D I D Reports 2

Eighteen club cars gathered at the High Street car park in Galashiels ranging from a wonderful 1940s MG TC through Rolls-Royces and Bentleys to the Triumphs of the 1960s and Jaguars of the late 1980s. We were also delighted to welcome new member Helen Cuthers of Kelso with her very well presented Renault Dauphine.

This year our route took us over Scott’s View, high above the River Tweed before travelling on to Kelso and a coffee and cake. Suitably replenished, we then fired up our engines and headed through the pretty village of Stichill and on to Earlston, West Morriston, Ledgerwood and then over the moors to Stow and down the A7 to Clovenfords and Caddonfoot.

The final leg took us towards Selkirk and over to Ettrickbridge then to our destination of the Woll Golf Club at Ashkirk where we enjoyed a late lunch.

Our thanks to Ian Lindley who organised the Run and gave us the chance to show our support in the Borders to the FBHVC.

The SE branch of the KGOC organised an outing and invited the local TIPEC (The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club) and the Marden Motor Club to join them.

We met for breakfast then had a scenic run through the Kent countyside near Sevenoaks, with a destination of Lullingstone Castle, where we displayed the cars on the lawn between the gate house and the manor.

A total of 27 classic cars joined in, from a 1929 Ford Model AA breakdown truck to ’80’s Porsches

Members of the C&DCCC setting out for DID road run from Milton Cambs to Welney Norfolk

The suggested donation was a minimum of a fiver for the route book which, together with the proceeds of the raffle, photographs and some sponsorship, raised more than £2000 for the charity ‘Break’ which has been helping vulnerable people in our local community for over 40 years - giving them a break to improve their lives, and break the cycle of despair.

The first stage of the route took us through the Surrey hills to Ashington, near to Storrington in Sussex. At Ashington a very fine leisurely lunch was had at the Red Lion before stetting off on the second part of the run from Ashington to Borde Hill Gardens, Haywards Heath, followed by a cream tea.

A total of seventy miles with hardly a problem, save for one 1800’s exhaust working a little loose and the sun did shine for most of the day.

For the second year the club decided to repeat the previous year’s Ferry to Ferry road run, the starting point being the Ferry Inn, Warrington and the finish at the Eastham Ferry Hotel, The Wirral. Leaving Warrington, the route wound around some of the country lanes of Cheshire, although a detour early on due to road works closing a road lead to some head scratching for a few minutes.

On our way again, we made our way west to the north of Chester and up through Elsmere Port. The road to The Eastham Ferry Hotel is accessed from Eastham Village and leads to Eastham Country Park. Well worth a visit in its own right. After parking and a natter, we all had a wonderful meal after which everyone made their own way home.

A great day out was enjoyed by all.

Twenty nine MHVC vehicles turned out for Drive it Day, destination a 1940’s Wartime Weekend at Froghall station on the Churnet Valley Railway. The route took us through the meandering Cheshire lanes and across the border into Staffordshire. The morning coffee stop was at the Rudyard Lake miniature railway, Bosley near Leek.

Close by was a beautiful scenic vantage spot called Bosley Cloud but on this day it was more like an Icelandic volcano for the tinder dry vegetation on its top had caught alight. Considering some of our members had just got back from foreign parts (caused by the volcanic dust scare) this minor irritation i.e. ash in the air, must have got them thinking that it was Ground Hog Day rather than Drive It Day!

So after a good luncheon we took the opportunity of changing from petrol power to steam power by travelling on the railway. Our thanks go to Phil & Katie Priestley for organising the outing and especially re-organising the route on the day.

Freda Taylor of The Naylor Car Club organised a meet at Wimpole Hall, near Cambridge, this year which attracted 9 examples of the marque.

Cavaliers Mk 1,2, and 3 at the Vauxhall Heritage Centre, Luton.