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| The venue for BeachBuggin in Southsea is about 107 miles from my hometown, and I take the same route every year. I like to stop about two thirds of the way down at Liphook services on the A3 to have a comfort break and let the bus cool down for 15 minutes or so. I know I'm getting near to the services when I approach the Hindhead tunnel which goes straight through the hillside of the town of Hindhead. |
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| My 1969 microbus taking a breather in the summer sunshine at Liphook services. |
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| Once in Southsea the approach to the common was queued up with traffic, but not your normal traffic, this queue was packed of Volkswagen's heading for the BeachBuggin show. It was quite an awesome sight. |
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| As I got nearer the entrance I could see all the Volkswagen's entering the show, I think it's going to be a good day. |
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| My microbus parked up at BeachBuggin 2015. I arrived at the show around 10.00am and it already getting warm, but there was a nice cool breeze coming off the sea which is about 100 feet from the show arena. |
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| Sunshine, a blue sky with fluffy white clouds and plenty of parking space on a well kept common and thousands of Volkswagen's is what the BeachBuggin show is all about. |
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| As the show is called 'BeachBuggin' there are bound to be plenty of beach buggies at the show and I think there must have been around 30 or so, the making of a great display. |
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| I do think that the old skool metal flake paint on a buggy looks fantastic as this stunning blue buggy shows. I know it's a bit 1970's, but it doesn't matter, as it looks so cool. |
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| The variety of different body styles the buggies had was amazing. I can't name all the different body styles but suffice to say they looked great. |
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| This nice pair of sandrail's were parked up with the buggies as I suppose they are technically buggies, just a different body shape. |
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| A few years ago there were a few scooters that attended the show, this year there must have been about 60. It really was an awesome sight. |
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| Another blue metal flake beach buggy. This one had polished 'centreline' wheels which stood out against the dark blue paint. I did like the surf- board strapped to the roll cage. |
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| At the BeachBuggin show there is always a fantastic array of Volkswagen's to suit the taste of everyone. |
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| This light blue Beetle pick up looked cool parked up at the show. It looked as though it had had a subtle roof chop. |
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| The pick up bed looked as though it had some early bay panels grafted in which was really well done. The early bay tail lights suited the look and I did like that small rear window. The owner has put a lot of work into this, and the result was an awesome pick up. |
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| Another radical looking Beetle was this 1971 fenderless satin black Bug with hot rod style red painted steel wheels. Again it looks as though it may have had a roof chop. I did like the headlights mounted on top of the suspension struts, again another hot rod themed look. |
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| Karmann Ghia's are beautiful looking cars, but when they are lowered, with a nice set of chrome 5 spoke wheels and finished in a lovely coat of all white paint they just look absolutely stunning. |
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| There were several 'original' Porsche 356's at the show. These are the real deal, not copies and this cream coloured one was gorgeous. |
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| From one extreme to another but still as gorgeous in it's own right was this early split screen RAT looking crew cab pick up. The faded paint with patina and the cyclopes light along with the roof rack made this bus stand out. |
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| Hundreds upon hundreds of split screen buses parked up in lines just across from the beach. Each spitty was different from the next, whatever your tastes, you'll find it at BeachBuggin. |
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| This 1974 Jurgens drew plenty of attention from the thousands of visitors to the show. These have to be the ultimate VW camper, but getting hold of one is not that easy, they are very sought after. |
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| Early bays and late bays were plentiful at the show and again each one was different from the last. Each one expresses the owners own personal interpretation of how a bus should look. |
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| Two split screen buses of similar years parked up next to each other, but so different in so many ways. |
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| The BeachBuggin show has a very chilled out and relaxed feel about it. So when the sun is shining, put the sun canopy over the doors and relax and enjoy the day. |
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| More chilled out owners enjoying the sunshine in their lovely split screen with a turret pop top which does look good on a split screen bus. |
