slow on the first day. There seemed to be gaps in the scenarios as people thought about what they were supposed to be doing next but that's really picking flies. To see so many AFVs driving around the arena was a real treat for me and I took over 1 1/2 hours of video. OK, so the highlight for me was the Tiger 1 but I have only ever seen it static in the museum some years ago so I think I can be excused a little excitement seeing her run for the first time.
I enjoyed the fact that the holding area for the vehicles taking part in the arena displays was open to the public when they weren't moving so I was able to get up close to these beasts.
I have never seen so many historic tanks actually running so the event ticked all my boxes. The re-enactors were all friendly and happy to discuss their own particular interests and I was able to damage my bank account at several of the venders stalls!
Of course there was also the newly refurbished Tank Museum itself which was well worth walking around in spite of the crowds.
There seemed to be a lot of people there, it was pretty busy both days. The weather was very good especially when the local forecast had been for heavy rain showers with chances of thunder storms. When I left early afternoon on the Sunday there had been no rain at all! Car parking was easy and the getaway after was also a doddle.
So, did I enjoy it : Most definitely yes! Will I go again : Yes, but I think I will probably go every other year rather than make the pilgrimage every 12 months.
Kind Regards
Colin:laugh:
