The 37th annual Hethersgill Vintage Rally marked a return from a two-year hiatus – much to the jubilation of the community who turned out in their droves.

The event, which is organised by the Hethersgill Vintage Club, took place on Sunday at Carlisle Lake District Airport, in an open field which soon became a small functioning hub of activity with a variety of all things vintage and bizarre.

The first attraction that drew the eye was a wide expanse of flawless, vintage tractors, presented alongside gas and oil powered engines.

Beginning promptly after opening was the auction, which saw potential buyers guided round a small pitch of items ranging from a bench in need of TLC to a full-on plough.

The rally also boasted an impressive craft fair and sale, with a range of quality hand-made goods on sale in a tent near the main action.

Lining the perimeter of the grounds were 20 or so bicycles and motorcycles, all presented for judgement and possible prizes.

While a fair few looked bespoke and brand new, the judges were looking for originality above all this year.

The next main event, and perhaps the one that a lot of the people who arrived came for, was the Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling.

The sport attracts the experienced and the amateur, of all ages, and is open to anyone who dares enter the ring.

Linda Scott, chairwoman of the Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling Association, explained that along with the rally itself, this marked a first in two years because the wrestling was put on hold due to Covid.

Linda said: “We usually come here every year, and this is usually our first event of the year.

“At the most we can have nearly 60 events which run from May right through to October.

“This year we’ve had a few that have dropped out altogether, Covid has just put an end to things, but we’re hoping we’ll still have plenty of shows.

“We’ve found homes for all of championship events – we have 15 championship events and they start with the children’s under 10 and under 12. Onve it gets to adults, it goes into weight classes.

“We had 17 applications for these events so we were happy about that because we thought ‘what’s going to happen after Covid?’”

Clive Elliot, the vice-chairman of the Hethersgill Vintage Club, said that he, along with the rest of his club, was glad to be back.

“It’s good fun,” he said. “Our first rally was 37 years ago.

“We’re engineers at heart, and we have our tractor run and our ploughing match later on in the year.”

READ MORE: Wrestlers enter the ring at Hethersgill Vintage Rally