There were MGs on the Market Place from 10 am until 2 pm on the Sunday of Heritage Weekend.

A couple of non MG cars were also granted access onto the Market Place. One was this 1925 Lancia, made in Italy and after spending much of its working life in Australia now drives the roads around Abingdon. I saw it speeding off to Culham as I returned from the Culham ticket Office.

It was open for visitors all weekend. There were about 150 visitors on Saturday and about the same number on Sunday.

It was exciting to go through to the other side of the ticket office and see customers through the hatch, and then get a souvenir ticket stamped. There were also lots of souvenirs. One of the people running the operation has a collection of 400 GWR jigsaws. The jigsaws depicted travel locations and encouraged people to take the train.

Later in the day, Andrew, who has done a lot of the organising of Heritage Open Weekend, drew the winning entry for the Family Treasure Hunt. There were 30 correct entries out of about 60.

The winner will receive a Deluxe Brio Railway Set. Andrew asked Ravensburger whether he could borrow a Brio railway for the weekend and they donated one, and so that became the prize.

A highlight of every Heritage Weekend is East St Helen Street. Once again it had been transformed into a living museum. Windows throughout the street had displays offering glimpses into the street’s past.

Some displays showed parades that have marched down the street over the years, while others depicted the street’s earlier days as a bustling hub of activity. East St Helen Street was home to malthouses, riverside trading businesses, and lively pubs. Before 1977 it had two way traffic. And before 1900 it had no automobiles.