HUNDREDS of beautifully-polished and restored old vehicles turned Basing-stoke's War Memorial Park into a bustling Mecca for motor lovers yesterday. The Thornycroft Society's Festival of Transport attracted more than 700 entries, including early Thornycroft commercial vehicles with solid tyres and no windscreens, military vehicles, tractors, stationary engines, motorcycles and the cars once produced by British manufacturers. The motto for many participants was "Very old, very slow, very sorry". In terms of size, exhibits ranged from the mighty Antar to a tiny three-wheeler 1961 Nobel 200. Sunny conditions meant a large crowd turned out to enjoy the old veterans and to watch displays in the events area. Those who fancied trying their hand at driving perfection had a chance to take part in a manoeuv-ring competition organised by the Basingstoke and District Group of Advanced Motorists. Chris Tree, chairman of the Thornycroft Society, said: "This year we've had a lot more buses and a lot more classic car stands. "We are really close to capacity without going in to the lower football fields. "People have travelled here from all over - from Doncaster, Manchester, East Anglia and other places far afield. They started arriving at 6am." Mr Tree said his favourites were a Mammoth Major Regent Oil Company tanker and a Royal Blue bus, adding: "But I am biased in favour of the commercials." He said there were more stalls this year, selling anything from car ornaments to plants, and added that the display of birds of prey was proving extremely popular with youngsters. Two other innovations this year were the introduction of a new class for best emergency vehicle - The Robin Thornycroft Cup - and the re-orientation of the commercial vehicles. Mr Tree said they were facing into the sun to give photographers better light for pictures. He said: "We get a lot of interest from the national specialist press and we wanted to make the most of conditions for them."