Trentham Gardens Transport Festival 2019

Rain doesn’t stop ClassicLine

It only feels like a few months ago since we were last at Trentham Gardens but in the world of classic car insurance a year goes by pretty quick! So, once again we found ourselves preparing for one of our most-looked-forward-to events of the year.

Hosted by Gemini Events, the Transport Festival at Trentham Gardens has been running for 30 years and this year fell on Father’s Day.

Christian and Rob headed up early on Sunday morning in the new ClassicLine branded VW T6 Transporter. We were a little concerned about the attendance considering the bad weather over the last week, but as we edged closer to Stoke-on-Trent we spotted a convoy of classics! An MGB GT followed by a 1960s Mini Cooper S and then a group of classic BMWs. We joined a queue of around 100 cars to enter the venue and it was this moment that we realised that it wouldn’t just be us there, everything was still going ahead as planned!

There were hundreds of cars and a staggering diversity of vehicles which included anything from ratty Minis, modern Subarus, TVRs, Triumphs, Hot Rods, VWs and even a DeLorean! If only we had time to look at them all…!

Throughout the day, Christian and Rob took turns to have a look around the vehicles, chat to their owners and catch up with some of the classic car clubs we work closely with. We stocked up on an array of freebies including pens, key rings and the very popular USB car charger, all of which we’re given out for free!

We had lots of participants come over to our stand and chat to us throughout the day – it’s always great to meet existing customers and put faces to names. We had many people coming over just for a chat about their cars and we enjoyed hearing stories of restoration projects, rare cars, and generally chatting about all things automotive.

Due to high demand, we have been able to take advantage of some recently implemented new technology which enables us to quote on the spot and issue insurance cover there and then. Being able to provide instant quotations is something we’re really excited about and it went down a treat! At previous shows, we have been asked many times, “Can I have a quote today?” … and now the answer is a big “yes”!

Finally, to finish off a great day, we had the privilege of choosing a winner for the ‘Pride of Ownership’ award. It was a tough choice but there was a clear winner in the end – well done to Graham Fletcher with his 1971 Westfalia VW Camper. Keep an eye out for a feature on this vehicle coming soon!

A big thank you to Gemini Events and to all those who came over to chat with us – we’ll see you next time.