THOUSANDS of people visited the Grand Henham Steam Rally which went ahead in glorious sunshine over the weekend.

David Green

THOUSANDS of people visited the Grand Henham Steam Rally which went ahead in glorious sunshine over the weekend.

The final attendance for the two-day show is expected to be in the region of 20,000 - which included people of all ages and from all over East Anglia and beyond.

Visitors were able to see traction engines and steam rollers up close and enjoy a range of displays in the beautiful setting of Henham Park.

This year's theme was road passenger transport through the ages and highlights included a parade of vehicles, starting with the Victorian stagecoach owned by horseman, John Parker, of Wingfield, near Eye, and ending with an appearance by a modern double-decker bus, more usually seen on the Halesworth to Norwich route.

A range of horse-drawn vehicles was involved in the parade, including a hearse, as well as early versions of motorised transport, some of them from the Ipswich and East Anglia transport museums.

Other attractions included the motorbike and sidecar used by Harrison Ford and Sean Connery in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a heavy horse exhibition and a display by a Yorkshire sheepdog handler who had to improvise with “dancing” ducks and geese as a result of the bluetongue regulations over the movement of livestock.

There was a record-breaking entry of 250 vehicles for the vintage car section and vintage motorcycles and cycles were also on show.

Graham Scriven, one of the rally organisers, said the weekend had been a tremendous success and had benefitted from “Indian summer” conditions.

“We have had glorious weather and people seem to have really enjoyed themselves - some of them have been walking around the site bare-footed,” he said.