Autumn Events at Weston Park Postponed

Visitors to Weston Park have been enjoying the summer months exploring the parkland, gardens and play areas and making the most of the beautiful weather.  The stately home had hoped to follow this with an outdoor inspired autumn programme of events, but sadly the current rise in Coronavirus infections across the UK has not made this possible.

Two upcoming events have therefore unfortunately had to be postponed; the International Model Air Show (Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October) and Historic Rally Festival (Sunday 25 October).

Both events had been significantly scaled back to ensure social distancing and the safety of visitors, but it has become evident over the last week that concerns over the spread of Coronavirus are increasing.  These events would have attracted visitors from across the country and so a joint decision has been made between Weston Park and the organisers to postpone both events to 2021.

The International Model Air Show and the Historic Rally Festival were originally due to take place in June.

Jennifer Astbury, Head of Estate Operations at Weston Park, says, “When we re-scheduled these events to the autumn we believed that there would be a strong chance of them being able to take place. Over the last few months we have been working very closely with our Local Authority Safety Advisory Group to try our very best to make these plans work and are very disappointed to have to make this decision.

“Our incredible team and the partners that we work with put so much expertise, dedication and care into the amazing events that they create in this beautiful parkland.  However, having monitored the situation over recent days, it is the health and safety of our team, visitors, suppliers and local community that will always be our priority.”

“These are incredibly challenging times for the events industry and we are sorry to disappoint those who had already booked tickets and were planning on coming along.”

Steve Bishop from Wrekin Model Flying Club says, “It is with a very heavy heart that we have to announce that the International Model Air Show will now be postponed until 18, 19 and 20 June 2021. Safety has always been paramount, we have tried our best but look forward to welcoming followers of the show back next summer.”

Warner Lewis from Rallying History says, “We are extremely disappointed to make this decision, but the safety of everyone involved is our main priority. We wanted to have a big festival and celebrate rallying, but it was becoming more and more difficult to achieve this long-held dream. However, we now have another eight months to plan an even bigger event and would like to thank all those involved including Motorsport UK for their continued unwavering support.”

Tickets for both events will be automatically refunded within 7-10 working days.

Weston Park International Autumn Horse Trials will run behind closed doors on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October and the estate has currently suspended ticket sales to the annual Bonfire & Fireworks night due to take place on Sunday 8 November while it reviews Event Management Plans.

1,000 acres of Weston Park parkland will be open for visitors to explore each weekend in October from 10:30am to 6:00pm (last admission 3:00pm).  The areas that are open include the Capability Brown parkland, Temple Wood and the Woodland Adventure Playground, Granary Art Gallery Walled Garden and Formal Gardens.

Weston Park is situated on the border of Shropshire and Staffordshire. For further information please visit weston-park.com