MATT GEORGE
DAY FOUR Devon to Hampshire
After leaving our overnight digs near Paignton, we make good time on our journey east. The impressive Jurassic Coast on one side, beautiful Dorset countryside on the other – what more could you want as a classic car enthusiast? Friend of PC James Bacchus is along for the ride in his Austinhealey 3000 and is having a ball. With the sea glinting beside him, his Healey looks like it was made for the job.
After a day on the road in blistering heat, respite is found at the Locks Heath Club meet, both in the warmth of the welcome from head man John Davey, and the refreshing nature of the much-needed cold beverages on offer. Locks Heath is another club run in an extremely laid-back manner that grew from just a couple of guys who lived in the same street getting together with their classics. Want to get involved? Simply email John, get your name added to the list and you’re in. John explains: ‘If you love your car and want to show it off, then we’ll love it, too. We welcome anything and everything.’
Held in the car park of the Locks Heath shopping complex, the mix of cars here is again, diverse, with everything from two immaculate one-owner Fords – a Cortina MKIII and Escort MKI – to a bonkers home-made Jaguar XJ40 pick-up. The atmosphere takes on a party-like feel, with classics coming and going all evening and warm hospitality from our hosts. It is the best-attended meet we have enjoyed so far – there must be 250-plus cars here.
DAY FIVE Hampshire and Sussex
After overnighting in the historic market town of Arundel, we hit the road bright and early, on what turns out to be another scorching day in the south of England. Our first destination Is the Hickstead Hotel, Bolney, to meet up with a gaggle of keen PC readers and embark on a scenic tour of the South Downs. The assembled convoy is an eclectic mix of
metal with homegrown offerings like Triumph Stag and MG Maestro rubbing door handles with an Audi 80, BMW E30 Touring and an extremely rare Panhard Dyna Z1.
An enjoyable run follows, first taking in the pre-1923 era Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park, with the period-correct station gleaming in the colours of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Next up, a popular local beauty spot – Devil’s Dyke is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill. This spot still draws in coach-loads of tourists today, many of whom are treated to the sight of my inadvertently-exposed boxer shorts as I contort myself into position upside down under the dash of my TR6. One of my colleagues has noticed that the TR’S brake lights aren’t functioning – the brake switch activated by the brake pedal is found to be the problem. Much fiddling and some swearing later (I’m bloody hot by this point), brake light function is restored. After a late lunch at the Amberley Black Horse, it is finally time for the day’s main event – our appointment with SADCASE.
The Storrington and District Classic and Sportscar Enthusiasts, to give them their full name, turn out in huge numbers. From a Bedford CF camper, to an Iso Grifo, via a Wolseley 1100 and Tony Pond’s ex-works TR7 V8, Aston Martin, Lagonda, Trojan… the variety of cars on display is astonishing. The pub car park at the The Spur at Slindon Common is full within the first half an hour and the road outside turns into a beautiful traffic jam as more and more owners arrive. Good-natured chaos and lots of fun banter.
The summer sun sinks low into the trees and our hearts are warmed by the magic of it all. ‘This place has reinvigorated my enthusiasm for car shows,’ remarks snapper Matt Howell, and I think we all know exactly what he means. What a fabulous end to a great first week of our tour.
DANNY HOPKINS DAY SIX Scotch Piper Classics
A week of blasting around the country has given the TR7 a rude awakening. For years it lived under the flatbed of an old artic – quietly doing nothing in particular – until I came along. Over the past ten days, with the aid of a service, new tyres from Vintage Tyres, an engine mount from Robsport, some brake fettling and a fresh MOT, this Canley-built wedge has managed to deliver me from club to club. But the sudden burst of activity has come at a cost.
