I had a great day out last Saturday at the third Barrow Festival of Transport in the town centre.

The hard-working committee of the Barrow BID team had attracted vintage, classic, prestige and modern vehicles of every make and marque into the town centre for this year’s Festival.

Dalton Road, Portland Walk and most of the adjoining side streets were filled with attractions, ranging from miniature train rides, kiddies’ roundabouts, street magicians, buskers, singers, vintage and prestige classic cars and motorcycles.

A former Barrow-in-Furness double decker bus in original blue and cream livery was part of the show and an open top double decker gave short tours of the town.

It’s not very often can you see vintage Rolls Royces, classic minis and Volkswagen beetles all lined up in a town centre street together.

Mid-afternoon, the mayor of Barrow, councillor Kevin Hamilton flagged the cavalcade away on a short tour of the town before dispersing.

The early morning showers obviously deterred many exhibitors from turning up with their vehicles which was a little disappointing, but they soon gave way to sunshine.

The Furness British Motorcycle club, who regularly support local charity events, again put on an amazing display of classic British machines BSA Gold Stars, Triumph twins, Velocettes, Nortons, Matchless etc.

To see them all lined up together in Portland Walk made an impressive sight, while just around the corner in Dalton Road, the Ready Steady Go Scooter Club had a great line up of Lambrettas, Vespas, and many other makes on display.

Lower down in Portland Walk, Mike Bibby from MBR Racing had brought along two of Graham Wilcocks’ racing machines straight from their successes at the Southern 100 races in the Isle of Man.

I took along two of my Classic Crooks Suzuki race bikes with my good friend Alan Harris who`d taken his fully restored 1976 Gt750 Suzuki ‘Kettle.’

Just around the corner from our little display, a 12-cylinder air-cooled aero engine had the local petrol heads asking it`s owner technical questions about its origin etc whilst Alan and I were wondering if it would fit into a motorcycle racing chassis.

It’s great to see an event of this kind taking place in Barrow, as other towns elsewhere have been attracting visitors with similar shows for years. Now in its third year, I’m sure next year will be even bigger.

If you didn`t manage to get along this time, you certainly missed a great day out. It`s definitely in my diary for next year, put it in yours.

*Soon after we'd gone to press last week, I learned that Alistair Howarth from Silecroft has had his racing cut short following a serious accident at the Skerries Road races near Dublin recently.

The 2013 Manx GP winner, who is readily accepted as one of the country’s top riders on 400cc machines and has many wins and places to his credit at Scarborough and on the Irish road circuits is currently lying sixth in the Irish Road Racing Championships.

He sustained a fractured leg and dislocated shoulder along with multiple bruising when the throttle stuck upon on his machine during the sighting lap.

It’s a bitter blow for the Silecroft rider who had great prospects for the forthcoming reinstated Scarborough races at Oliver’s Mount and will now miss the Classic TT next month.

*The Ready Steady Go Scooter Club are celebrating their 40th anniversary next weekend with a two-day rally in Barrow.

Next Friday and Saturday, scooter enthusiasts will be converging on the Vickers Sports and Social Club in Hawcoat Lane.

Entertainment is planned for both nights.

Camping is available with indoor shower facilities, washrooms, and catering etc. A £10 wristband will get you a two-day camping permit and admit you both evenings.

However, if you`d just like to attend one of the nights, the door charge will be £5. Visitors are welcome along during the afternoon, free of charge. Contact readysteadygo12@gmail.com

*Road race fans will be pleased that racing on the Oliver’s Mount circuit at Scarborough returns next weekend after a two-year lay-off.

To celebrate the occasion, a host of celebrities will be doing some parade laps prior to racing.

They include John McGuiness, Mick Grant, Steve Parrish, Dean Harrison, Jamie Whitham, Carl Fogarty and many others.

The good news is that admission charges have been cut to £25 per day.

The recent Southern 100 races in the Isle of Man are being screened tonight on ITV4 at 8pm. Keep an eye open for Mike Bibby from Barrows MBR racing, who was filmed working on Graham Wilcocks machines.

The next Pennington Bike Night gathering is next Tuesday from 5pm onwards.

The Flookbourgh Steam Gathering takes place tomorrow and Sunday. Organisers tell me the motorcycle displays were full to capacity months ago, certainly worth a visit.