Newark Gathering 27-31 May 2026 - Official Announcement

Footnote to my post It’s a while since I’ve heard the distinctive growl of a large V8 engine, so was delighted to get acquainted with this Ford at the meet, their F-250 Camper Special, 1973 year, 5859cc (357cu.in).

 

Sounded grand when it drove onto site.

 

Thanks, guys, for the interesting coverage and beautiful photos from this great event.

 

Regarding the Ford Camper Special, Reese @cottage hill bill tells me:-

 

Hope they hadn't come far with current fuel prices.

 

I was thinking that Chris! Given the litre equivalent of US gallons, that’s about £6.80 for nine miles.

 

Good Morning, All,

WOW! What a wonderful look at this year's Newark Gathering! Sincere thanks to every one who shared these great photos, and for the running commentaries! Both much appreciated! Sweet Bride and I looked through the photos several times, and loved sharing the Gathering vicariously! One day, we would both love to attend, and very much hope that can come to pass. Logistics would be a consideration, but I think we an cobble together a small camp that would not cause problems in flight luggage. We just checked our schedule for next May/June, and find that we have nothing booked! So, maybe this can actually come to pass! We would LOVE for this to work out! Thanks, again, to you all for sharing this stellar event with us! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc and Sweet Bride

PS. Is it possible to catch a train that would get us to Newark, directly from Heathrow or Gatwick?

PPS - We're already deciding what tent, fly, stoves, and other goodies we could pack! Yep, a couple of silly Old Gits, for sure, but exciting to dream about it!

PPPS - Does the Newcastle pub offer lodging? @Ed Winskill , Ed, how did you and your lovely lady make your way to Newark, and what gear did you take along?

 

You mean the Prince Rupert in Newark Mark? It doesn’t, but around the corner is the Beaumond Cross Inn, which does. It’s where me and Mrs Presscall stayed last September, featured in THIS post and we can recommend it. Family owned and run, back in the day (18th century) it was a coaching inn. Food and beers there are excellent, the proprietor taking pride in making outstanding bread, yoghurt and curing hams to accompany produce from local suppliers.

There’s a railway station in Newark, one-and-a-quarter hours from London King’s Cross, with frequent trains from Heathrow and Gatwick into London of course.

It’d be great to see you both there. Requisites from CCS pals to supplement your ‘cobbled’ small camp would most certainly be forthcoming!

John

 

Hi, John,

Thank you for your always kind comments, and for your suggestions. Much appreciated. When, Sweet Bride and I were looking at the photos and reading the comments about this year's Newark event, she said, "We will have to find a way to get over there for next year's event"! After we found that we had no work scheduled for May and June next year, we decided to see if we could make it happen.

We will check out all the options, and then make plans accordingly. Staying at the Beaumond Cross Inn sounds good, but we'd also love to camp amongst our many friends, too. We'll see how it all turns out. Thanks for the links, and for your encouragement! Talk soon, and God Bless!

- Mark

PS - And, yes, you were right to see my mistake in saying "Newcastle". I guess I was thinking about some good brown ale!

 

Fantastic pictures i all ways look forward to seeing pictures from this great meet

 

Hi everyone, following my day trip to Newark on Saturday, I put some of the photos I took on the CPL site, so in fairness, I'm putting some more on here.
Tim

 

And a few more:-

 

@Doc Mark
Doc, in 2007 we were on a driving tour of parts of the south coast of England, Hastings, Rye, Lewes, etc, then north into the Cotswolds.

We drove up to Newark and spent several hours there, including in town as well as at the CCS gathering.

We didn't stay the night, and we didn't have any gear along. At some point we headed out, the next destination I don't recall.

A photo from that meet.

 

Evening, Ed (@Ed Winskill ),

Thank you for the clarification. For some reason, I had thought you were there for the entire event. Sounds like you had a grand time, in any case. I recognize quite a few of our Mates in the photo, but not all. Is it possible to list them, left to right? If not, maybe Ross can ID them for me. Thanks again, for cluing me in. We have decided to make the Newark Gathering the main attraction, with maybe some additions before, or after the event. Though the 2026 Gathering has only just concluded, we are already making plans for next year's event! Best to you and the Mrs, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Mark

PS - Is the fiasco in Seattle causing any problems for you and yours? I hope not. Before all that began happening, we were thinking about spending a week in the Seattle area, possibly staying on Bainbridge Island. Now, however, we've decided to spend our money elsewhere.

 

Left to right in the photo

Nick, Debbie, and me:




Nineteen years ago!

As for Seattle, we of course live in Tacoma, a completely separate (and, indeed, older) city. So we're not particularly affected by Seattle's weird politics.

Two of our kids live there, and while they roll their eyes constantly, they are not too directly affected.

Bainbridge Island is a nice place; across Puget Sound from Seattle, in a separate county, but in many ways a Seattle 'bedroom community'.

 

Excellent! If it comes off we can sort tentage etc.

 

@Spiritburner

Many thanks, Ross! Much appreciated! Actually, now that we have put the event on our calendar, we have already been deciding on what gear we can pack, and it's not looking too bad! But, it's not like we have no time to plan. Plenty of time for such things! The main thing is that we would finally get to see many of our CCS Mates, in the flesh, and that is a great thing! Thanks, again, and talk later!

Every Good Wish,
- Mark

 

PS - I know it's probably too early to know the dates for next year's Newark Gathering. But, the sooner we get them, the sooner we can make firm plans. Our calendar is open May/June right now, but can fill up pretty fast as the months pass. Thanks,

- Mark

 

@Doc Mark
Here you go Mark:
Future dates 4-6 June 2027, but many of us are there from the Wednesday, so 2-6 June effectively.

John

 

Hello Folks

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended and made me feel so welcome at this year’s CCS/CPL meet. I had a wonderful time chatting to everyone and looking at the wonderful displays which put my hastily grabbed items to shame. The weather was kind and apart from on cold evening, really warm. There were several regulars missing this year and I hope they will be able to make next year’s event, however it was good to see new visitors and displays which bodes well for the future. A special thanks to John @presscall for his contribution of friendship, good company and interesting knowledge, and to Chris @Blackdog for allowing me to play with his wonderful Blacks Icelandic patrol tent. This brought back many happy memories of my childhood and beyond, camping experiences in Norfolk with St John Ambulance. I think a massive amount of thanks and gratitude are owed to Ross @Spiritburner for his continued dedication hosting these two very special forums and for organising such a wonderful eclectic annual event. Looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2027.


Regards Jeremy (x246a)