You can now buy your tickets but only at the rally on the day of arrival. Tickets will not sell out therefore you are guaranteed a place at our BIG SUMMER RALLY so don’t worry and just turn up! PLEASE NOTE: Postal applications for tickets will no longer be accepted.
Harvesting the crops on the rally site should be really underway by now. One of our farmers said a week ago that the recent hot weather may see him finish combining. The hay has been taken off the camping fields leaving lush grassy open spaces close to the detecting fields. Some rain is forecast over the next few days then more late summer sunshine should take us up to our weekend.
KING HENRY V111, HIS WIVES AND OTHER INFAMOUS TUDORS
Meet Henry V111 and his six wives! The theme this year is The Tudors so our rally organizers are dressing up in full Tudor regalia! We also have a very convincing Cardinal Wolsey, a sinister executioner plus more reenacting personalities from the Tudor era! You are welcome, nay expected to come thus dressed; Tudor is the theme so get yer gear on for a bit of a do... Hire your outfit or buy then sell it on Ebay.
ENTERTAINMENT
We have added a great night’s music on Friday at about 8.pm too so make your way to the marquee arena, grab a couple of pints and visit the marquee. The hog roast will be served about 7pm followed by an excellent rock night from 8pm! Here’s the link to Saturday’s band called SWALLOW NOW http://www.swallownow.co.uk/
The FROME HOARD talk.
We have an expert coming along giving a talk on the Frome hoard at about 6pm on Saturday night whilst the band are setting up on stage.
All our rally equipment is loaded now and we will soon be on site setting up. No visitors please until Friday and no camping on Thursday.
This trip out to the farm gave us a really encouraging sight; the hay on the camping paddocks has been cut and baled! Now with the hay crop out of the way, we could once again review and amend entrances in, the layout of the marquee and positioning of equipment. Sounds simple maybe but we have to think of all the ‘what ifs’ like how to deal with wet ground. Everything is going to plan and most of the final touches have been taken care of.
It has been rather unusually wet even by British summer standards but the recent dry hot spell is what we needed. The ground at this moment is perfect so long may this weather continue! Lately we have been asked, ‘Do we cancel if it rains?’ The answer is we don’t ever cancel! The only exceptions are crops still standing, Foot & Mouth, plague, extra terrestrial landings or Acts of God! Detecting is not an under cover activity so bring your sun block, wet gear & snow boots!
Some inquirers about this year’s rally had the idea that we were returning to the venue where we held the 2009 & 2010 Summer rallies. We may return to West Hanney in September 2013 as new land may become available then. Meanwhile, we’re delighted that this year’s exciting ‘BIG SUMMER RALLY’ will be held on new land of at approximately 1000-acres that as far as we have been informed will remain virgin ground that is, until you all arrive!
In case you may wonder, we can’t reveal the actual location of our superb ‘BIG SUMMER RALLY’ but it is more or less in the Wantage/Childrey/Letcombe Regis area and is part of a massive estate. Weekend Wanderers’ previous activities on this estate near Wantage include our well attended national rallies held in 2006, 2007 & 2008 plus our regular Sunday digs. To that end, Peter Welch would like to acknowledge the landowners of this estate, past & present, and to thank them for kindly granting the Weekend Wanderers permission to hold this, the 2012 ‘BIG SUMMER RALLY’ and many more organized digs on their land in the future.
As a footnote, you might have heard of a minor Rotary Club rally planned near Letcombe Bassett; we wish them every success but they are nothing to do with the Weekend Wanderers.
THE WEEKEND WANDERERS
Scroll down the page to find out about the latest rally news
Update number 1 - July 2nd 2012
Earlier this year Sarah, Alan and I looked at how we were going to layout this rally site. During the spring we made several trips up from Hampshire to the rally site in Oxfordshire and discussed which fields to include for detecting plus on what days to use them & also where the line ups would be. We also looked at the best way to safely access the farm, which would be the best entrances to use & which fields would be most suitable for camping. Siting the marquee, caterer, bar and trade stands was discussed. All was clear in our minds at the time but we realized that subsequent visits would see changes to our ideas. Just as on our previous Summer rallies, our plans have indeed altered & evolved, so improvements have predictably been made.
To get the rally to run perfectly and without problems is always foremost in our minds. Obsessively going over every detail during every waking morning for months before the event, sees us mentally planning out the venue and trouble shooting all the ‘What ifs’.
As a matter of course, we pay a monthly visit the farm to meet with the landowners but mainly to see the progress of crops & more importantly to check out various ideas that have occurred to us whilst at home.
SITE VISIT MONDAY 25 JUNE
This year’s cool, wet summer has led to more questions than answers especially having seen the mud bath at the I.O.W music festival. It was indeed time to put our minds at rest and check out how sodden the camping paddocks must have become. We had carefully selected suitable grass paddocks for camping but we needed to know how the land here drains and if the grassy paddocks had turned into a marsh!
Our last visit here in early spring saw short grazed grass but the paddocks were now a fully grown hay crop, thigh high. Amazingly though the ground was parched and drought cracked even though heavy rain had fallen here just three days earlier. In fact it was a job to get a spade in the ground!
We plan to camp you on three grass paddocks that are all adjacent to Friday’s free detecting fields, put by solely for weekend ticket holders. Whilst walking the tram lines in the wheat checking the boundaries of these Friday fields, we both noticed fragments of tile and even spotted a sherd of Roman pottery. Hopefully this is a good signs of things to come! The cereal crops are all looking pretty much on schedule for a harvest in August.
An Indian summer is speculated and it’s what will really make this a fantastic weekend as the panoramic view from the campsite is breathtaking on a sunny day.
There is a lovely cafe to be recommended in nearby Letcombe Regis. We finalized the day over a coffee, happy that our questions had been resolved. When away from the site, the fields shrink in the mind’s eye but this trip reassured us both that what you will have in front of you this September is a truly vast amount of land that is easily accessible from the campsite without far to walk to it.
Check this page again for site photos and further updates.
Update number 2 - July 29th 2012
Update number 3 - September 10th 2012
LAST UPDATE - September 16th 2012
The fields have all now been harvested except one field of linseed which is due to be cut this Tuesday. Cultivating has already begun and the farmers aim is to have completed rolling the fields by Thursday. There will be a few fields left in stubble but the majority should be rolled.
TRACTOR RIDES
We have arranged the tractor rides again this year and the bus stops are portable toilets sited in various locations on the detecting fields. Rides are �1
LIVE BANDS
In the main marquee, Friday night from 7.30pm ‘LEAVING PARTY’ a great covers band then on Saturday 7.30pm a rock band to blow out the cobwebs! ‘SWALLOW NOW’ an awesome rock covers band.
WEATHER
The midweek days leading up to Friday show fair and sunny weather. Friday to Sunday look changeable with some forecasts saying no rain, others saying showers. See METCHECK and best of all THE METOFFICE.
We hope for great weather but Just in case, have your towing eyes at hand; they locate at the front of your car so find out now and it will save time on the day. The farmer reckons we won’t have a problem but I like to cover all aspects of our great outdoor pursuit. By the way, the fields look absolutely awesome! See you there!