With over 1,200 exhibits attending each year, the County of Salop Steam Engine Society’s 2025 Rally is a fantastic family-friendly two-day event that promises to delight visitors to the beautiful setting of Onslow Park, Shrewsbury.
The 2025 Rally takes place on the August Bank Holiday, Sunday 24th August and Monday 25th August. Shrewsbury Steam Rally is ‘Shropshire’s Largest Steam & Vintage Vehicle Rally’ and is considered to be one of the best in the UK. Organisers say it is Shrewsbury’s ultimate family event where visitors can step back in time to experience the vintage thrills and tradition of yesteryear and this year they have announced that they are delighted to welcome some exotic camels and their jockeys, all specially trained by Joseph’s Amazing Camels and who wear fantastically colourful Arabian style outfits to this year’s event! As well as racing, the camels are on display all day so visitors to the two-day event at Onslow Park, Shrewsbury can meet these splendid animals and learn more about them.
The event has a variety of highly-entertaining attractions that are pure vintage charm and they include the wonderful spectacle of working steam engines and beautifully preserved classic vehicles from yesteryear. On each day the ‘Grand Parade of Steam’, is a highly-popular and majestic cavalcade of Showman’s engines, traction engines, Sentinel waggons, and steam rollers. The parade showcases a superb variety of fabulously decorated steam-powered vehicles that circle the arena set to nostalgic music and poetry – a memorable highlight of the two-day event –, and with a final flurry of their whistles it is always an exciting spectacle! There is a packed Arena Programme on both days; where spectators can enjoy moving convoys of historic commercial vehicles, including buses and fire engines; vintage cycles; working horses; vintage tractors; pre-and post-World War II cars; classic motorcycles; and perambulators – with the Main Arena being the centrepiece of the event.
The Olde Time Fair offers lots of traditional fun, with steam-powered rides for all – accompanied by vintage fairground music. There are miniature steam engines, a highly popular Craft Marquee and 6 acres of Trade Stands.
The Golden Age of Victorian Farming proves ever-popular; and pride of place is the Working Field which demonstrates timeless traditions, such as a magnificent team of beautiful shire horses, harvesting with reaper binders, and chaff cutting with a threshing box.
