The sun certainly shone down on the 2022 Barrow Festival of Transport as over 200 vehicle owners descended on Barrow town centre to show their pride and joy.
Barrow BID and the Festival of Transport committee promised that the 2022 event would be the biggest and best so far and it certainly lived up to the promise.
The event centred around a line up of classic, vintage and desirable motor vehicles which were located in town centre streets for people to view. This year the event attracted over 200 motor bikes, scooters, cars, trucks, buses and unusual vehicles filling Dalton Road, Portland Walk, Cavendish Street, Scott Street and pedestrianised areas of the town.
As well as the vehicles located in the town centre, Barrow BID had organised a main exhibition arena on the town square between the Town Hall and The Forum. The exhibition arena hosted ‘On the Edge’ a motorcycle stunt show, which wowed the crowds with their high octane stunts and tricks, two RTC Demonstrations by the Cumbria Fire Service and a range of street performers including Professor Pumpernickel, Astral Circus and Gary Bridgens.
Buses played a large part in the event celebrations with classic buses providing tours across Barrow, with stops at Walney, the Dock Museum, the train station and Abbey Rd. There was also a tour to the Roa Island boat club where John Murphy informed passengers of the history of Roa Island.
If that wasn’t enough to enjoy a fun day out, then the event organisers also organised a secondary arena where Scott Street met with Dalton Road. This arena was masterfully compered by Becki Fishwick and included singing, entertainment and the fantastic Extreme MTB Show by Danny Butler and his brother.
The 2022 event attracted over 200 vehicles and visitors to the event were estimated at 10-12,000. The boost to the local economy was massive with traders in the indoor market and high street describing the day as one of the busiest of the year. The hospitality sector fared best with food and drink proving popular with visitors.
Next year’s event promises to be even bigger and better than this one!