It started on day one when I spotted that the temperature gauge was straining over to the right. I pulled into the next lay-by and lifted the lid. The entire cooling system was pressurised, but there was no mingling of oil and water in either. Weak pump? Silted rad or block? To be honest, I haven’t had time to diagnose it properly; but today, heading across country towards the north-west via the A50 and M6, the TR7’S two-litre slant-four and I have made a deal. If I leave the cap on loosely and refill the header tank every 100 miles, it will allow me to sit at 70mph without boiling over. I have new suspension parts on order (it all feels a bit mahogany at the moment) and I will investigate the engine issues after we have finished visiting Britain’s very best local clubs. Right now though, I am determined that we shall prevail – this TR7 will finish the job. So far, so good.
We are aiming for the oldest pub in Lancashire, the Scotch Piper Inn in Lydiate (serving beer since 1320). Scotch Piper Classics, the car club you nominated as one of the top ten has not only adopted the inn as its base, it has taken its name as well – it’s a great venue. They meet every Monday evening and on the third Sunday of each month for breakfast and chat. When I arrive, I am knocked out immediately by what I see. Lined up outside is a Toyota Townace van, an Austin Maxi and an Aston Martin DB4 – all on show.
Club coordinator Andy Shaw shakes my hand and then I spend the rest of the evening just revelling in the relaxed, warm atmosphere. Some 150 classics come and go, and several pies are eaten between bouts of chat and car touching.
Andy is clear about why Scotch Piper works: ‘We are from all spectrums of the classic car hobby. Snobbery is actively ridiculed. If your car, bike or truck is a classic, rare, interesting or all of the above you’re more than welcome! There are no fees to pay. Just turn up and enjoy being in like-minded company.’ If I lived within 50 miles, I would be here every week. What a great evening.
DAY SEVEN North West Casual Classics
A decent night’s kip follows, courtesy of the Farington Lodge Hotel, a Grade Ii-listed Georgian mansion that, for many years, was owned by Leyland Motors and called The Leyland Motors
‘In Bowland, we get a bit lost, but the roads are so good no-one cares’
Guest House. It was where the company would wine, dine and house distinguished guests until Leyland/daf’s HQ moved in the late Eighties. It is now part of the Classic Lodges group, and is a proper classic-car-friendly place to stay – we love it.
First thing – a merry band of classic owners are waiting ready to join us on a drive out through the Forest of Bowland and into the Dales. Destination: Ribblehead Viaduct. A convoy including a Mini, an Escort MKI, a Midget and an Austin Ambassador form up on the M6, on the oldest stretch of UK motorway, before going into the Bowland Massif.
And no, we hadn’t really heard of the Forest of Bowland either. First thing… it isn’t a forest. It is, in fact, a beautiful upland area crossed by tiny roads affording stunning views of the Dales and the Lakes. We spend a happy hour getting a bit lost (and not caring) before stopping at Dunsop Bridge, the exact geographic centre of Great Britain according to the Ordnance Survey. Another hour of exquisite driving and we reach Ribblehead Viaduct… a marvel of Victorian Engineering, a cathedral in the fells, and still used today by trains to the north.
We need to head south though… to meet our next club hosts, North West Casual Classics. Formed in 1996 it is a friendly, multi-vehicle, multi-make club that welcomes modern classics. We meet the guys at the RAF Burtonwood Heritage Centre and, once again, we are treated to a warm welcome.
Chairman Nigel France says hello and asks me to keep an eye out for a ‘car of the evening’. I give him the nod and then I am off – into classic land, nosing around and enjoying the company of owners old and young. NWCC is a more traditional club than some of the others, with a structure and committee. It raises money for two charities – Mary’s Meals, which provides meals for underprivileged kids, and a second charity chosen by the members at the AGM. ‘It’s a very family-orientated club,’ says chairman Nige, ‘and as the name suggests, we’re pretty casual. And we have a lot of fun.’ And it’s true. Despite the trappings of officialdom (regalia, club tent and organisation) NWCC is still a chilled club to come and be part of. Again we all look at each other. If we lived round here, we would all be members, of that there is no doubt.
MATT TOMKINS DAY EIGHT Silverstone Social, Brackley, Northamptonshire Once again, I’m distracted from my breakfast by a distinctive clatter. We’re at the Hadley Park House hotel and Robert Cooper’s 1974 Brazilian-built split-screen camper has just pulled into the grounds, ready for the start of our fifth and final ‘big drive’ of this memorable tour.
