With only a matter of 24 hours before Drive-It Day 2016 kicks off, CCFS get the opinion of the Classic Car Weekly team and run down our top picks for this year’s event. Want your car in print? We can help with that, too.
Drive-It Day 2016 is nearly here!
It’s claimed that at least 450 enthusiasts’ clubs will be uniting for the British Historic Vehicle Clubs organized Drive-It Day 2016 this Sunday, with a minimum of 250,000 people taking part up and down the country. Now celebrating its 11thevent, the original intention was to inspire owners to dust off their pride and joy and celebrate the classic car movement - and it seems to have worked, with various milestone events taking place to also mark historical events. A commemorative run to mark the 1000-mile Trial of 1900 is running from London to Edinburgh and back, and then there is the Jaguar E-Type event.
ClassicCarsForSale.co.uk will be present at the Bicester Heritage event in Oxfordshire tomorrow, in partnership with Hagerty Classic Car Insurance. Hagerty will be valuing several classic cars in their arena, while Jayne Godfrey and Calum Brown will be there - depending on whether Calum’s Range Rover makes it - to talk all things cars and bribe you with goody bags, mainly to help push the Range Rover home again. But there are various other events you can attend depending on whereabouts you are in the country. Here’s our top pick:
Our Favourite Events
HAGERTY ROAD RUN
Towcester Racecourse,
Northamptonshire NN12 6LB
80-mile run from Towcester
Racecourse to Bicester Heritage,
via a hill climb or two! Each
entrant will receive a ‘tulip’-style
road book with points of interest
en route. Rally plaques will
provided by the organiser.
■ www.hagertyinsurance.co.uk
CLASSIC CAR TOURS’ RUN
Deanston Distillery, Doune,
Scotland FK16 6A
Braco, St Fillans, Loch Earn,
Crianlarich, Tyndrum, Glen Orchy,
Dalmally Loch Awe, The Rest
& Be Thankful. From there to
Inveraray Castle, where the Old
Kitchen has been reserved for
entrants to enjoy a private lunch.
■ www.classic-car-tours.com
NATIONAL MEMORIAL
ARBORETUM MEET
Staffordshire DE13 7AR
The National Memorial
Arboretum is the UK’s centre of
Remembrance and is part of The
Royal British Legion family of
charities. The venue will provide
a stunning backdrop to a wide
display of classic vehicles.
■ www.thenma.org.uk
KERSEY MILL DAY
Kersey, Ipswich, Suffolk IP7 6DP
An 1899 Panhard 6hp owned
by Charles Rolls and one of the
earliest Rolls-Royce Silver Dawns
star at this meet. Rolls drove
a Panhard in the original RAC
1000-Mile Trial. The Panhard is
on loan from Norfolk Museums'
Gressenhall Farm.
■ www.kerseymill.net
BROOKLANDS DAY
Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0QN
Parking on the museum site is
restricted to pre-1983 vehicles.
Several classic car clubs plan to
end their tours here, so there’s
plenty to see, with the banking
and paddock well worth a visit.
Gates open at 10am, while
Brooklands closes at 5pm.
■ www.brooklandsmuseum.com
BICESTER HERITAGE
SUNDAY SCRAMBLE
Bicester, Oxon, OX26 5HA
This Scramble will see the launch
of a fresh section – The Motor
Market, enabling individuals
wishing to sell their treasured pre-
1990 vintage, classic or modern
classic. An instant audience
of thousands of like-minded
motoring enthusiasts on the day.
■ www.bicesterheritage.co.uk
STANDARD MOTOR CLUB
CHARITY CAR DRIVE
The Bear & Ragged Staff,
Stonymarsh, Hants SO51 0LB
Assemble at 10am at the Bear
and Ragged Staff, Romsey. The
day will comprise a leisurely drive
through Hampshire and Wiltshire
villages before returning to the
Bear and Ragged Staff for lunch.
■ press.standardmotorclub@
gmail.com
NORTH NORFOLK SAINT
GEORGE’S DAY RUN
Station Road car park,
Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 8RE
Two routes through north
Norfolk, finishing at the royal
estate at Sandringham via
a special entrance at West
Newton Gate. In aid of the East
Anglian Air Ambulance. Light
refreshments will be available.
■ stgeorgesrun@nncvc.org.uk
ATWELL WILSON MOTOR
MUSEUM MEET
Calne, Wiltshire SN11 0NF
A meet set in the idyllic Wiltshire
countryside. Two clubs have
already confirmed attendance –
the Barkham and District Classic
Car Club and the Wartburg
Trabant IFA Club UK. So there’s
bound to be something for
everyone at this event!
■ www.atwellwilson.org.uk
Gervais Seymour of Classic Car Weekly:
I was unimpressed by the first few Drive-It Days, seeing them as half-hearted attempts to coax a handful of cherished classics out of their cotton wool-cocooned winter hibernation – if the weather was kind enough on the chromework. A classic should be out and about all year, and every opportunity should be a Drive-It Day, I reasoned. But the event is now in its 11th year, and I’ve performed a U-turn. Yes, for some, this is the annual wake-up call.
However, for many thousands of UK classic car owners and enthusiasts – more than 250,000 according to FBHVC estimates – it’s a rallying cry for a rapidly growing force that has its roots in Britain and is growing in stature internationally. I’m proud to be a tiny cog in this movement: we’re showing the world what can be done and how to do it properly. So you don’t need me to tell you what you should be doing next Sunday. You’ll be doing it anyway. The least I can do, as a reformed doubter, is to play
my part in ensuring CCW publishes as many of your Drive-It Day photos as possible. You’ve earned it. Here's how to get involved.
HERE’S HOW TO GET INVOLVED
1. Get a friend to take a picture of you with your classic
(or classics, if you’ve got more than one) on Drive-It
Day and send it to us by email, or by leaving a message on
our Facebook page or via CCW’s Twitter account.
2. All pictures must be high-resolution JPEG images
which are suitable for publication in print – and don’t
forget to smile for the camera! In other words, modern
phones (ie – iPhones, Samsungs, etc) will be good enough.
You do niot need a big expensive camera.
3. Send us your picture and tell us the year, make and
model of your classic, your name and home town, and
where you took your classic for this year’s Drive-It Day.
All pictures must be sent in by 10.30am on Monday,
24 April, so make sure you don’t miss out on getting your
classic into CCW’s 27 April pages.
■ Send an email, titled Drive-It Day, to
editorial@classiccarweekly.co.uk
■ Message us on Facebook by going to
www.facebook.com/classiccarweekly
■ Tweet us your picture by linking to @ClassicCarWkly