47th National Austin Seven Rally

Sunday 28th June 2009, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

After spending Saturday preparing my father’s Austin 7 ‘Ulster’ for the two hundred and sixty mile round trip to Beaulieu, I set off early Sunday morning with fellow car enthusiast and friend, Martin Williams. After a number of inadvertent diversions from the carefully mapped out route provided by the North Herts Centre of the 750 Motor Club, it was decided that I should cede my position at the head of our two vehicle convoy and that Martin should take over the role of navigator in his ‘modern’ (this clearly in the interests of maintaing our friendship!). This worked well, primarily because Martin has a far more developed sense of direction but also because it allowed me to concentrate on driving the ‘Ulster’ rather than worrying about where we were going. This upped our pace considerably and I really enjoyed the drive down to Beaulieu, much of which took us along the B4009. The weather was warm, the sun was shining and the scenery was stunning; the villages and towns that we passed through were gloriously picturesque and the road itself suited the little Austin perfectly, allowing me to get the best from it. It really is perfectly suited to country 'B' roads where outright speed is not the issue. Somewhat embarrassingly, despite the apparently rapid progress, it still took Martin and I the best part of five hours to arrive at the National Motor Museum and take our place among the array of Austins on display. We were delayed for some time just outside Lyndhurst where traffic jams are notorious and regular but even so...

Once at Beaulieu I had a chance to inspect the one hundred and eighty Austins that had driven from all over the United Kingdom to attend the national rally in this the 70th anniversary year of the famous Seven Fifty Motor Club. There were some stunning cars, including a number of special guest vehicles. Notable among these were a stunning 1957 Works Lotus Eleven Coventry Climax and a beautiful 1923 Duzmo Motorcycle built by Harold Biggs. Colin Chapman’s Lotus Elevens were raced with great success, winning all of the three classes they entered at Le Mans in 1957. The late Frank Costin, one half of Marcos, designed the car’s bodywork; the other half of the famous partnership, Jem Marsh, was spotted amongst the Austins, clearly enjoying the sunshine and the fabulous cars on display.

For many Austin Seven owners the pleasures of ownership are in the driving and this was certainly abundantly in evidence as a number of drivers put their cars through their paces in the driving tests. Once or twice it even looked as if exuberance and enthusiasm might end in cars rolling but thankfully everyone remained upright… As usual there was a decent autojumble for those looking for parts, bargains or just the chance to discuss Austin restoration. During the latter half of the morning and the early afternoon the various categories of car were inspected and judged with Lord Montagu himself awarding the prizes that marked the end of the meeting.

Martin and I, having taken the scenic route on the way down to Beaulieu were forced to return to Hertfordshire via the rather less interesting A34 and A41 if we were to stand any chance of arriving back before nightfall. After a tiring and loud four-hour drive, peppered with rain showers, I arrived home, tired, stiff and aching but happy to have supported the annual rally of this wonderful marque and the anniversary of a truly historic car club…

Classics in the Walled Garden, Luton Hoo

Wednesday 1st July 2009

On what has been possibly the hottest day of the year so far, approximately 400 classic, vintage and veteran cars assembled at Luton Hoo for the first ever ‘Classics in the Walled Garden’. Organised by Peter Madden, who stood down recently from the hugely successful ‘Classics on the Common’ in Harpenden (Hertfordshire), the event was a great success. Cars began to arrive at 4.00pm, some inevitably struggling in the heat as the queue to enter the walled garden began to grow; however, the excellent marshalling meant that there were no actual problems. Attending in John Sutton’s 1930 Austin 7 ‘Ulster’ I had to really rev the car to negotiate the rather long grass of the ‘garden’ but eventually parked up perfectly courtesy of the marshals. What makes an event of this type so pleasurable is the array of cars on display, from over one hundred years of motoring; even more pleasing is the fact that they had all arrived under their own steam. Alongside a 1900 Daimler one could see an Enzo Ferrari, an immaculate Morris Minor Traveller, a C Type Jaguar, various Vauxhalls including a 30-98 and a 20-63 as well as a very interesting T Type Hurlingham with a beautiful upturned boat tail, MGs from the 1930s to the 1970s and any number of more modern ‘classics’. The event organisers had provided a good-sized beer tent with a good selection of well-priced local beers – an absolute godsend given the heat. Food was also available, although many, like me, brought their own picnics. A band played suitably vintage music, which added to what was an already perfectly period atmosphere. Hats off to Peter and his team for such an excellent event; I’m already looking forward to next year…