It’s soon joined by a number of other distinctive exhaust notes – from Jay Ivey’s K-series turbopowered Skoda 1000MB to 18-year-old Luke Godfrey’s daily-driven Austin A35.
Pleasantries exchanged and coffee drunk, we head out of Telford and on to the B4373 towards Ironbridge. A beautiful drive in an eclectic convoy, we wend our way through Astley Abbotts and on to Highley and the Severn Valley Railway, parking up alongside the tracks just in time to watch ‘Prairie’ No. 4144 steam into the station.
As excited daytrippers disembark, they make a beeline for our cars, many with a story to tell about the car their dad had. Classics are THE great conversation starter. Feeling chuffed, we head through Bewdley towards the Silverstone Social Classic Car Meet at Turweston Aerodrome.
We turn into the dusty airfield and what greets us is nothing short of incredible. Literally hundreds of cars have turned out to see us. I’d feared that by this point in the trip I’d be all classic’d out – but the reality is quite the opposite. Great cars, wonderful people and amazing enthusiasm combine to create an atmosphere that is really vibrant.
As I chat with the club organisers my attention is diverted by the phenomenal range of marques on display. That variety is something that’s been consistent throughout the whole trip. That – and a lack of snobbery – but tonight the numbers add to it. As we leave, I slide the Webasto sunroof back, flick the ’B into fourth overdrive, the revs drop and I settle into a steady cruise in this most capable of classics. The quiet is shattered moments later as friend of PC Simon Bryant screams past in his awesome-sounding Triumph TR8 on the way home.
What a noise! And what a day. What a club!
‘What greets us is incredible. Hundreds of cars have turned out’
‘So many people started turning up, we had to move to a bigger venue’
JAMES WALSHE DAY NINE East Coast Retros, Ipswich, Suffolk
I’ve been watching my colleagues closely; and after 1500 miles of hard driving, there have been a few mechanical concerns. Up until now, I’ve remained quiet so not to tempt fate. But I have to say, I am overwhelmed by my faithful old Citroën. I’m falling in love with it all over again.
On a long-distance road trip like this, nothing at all about this car feels like it was designed in the early Seventies – its comfy seats, ingenious suspension and effortless steering eliminate any chance of fatigue. To be fair to my colleagues, that’s what the CX was designed to do. But I do feel a twang of envy as I watch them enjoying the wind in their hair on our lengthy leg to Ipswich. The A14 is blocked and we’ve veered on to the country roads of East Anglia where the boys are clearly enjoying the corners.
Our journey takes us through Haverhill, Sudbury and through the picturesque Dedham Vale, ending up at the Rose pub at Shotley, where we are led around the back by members of the East Coast Retros to a vast, empty field adjoining the village hall. Within the hour, every patch of green is filled with a staggering number of classics (more than 300) and a party atmosphere ensues.
We’ve encountered a warm atmosphere at every location, but the vibe here is almost that of a festival. There’s a barbecue on the field, as well as trays of drinks being brought out of the pub to all kinds of groups – from lads in numerous Fords who’ve come together for an after-work beverage to couples in vintage cars having a natter. There’s even an entire family here who are devoted to saving and restoring Vauxhall Belmonts. Whatever the classic, everyone is enjoying a drive and a get-together.
The club has grown from virtually nowhere, says Michael ‘Trigger’ Carpenter. ‘It started out as just a small gathering of mates but so many people started turning up, we had to move to a bigger venue. It has just gone nuts and keeps on growing!’
ECR’S Facebook page has thousands following their activities and discussions on classics of all types. ‘I guess we’re not a traditional classic car club but we have rules of participation that are strictly adhered to and a tight circle of admins online to ensure everyone is welcomed and free to enjoy a love of cars, whatever you own. There’s no snobbery here.’ Once again, we’re all gathered for a group photo and the PC team pause together nearby before we move on for the final leg of the trip.
With the cranes of Felixstowe glowing in the evening sunlight, we all agree: East Coast Retros have put on such a great show, none of us wants to leave - great club, lovely vibe.
