Through the Vale of York
The Northern Land Rover Run is always popular and this year was no different
Throughout the year the Series III, 90 & 110 Land Rover Owners Club organises a number of road trips. These take place in Yorkshire, the Midlands and the West Country and are open to anyone with a Land Rover.
The very first – the Northern Land Rover Run – took place in 2001 and has taken place every year since. And like the other runs, it is open to club members and all Land Rover owners, from Series Is to the most recent Range Rovers and Discoverys.
The run usually has a good attendance, and this year was no different with around 40 vehicles turning up to the start at Sainsbury’s car park in Northallerton. This appears to be a popular meeting place for Land Rover enthusiasts, and so we tend to meet at separate ends of the car park so as not to get the club event confused with anything else.
Following a drivers’ meeting at 10 am we set out on a route that takes us through the market town of Northallerton, a short trip down the A19, then through the small villages dotted either side of the road towards York. All in all we take in around 45 miles of the Yorkshire countryside to our finish at the National Railway Museum in York.
On the North Run we have always been lucky with the weather and this year was no different; the rain held off, the sun shone (mostly) and everyone seemed to enjoy the route.
The lead vehicle, a Discovery 2 driven by Andrew Gibson, arrived at the museum at just after midday, and the convoy of Land Rovers stayed pretty much together, with us all arriving at around the same time. We soon filled up the museum’s car park. Once everyone was parked up, we had lunch and Frank and Marjory King, the club’s founders, got busy printing off photos they had taken of participants’ vehicles at a pre-determined photo point during the run.
These runs are a good way of getting involved with the club and meeting like-minded enthusiasts. It’s a good opportunity to discuss your pride and joy and upcoming events, too. Of course, there was also the museum to look around, this one in particular is home to the legendary Flying Scotsman, as well as some 100 other historic locomotives and rolling stock, It’s well worth a visit, and many said they could have spent more than the afternoon exploring the exhibits.
Our thanks go to the staff at Sainsbury’s supermarket in Northallerton and the National Railway Museum for accommodating us in making this event possible. Dates of the other club runs can be found on the website.