This is our favourite event of the year. No hype, no supercar theatre, just the unsung and forgotten heroes that actually built our car memories. Hagerty’s Festival of the Unexceptional took over Grimsthorpe Castle on Saturday 26 July 2025, marking the show’s 11th year, and it reminded us why we circle the date every summer.

If you have never been, FOTU is a concours for the everyday stuff, family runabouts, shopping cars, workhorses, judged under the brilliantly tongue in cheek banner “Concours de l’Ordinaire.” Eligibility has crept forward over time, and for 2025 the headline guidance was broadly 1970 to 2000 for the concours applications, built on Hagerty’s rolling 25 year rule. In short, if it once blended into a supermarket car park and now makes you smile, it probably belongs here.

The setting

Grimsthorpe Castle makes a perfect backdrop, big lawns, big skies, and rows of cars that used to be everywhere and are now rarely seen. The lawn hosts the shortlisted concours cars, while the general parking fills with hundreds more curiosities as far as you can see. It is friendly, low stress, and full of stories.

What stood out this year

• A packed field and a proper mix. Everything from tidy base model hatchbacks to immaculate estates and lightly scruffy survivors. This show consistently draws thousands of visitors and a sea of “I used to have one of those” moments.
• A Skoda on top. Top honours in 2025 went to a 1992 Škoda Favorit, proof that humble can still be headline. Could not be more on brand for FOTU.
• The spirit is the point. Yes, there are winners, but the real joy is the equal admiration for the nearly forgotten. You will see judges and owners chatting about vinyl seats, original dealer stickers, and the sort of brochure colours we all pretended not to like in the 90s. That is the heartbeat of this event.

Why we go, and keep going

Takona exists to get people talking, and car culture is the excuse. FOTU nails that. It is easy to start a conversation when you are stood next to a basic spec hatchback that takes someone straight back to school runs or first jobs. No ego. No barriers. Just a shared grin and a story. That is why we love it and why we will keep coming back.

Watch our walkaround

We filmed a relaxed lap of the show field so you can soak in the details we enjoyed on the day. Pop it on while you scroll the gallery below.

Handy details for next time

• Where: Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire (PE10 0LY).
• When: FOTU runs in late July, this year’s show day was Saturday 26 July 2025.
• What qualifies: Everyday cars, broadly from the 1970 to 2000 window for concours entries, following a rolling 25 year minimum.