DANNY HOPKINS DAY TEN H-town Classic and V Dub Club, Hitchin, Hertfordshire
Our final day – the last jaunt for Team PC and the classics that have carried us for more than 2000 miles from club to club. It’s a hot one too, at more than 28ºc. Today I point the sharp end of the TR towards Hitchin and, as the revs rise on to the racing stretch of the A1, I think about BL’S clever twoseater. It’s been a nifty little chariot, delivering me to every club without fuss, even with the enigmatic cooling issues mentioned earlier.
It’s not a sports car though, it’s a baby grand tourer. Matt’s TR6 has the barnstorming brawn in spades; and following him south today I understand why so many TR fans had a problem with the ’7. It’s a different animal. It has five gears, soft suspension and a big boot. It’s a car for the modern era, and you can only guess at what the world would have looked like had the quality control issues been sorted and a reliable EFI Sprint engine installed. A bit faster and a bit better, and the world would have sat up and bought the TR7 in droves.
Today is our shortest cruise of the big adventure and takes us 35 miles south from Peterborough to the Hitchin Lavender Farm (yes, it’s a thing) where once again we are greeted by a field of dreams.
Felix Camfield-walker only founded the HTVWC in 2017 and has been running the meets since then with friends. With over 1500 ‘friends’ after only two years in existence Felix has a single word that describes why the club has become so popular so quickly: ‘Inclusivity,’ he says with a smile. ‘The diversity of cars here in the field is the best illustration of this, along with the variety of ages of the owners. We are not just about VWS.’
And it’s true. As with every club we have visited, the mix is mighty and the camaraderie based on a mutual love of interesting motors – from hotrods to classic concours MGS, via just about anything old and interesting. Felix and his friends have something special here, and all power to them: the demand for this type of meet is obvious.
As club members begin to leave, the PC team gang up and head for the Lavender Farm’s tea room. We need to discuss the clubs we have visited and see if there is some sort of consensus to be established around a winner. This will be the most difficult decision we have ever had to make. Britain’s Best Cafe (2017) and Britain’s Best Classic Destination (2018) were tough enough but this… quite simply, is pretty much an impossible decision. For different reasons, any one of the ten clubs you nominated could win.
AND THE WINNER IS... East Coast Retros
First, let’s get one thing straight... every club in the top ten deserved to win. Whether it be the incredible charitable work by The South Wales Classic Car Club and their neighbours in Pembrokeshire or the fantastically generous, sunny atmosphere at Torbay Old Wheels. We were blown away by the numbers and the enthusiasm at Silverstone and SADCASE… hundreds of amazing cars, and on a school night, too.
H-town is classic car club that is punching way above its weight after only two years. Founder Felix is doing something right. And the North West Casuals have managed to make a highly organised club feel relaxed and friendly – not easy. At Scotch Piper we found a club that felt like a meeting of a bunch of mates (there were 150 cars there) and again, the numbers who turned out at Locks Heath had to be seen to be believed.
But as we drank tea and argued, we realised that there was only one question that really mattered. Which club would be like to be a part of the most? Even here, the biscuits flew. But eventually we arrived at a consensus. By the narrowest of margins East Coast Retros pipped the others.
The meet takes place in a field behind a pub in the middle of nowhere. There’s nothing fancy about it – or the mad collection of classics that turn up. But the spirit and humour was second to none and the cars were as diverse as you can imagine with every single one welcome. Plus, with well over 350 through the gates, the numbers who came along turned this ‘show’ into a ‘festival’. It was infectious… we would recommend it to anyone, young or old, with any classic, old or new, modified or original. We loved it. But we love them all. Practical Classics is a magazine that shares the values of every one of these clubs. Every car is welcome, every owner too. If you cherish your motor then come and join us – and if you want to get under the bonnet, we’re here to help you in any way we can. It’s a community we are proud to be a part of; it’s a community we’re proud to serve.
‘Huge numbers of visitors turned the East Coast Retros meet into a festival’