HEATWAVE CANCELS CAR SHOWS

Organisers pull events after Met Office warnings

Soaring temperatures across much of the UK have led to a spate of classic shows being called o for safety reasons.

Among those a ected was the 400-member 6/80 & Morris Oxford & Cowley Club and the Morris LCV Register, which decided to shelve plans for its annual rally at Hatton Country World in Warwickshire due to the heatwave, and also to several people involved in organising it contracting Covid-19.

Club chairman, John Weir, told Classic Car Weekly: ‘This was not a decision taken lightly. A huge amount of work and expense has gone into organising the event and we are a relatively small club. We do have to consider the safety of club members first.’

It follows a string of event cancellations across the UK after the Met O“ce issued an extreme heat warning. However most of the larger shows did go ahead as planned, including Classic Nostalgia at Shelsley Walsh, the Historic Vehicle Rally at Newby Hall in Yorkshire, the Parson Drove Classic Vehicle Show and the Old Ford Rally at the British Motor Museum. In the case of the Newby Hall event, which CCW attended last Sunday, organisers opted to keep the event running but provided additional marquees for showgoers to use as shaded areas.

The Hospice of St Francis, near Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, also opted to postpone its show from last weekend to 25 September in light of Met O“ce warnings.

The organisers said in a statement to showgoers: ‘In light of the Met O“ce re-assessment in which they have broadened the extreme heat weather warning over the coming days, we have made the di“cult decision to postpone our classic car show.’

‘We are incredibly disappointed to postpone the event but the safety of exhibitors, participants, vendors, volunteers and sta is always our first priority. Our classic car show is a wonderful event and we want everyone to have the best experience possible.’

On the Isle of Wight, meanwhile, a classic Volkswagen show hosted by Cowes-based car dealer Esplanade was also pulled due to warnings about the weather.

Sales manager, Brendan Cole, said: ‘It would be irresponsible to ask people to congregate on a hot forecourt in the midday sun for hours. We aim to announce a re-scheduled date for this soon and apologise for any inconvenience caused.’

One of the larger events to go ahead last weekend was the Historic Vehicle Rally at Newby Hall in North Yorkshire, where visitors were encouraged to use additional shaded marquees set up especially for the day.