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| This split screen had a very distinctive paint scheme in bronze / blue. |
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| I'm not sure how this paint scheme was created but it looked great. It reminded me of 'rag rolling' a paint effect often applied to furniture to create a sort of marble effect. |
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| This gorgeous army green early Beetle looked lovely in the sunshine. The narrowed front beam helped this Beetle stand out. |
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| A gorgeous red 1967 Beetle parked up next to a gorgeous turquoise Beetle. Again two different styles but both equally as nice. I did like the polished Empi 5 spokes wheels on this cherry red Bug. |
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| This gorgeous lowered turquoise Beetle with the off white painted steel wheels looked great. I did like the roof rack with the period accessories and also the camber of those rear wheels! |
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| I remember seeing this gorgeous electric blue beetle at the last BeachBuggin show back in 2013. This car is simply stunning. From the amazing colour and those chrome 5 spoke wheels. |
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| The interior of this bug was just as gorgeous as the exterior. The smoothed over dash looked great in that blue colour and the white vinyl bench seat and door cards complimented the overall look of this interior. |
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| As you would expect the attention to detail didn't end with the interior, the engine and engine bay also had the same high class finish. |
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| I did like this 1970 bright purple baja with it's full open sunroof. Those chrome wheels just look great against the body colour. |
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| Another beetle this time with a low cal look about it. The chrome Porsche head light grilles, chrome bumpers and wheels all suit the car perfectly. The 'swamp cooler' air conditioning unit looked just right as did the roof rack with the matching red cool box. |
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| This 1965 turquoise Beetle looked fantastic in the bright sunshine. The narrowed front beam with those polished Fuchs wheels look stunning. |
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| As with any Volkswagen show you expect to see a 'Herbie' replica, but this one had a nice twist. Yes it had the '53' decals but instead of being finished in white the body was painted in a dark beige / sand colour, which I really liked and which suited the car. |
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| This stock looking early Beetle looked just about right. Apart from the chrome head light peaks this looked as though it had just come out of the factory. I did like the small twin spot lights mounted to the bumper. |
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| I have seen this lovely early oval Beetle at a few shows now and it looks just as nice every time I see it. The narrowed front beam with the silver painted steel wheels are a perfect compliment to the army green colour. |
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| The Telefunken decals looked great (although I have no idea what Telefunken is!) as did the door / side panel decals. |
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| This lovely 1964 grey Beetle was one of the vehicles for sale at the show. It has an 1194cc engine and has a genuine 64,000 miles on the clock. The asking price for this classic was £9000 ($14,000 approx) |
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| OK it's not a Volkswagen but it is a German car. This BMW 300 Isetta was produced from 1956 - 1962 and had a mind blowing 300cc single cylinder 4 stroke engine that produced a top speed of 53mph and with an average fuel consumption of 93mpg.! |
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| A perfect way to spend a sunny Sunday. The sun was shining, it was warm and with the sound of the sea in the background and of course with plenty of quality Volkswagen's all lined up. |
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| A lovely 1972 181 Trekker in bright yellow. I did like the choice of wheels which I think are Radar's, but I could be wrong! |
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| Observant readers will recognise this 1971 early bay pick up. This is one of the vehicles I took a photo of entering the show as I queued up to get in. This really was a solid looking pick up. |
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| Another pair of late split screen buses parked up side by side The black 1965 bus is about the same age as the bronze and white one but they look so different. |
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| As usual at the BeachBuggin show there were a couple of custom trikes powered by the Volkswagen air-cooled engine. This gorgeous looking bright purple metal flake trike looked awesome... |
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| ...as did this bright yellow trike. The attention to detail on these trikes is amazing. |
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| I do like a black 'n flamed paint job and this 1967 Beetle ticked all the right boxes. The flames looked fantastic against the flawless gloss black paint. |
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| The BeachBuggin show always attracts the American car owners, which is great news for all the people attending the show. This green 1956 Chevy 2 door coupe with a white roof looked in fantastic condition as did the white 1966 mustang parked next to it. |
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| This 1969 Chevrolet C10 pick up looked mean with it's roof chop and finished in matt black paint. |
