Shrewsbury

Salopian Drivers on Tour

June 18th 2024

The Salopian Drivers Club is a thriving group of car and motorbike enthusiasts. Every year they undertake a series of tours around the country. Chairman Miles Preston and Michel Vanhoonacker have sent the following reports.

Miles Preston - Kent Tour

Having organised Kent tours for the last two years, I wasn’t sure there would be much interest in having another one there. Thankfully, my misgivings were unwarranted as the take up was good and within a short time after announcing the tour, sixteen members and partners, in eight cars, had signed up.

The programme was different from the previous tours but the length of it, starting on Monday afternoon and ending on Wednesday afternoon, was repeated as it seems to work well.

We based ourselves at the very luxurious bed and breakfast accommodation at Hever Castle, so stayed there for the Monday and Tuesday nights. During the course of the tour, we visited Hever Castle, Penshurst Place, Down House and Chartwell. As most people will know, Penshurst Place was the home of Sir Philip Sidney OS and Down House was the home, for forty years, of Charles Darwin OS.

(Hever Castle)

Chartwell was the home of Sir Winston Churchill where there are some fascinating photographs on display.

We also enjoyed evening meals at two excellent nearby pubs, the Pheasant Plucker at Ide Hill and the Wheatsheaf at Bough Beech.

After the dust has settled, I will give thought to organising another tour next year. There are so many amazing places to visit in Kent that I may risk trying another one there or look for a destination elsewhere in the UK. Watch this space.

Michel Vanhoonacker - Cumbria Tour

In May 2024, 7 cherished cars – a Bentley Mk VI standard steel, a BMW 2-series cabriolet, a Bristol 409, a Jaguar E-type, a Lotus Emira , a MGA, and a Triumph Stag, gathered at the Lakeland Motor Museum to start the first Salopian Drivers’ Club Cumbrian Tour. The museum has an excellent display of 140 classic cars and motorbikes as well as the Campbell Bluebird Exhibition next door. A must for any car (and boat) enthusiast.

After a quick lunch in the café we drove off, each at their own pace, to the Ruskin Musuem Lots to see here with the Campbell’s story, John Ruskin and Arthur Ransome.

The next stop was Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s home at Near Sawrey, west of Windermere.

This is a National Trust property - pre-booking is essential – with very chatty volunteers telling you every detail of Beatrix’s life, whether you want to listen or not.

We finished the day at the Drunken Duck Inn where we had an aperitif made out of locally brewed beers and supper, which ended much later then intended, with the wine flowing freely up to the early hours.

The next morning, after struggling out of bed, we hit ‘The Struggle’, aka the Kirkstone Pass which does not look half as steep as it really is on the picture below.

The Cumbrian tour then made a stop in sunny Pooley Bridge after having driven through striking scenery along both fell and main roads. From there we headed for a truly delicious Sunday roast at the Pheasant Inn in Bassenthwaite before all Salopian Club Drivers headed back to their respective counties in the North.

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