THIS year’s Lymm Historic Transport Day is taking to the air this year to celebrate the 80th anniversary of a visit of a Flying Circus to Lymm.
Lymm has a rich transport heritage and “The Wheels and the Water” book, published last year, has many stories linked to the village’s transport history and now its authors have unearthed another forgotten event – the visit to Lymm in 1934 of Sir Alan Cobham’s Flying Circus.
The “circus”, consisting of around 10 to 12 planes, toured the country putting on shows in towns and villages that could offer safe take-off and landing areas. They found one such area on what was then known as Winstanley’s Meadows – Between Rushgreen Road and the Ship Canal. As well as aerobatics and stunts like wing-walking there was the offer of flights to paying passengers for the sum of 4s (20p).
To commemorate this special event this year’s Historic Transport Day on June 29th will also have an airborne element. On the ground there will be some astonishing large-scale model aircraft including a half-size Tiger Moth and a model of an Imperial Airways HP-42 airliner (pictured) of the early 1930s with a twenty foot wingspan. Weather permitting though the highlight will be a flypast by two rare (full-size ! ) Bucker bi-planes.
“After the success of last year’s historic working boat sail-past we were looking for something to top off what promises to be a fantastic day” explained Event Director Alan Williams “and we feel that these planes, both on the ground and in the air, will provide that”.
There will be a huge range of transport on show including a mobile speedway museum where the public will also have the chance to meet this year’s patron, world champion Speedway rider Peter Collins.
As well as the hundreds of cars and motor-bikes the show includes a steam trail round the village featuring some of the giant machines that helped to build the nation’s highways.
There will be plenty to fascinate children too – The model railway exhibition includes a Thomas the Tank where kids can take the controls. The canal will also feature again too with many historic boats returning for the last weekend of Lymm Festival.
The fun starts at 10am and goes on all day till 5pm with a drive-in parade through the village at 10.30 and plenty of free parking at Lymm Rugby club on Crouchley Lane from where vintage buses will take visitors to the village centre. More information at www.lymmtransport.org.uk