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| This gorgeous ruby red 1932, 2 door sedan looked great. I do like the '32 especially when they are fenderless (although this one has cycle fenders) and running on white wall tyres. |
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| The sedan has such a lovely body shape which looks even better when the fenders and running boards are removed. |
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| A lovey 1974 crew cab pick up in what looks like a dove blue colour. I do like these crew cabs and could quite easily have one. |
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| This 1967 split screen panel van looked great painted in a single colour of light brown. It's unusual to paint the roof the same colour as the body on a bus / van but this colour choice works extremely well. The white painted bumpers and wheels are a nice touch which contrast the smooth brown perfectly. |
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| From one extreme to another is the very RAT looking 1967 split screen bus. There is nothing hidden on the bus and what you see is what you get. I loved it. |
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| A good photo showing the diversity of vehicles at BeachBuggin. Volkswagen's as far as the eye can see, rows upon rows of various Volkswagen's. |
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| This early 1960's Beetle was fantastic. Every detail looked right, from the chrome towel rail bumpers to the painted steel wheels. |
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| This very sought after 1979 karmann mobil safari drew a lot of attention from both the public and other participants. These really are so nice and I think most VW owners would have one, given the chance. |
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| OK, it was a bit tatty here and there but that didn't detract from the fact that this is still overall a very nice desirable vehicle. |
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| I don't take too many photo's of T4 / T5's but this light blue T4 grabbed my attention. I did like the bonnet cover with the Union flag on it and the blue thermal windscreen cover. The contrasting white wheel arches were a nice touch that matched the wheels. |
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| I do like this photo of 2 very colourful Beetle's parked up side by side in the glorious summer sunshine. The turquoise bug is a 1970 and the bright purple one is a 1971. |
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| I'm not really sure how to describe this but I'll try... it's an off road late bay people carrier. It looks as though they could carry people across rough terrain as this bay had a flat bed with seats and full roll cage. It was also very high, I'm not sure if it's a syncro or not but it could have been. It did look fantastic and looked as though it could go anywhere. |
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| This moss / algae covered Beetle is one of my favourites. I have seen this at numerous shows across the country and it always looks good. It looks as though it has never been washed and I'm only assuming that is some sort of algae growing on the front panels. |
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| This lovely pre 63 split screen caught my eye with it's unusual paint colour and the 'Roo' bars on the front. I loved the overall look of this early split. The owners dog is trying to get some shade from the scorching sunshine by lying under the bus. |
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| After walking around the show for a few hours I decided to head back to my bus for a cup of tea and something to eat. This is the view out of my sliding door. I was in very good company. |
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| This multi coloured bay looked fantastic with it's different colour body panels. This is similar to the Polo paint scheme I have seen. |
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| This 1972 type 3 fastback looked like a nice straight and solid car. The gorgeous blue paint suited the car's body shape. |
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| This bright orange T4 looked great in the sun, the paint was so bright it gave off an orange glow. I do like these T4's especially when they are this nice. |
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| This 181 Trekker was in full military colours and looked authentic. These were originally designed for use by the military so it's only natural to have it in the military colours. |
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| Apart from the vase and flower, it did look authentic. The interiors on these Trekkers is sparse, but when you remember what they were designed for, it's understandable. |
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| This 181 even had an ammunition box and a radio which also looked authentic. So that was part 1 of 2 on the BeachBuggin VW Show. This is one show to be added to your show calendar for next year, I can guarantee you will not be disappointed. The location, the variety and the sheer numbers of Volkswagen's that attend this event is amazing. The weather plays a big part in any VW event in the U.K. so lets hope the weather next year is as good as it was this year. Regular readers will know that part 2 of this review about the BeachBuggin show should be next Saturday 12th, but I will be in hospital recovering from an operation so I will post part 2 of the review once I get home, suffice to say it will definitely be worth the wait as there are plenty more quiality air-cooled Volkswagen's of all descriptions to be seen. |
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