FORDS ON TOUR
The packed Tour Of The Moor was a weekend of Old Skool Ford fun.
You can’t have forgotten the summer of 2018, can you? Day after day of dawn-todusk sunshine, sweltering temperatures and country lanes just waiting for the angry scream of a tuned Pinto or Crossflow! What a great summer for the classic Ford enthusiast it was, and you’d have to try hard to remember a wet weekend.The 2018Tour of the Moor event was held that one weekend — but the weather didn’t spoil the fun.
Once againTour OfThe Moor was organised by Old School Ford’s Scott and Chris and was based around the River Dart Country Park near Ashburton, featuring a large campsite and some fantastic facilities.
The tour comprised two nights of camping, a day driving in Dartmoor National Park and a show day on Sunday at the local steam railway. Plenty for all the family, not just those completely obsessed with classic Fords! Although the Dartmoor microclimate did its worst, the weekend turned out to be great fun.
Feedback from the previous year had lead Saturday’s run out to be extended to cover a distance of 110 miles across some of the most scenic and interesting roads the south west has to offer. Parking had been arranged at the
local historic railway, operated by the local air-force cadets, and this was where the tour route started and stopped, as the cars embarked on a figure-of-eight course across the moor, taking in the highlights of Princetown, Haytor, Mortonhampstead, Tavistock and Hexworthy.
The route started with a blast along the A38 dual carriageway toward Plymouth, skirting the south edge of the moor, before turning onto the more interesting and typical roads around periphery of the National Park.
Crossing the first of many cattle grids of the day gave those unfamiliar with the moor the first taste of what was to come for the next 95 miles: lightly trafficked open roads, sweeping bends and picturesque views up and down steeply sloping tors and valleys.
The Devonshire always keep drivers on their toes, with suddenly tightening bends, narrow bridges, free grazing animals, and some of the best roads in the world to accelerate uphill after a tight corner. But theTour is an experience, not a race, there was plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and the outstanding roads.
The passengers were kept busy too. In addition to the route instructions, there was aTreasure Hunt competition, challenging participants to spot features along the route.
The route finished at the railway, as theTour weekend coincided with a steam festival with real ale, live music and special steam services.The classic Fords parked up and immediately became one of the highlights of the show.Trips behind a steam engine were available for those who wanted someone else to do the driving for a while, but before long it was back to the campsite for the evening. Scott had organised a trivia quiz with Old Skool Ford hoodies awarded for the car who collected the most treasure hunt questions and also for the trivia quiz.
For Sunday’s Show And Shine we returned to South Devon Railway.The tour cars were joined on by other local classic Fords, including a stunning Mk3 Zephyr, as well as a handful of assorted BMC models.
Dartmoor lived up to its reputation for being wild and rugged. It was fun-packed weekend, and we’re already looking forward to our return.
This year’s tour will be held on the weekend of June 21-23, once again returning to Rover Dart Country Park. For more details and to book a place (there are only a few left) visit the Old Skool Ford website at www.oldskoolford.co.uk.