Clyde Naval Base put itself on show to the public at the annual Faslane Fair – though as usual it had to do so at the nearby town of Helensburgh.

The event is designed to allow the people of Scotland to gain an insight into what goes on in the military establishment – one of the economic powerhouses of Scotland.

But the nature of the base – which is home to a fleet of nuclear submarines, including Britain’s nuclear deterrent aboard the V-class boats – and the physical constraints of the site means that staff from the base must set up their stalls a few miles along the shore.

Faslane Fair is a mini Navy Days as well as a town show, and Type 22 frigate HMS Campbeltown was at anchor in the Clyde off Helensburgh Pier to add a suitable grey background.

Pleasure boats provided a limited number of places for those who wanted to take a closer look at the frigate, recently on NATO duty in the Mediterranean and involved in the D-Day 60th commemorations, but for those who could not get a berth there was plenty to do on shore.

The day opened with parachutists leaping from the back of a Hercules, and closed with a performance by the RAF’s Red Arrows.

The fair brings a good deal of trade to Helensburgh – accommodation is hard to come by as visitors and sailors, in town for the fair and for the Joint Maritime Course which follows it – take up the places, and charity is also a big winner from the event.

Proceeds will help the Children’s Hospice Association of Scotland build a hospice for sick youngsters. The fair has already provided £20,000 for the hospice, proceeds from the 2002 event, and besides money raised this June, the charity is the Naval base’s chosen good cause for the year.

The only thing limiting the fair’s success – apart from dull weather – was simple logistics; the show site is restricted and the boats running out to Campbeltown and along the loch to the base cannot satisfy the demand.

The weather failed to stop displays by a Lynx helicopter, a search and rescue Sea King aircraft and the Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines.

“People here are conscious of the base, but there’s not the link that say Portsmouth and Plymouth enjoy – the base here’s not existed as long. So the fair’s about strengthening links between us and the community,” said outgoing Naval Base Commander Cdre John Borley.

Fair organizer Cdr Bill Jones added: “The aim is to give people a fun day out and show them what the Royal Navy does in Scotland, and tie the event in with a Joint Maritime Course so there’s a lot for people to see.

“But it’s also about the personal touch. There is one young lad in a wheelchair from Belfast who has been trying to get to the fair for years.

“Unfortunately he cannot get around a ship, so we got him into the base and crew from HMS Sovereign chatted with him.”