| Beamish "Dig for
Victory" Day 1 - Thursday August 31st
Thursday morning began with a briefing at 10am, followed by the first convoy of the event, to familiarise newcomers with the route around the site. Lynne took the Jeep while I drove the Dodge. After entering the 1913 town from the show field, we turned right around the site road. We follow the road up a long slow climb to near the 1940s farm, where there is a steep drop down into the pit village and colliery yard. There is the space to get the convoy
turned around here for a climb back up the pit village bank, back onto
the main site road. This continues a gentle climb to the main entrance,
then a slightly steeper descent to the entrance to the 1800s era part of
the museum. From there was a long gentle climb again past the 1950s
welfare hall and town, leading back into the 1913 town and back down
into the show field. |
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| Rather than going back to the show field after the first lap, four of our gang continued around the circuit and dropped back down to the colliery again. There was a location near the colliery building, on a walking route between the pit village and 1800s area, where we could park up and have a good number of public walk by. |
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| After staying there for a while, we moved on to "Coffee Corner" a small parking area on the edge of town near the bakery and not far from the cafe. This was a good spot for watching other vehicles convoy by. |
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| After coffee corner, it was back to camp for a look around some of the other vehicles and displays. There are two show fields, with these vehicles being parked up in the same field as our camp. The photo unit display was in the other field. All of the diorama displays were located in the other field, along with some of the larger vehicles. |
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| The afternoon convoy was at 3pm and took in the full route around the site, including the pit village. The exit from the steep bank out of the site was a really tight turn. Jeeps could manage the turn, but anything larger had to go the wrong way around the circuit a for about 150 yards. That took them to the bus and tram depot, where there was a hardstanding big enough for the largest vehicles to swing around and join onto the back of the Jeep convoy. |
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| Soon after the show finished, we went back out for a photoshoot down at the pit village. It was a squeeze down one of the back lanes for the Dodge, so we sent a scout on foot to check the clearance and turning room at the end. |
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| After that, we grabbed some pictures in the colliery yard before moving on to the edge of the 1950s town, which is still under construction. In this area, one street has been completed, while a cinema is being built over the road. |
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| A short drive further on brought us into the 1913 town, which was one of the first parts of the museum to be built back in the 1970s. From there, it was back to camp for the evening. |
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| Dig for Victory Day 2 |
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