[T]he Cumbria Easter Rally, the UK’s biggest, free commercial vehicle rally celebrates its 20th anniversary when the picturesque event returns to Kirkby Stephen and Brough on 31st March and 1st April 2018.
Held at locations in the Upper Eden Valley and in the Cumbrian North Pennines’ area of outstanding beauty and the new extended Yorkshire Dales National Park (Westmorland Dales), the annual two-day event attracts thousands of people to South East Cumbria over the Easter weekend.
Well-preserved and lovingly restored buses, coaches, vintage wagons, lorries and vans, Land Rovers, military, utility vehicles, tractors and other farming vehicles, and old pedal bikes will be showcased across various sites across Kirkby Stephen and Brough with donation-only classic bus rides between them.
The classic bus route will start at Kirkby Stephen station on the Settle-to-Carlisle Railway. This delightful Victorian station will be the gateway to the event with a display of the history of the station and railway courtesy of the Friends of the Settle-to-Carlisle Railway and will include a refreshment café.
A highlight of the 20th Cumbria Easter Rally is the amazing road run through the fells taking place on Saturday 31st March. The evening procession will delight the crowds lining the route as the fells of the Westmorland Dales create a spectacularly beautiful backdrop for professional photographers and Instagrammers alike to take pictures of the procession of classic trucks and buses.
Entry is free for exhibiting historic, commercial vehicles and the free, family-friendly event features a vintage funfair and other activities for children, plus local artisan craft and food stalls and extended parking to manage visitor numbers comfortably. For some, the Rally is two days of nostalgia and for others it provides a fascinating visual history of commercial vehicles.
From 2018 onwards Encounter Eden, a not-for-profit, social enterprise designed to give the area an economic boost with a series of events in the region will co-ordinate the classic commercial vehicle rally. The Rally was organised for the last 19 years by the Eden Classic Vehicle Group and the now-retired Hamer Family (returning as 2018 exhibitors).
