The Coleford Carnival of Transport returns on Easter Monday, April 1, kicking off the summer season of events in Coleford. The event is a great family day out featuring displays of around 500 classic motorcycles, cars and commercial vehicles of various vintages as well as food stalls, children’s rides, a model railway exhibition, a display of radio-controlled model cars and much more.

Coleford Carnival of Transport was started in 1998 by a group of local motoring enthusiasts who, through connections with local clubs and interest groups, managed to attract around 175 exhibits. Over the years the event has grown in size and, in recent years, has attracted around 500 exhibits each year. As well as growing in size the event has changed with the times and, today, is more of a family event than a simple enthusiasts meet up.

“A two-year hiatus caused by the Covid Pandemic means that 2024 is the 25th annual event and we are looking forward to seeing a wide variety of exhibits and some interesting side shows,” said Alex DaviesChairman Coleford Carnival of Transport

“This year, for the first time, we are supporting a nominated charity and asking all our exhibitors to make a donation to the Great Western Air Ambulance. The Air Ambulance team will be attending the event and will have a display of their equipment on show (although, sadly, they cannot promise us a helicopter),” he added.

The event is open to the public from 10am to 4pm and admission is free. It takes place in Coleford town centre and the Railway Drive public car park and the roads in the town centre will be closed for the day. Parking in Coleford itself will be limited and so the carnival will be providing a park and ride bus service which will be operating between JBH Associates, opposite Perrygrove Miniature Railway on the B4228, and the Main Place in Coleford. Buses will run approximately every 15 minutes from around 9:45am to 4:30pm. The buses are free but the organising committee would appreciate a donation towards the running costs of the service.

Regular visitors to the event will find the set up to be much the same as previous years. However, there is one significant change for 2024. The disabled parking which was previously at Bank House will be in the Forest of Dean District Council Car Park this year. This change is in response to the need to increase the number of disabled parking spaces available. Blue badge holders are requested to follow the signs from the Tufthorn traffic lights down High Nash to the council offices where marshals will direct you to the disabled parking area.

The event is organised and run entirely by a small team of dedicated volunteers and last year saw the last of the original organisers of the event retire from the organising committee. The committee would like to publicly thank Derek for his service to the event over the years and wish him the best for the future.

“We can always use extra help on the organising committee. Even if you can’t help out with marshalling on the day you may still be able to help us with the event preparation. We are particularly looking for tech savvy people who can help with websites, online registration and promotion through social media,” said Alex

If you would like to join the team working on the 2025 event, please talk to one of the marshals on the day, email the committee at [email protected] or send a message via the Coleford Carnival of Transport Facebook page.