Classic car shows

I watched ‘Flog It!’ today on location at the Coventry Transport Museum, which made me think about the annual classic car shows and rallies in the Lake District. Working and living in a Bed and Breakfast in Bowness-on-Windermere, we often see classic cars on the roads around the Lakes, and I do think they are wonderful reminders of the meticulous workmanship of times gone by. I have a very catholic taste with respect to classic cars, from the sinuous curves of the Alvis to the military lines of the Land Rover, and one of these cars on the road always turns my head.

On Saturday, approximately 150 vintage cars wended their way up a Lakeland fell supported by scores of spectators as the Vintage Sports Car Club held another successful rally for their members. This year’s annual event saw 1920s and 1930s cars scaling Fleetwith Pike ‘amid plumes of smokes and the screeching of tyres at the Vintage Car Rally. The towering 648m-tall pike in Cumbria is a gear crunching one in three gradient on a gravel track with tortuous hair pin bends known as the Drumhouse section.’ (www.dailymail.co.uk)

There is a kind of romance associated with vintage car travel, possibly because it encapsulates the heady days of the early to mid 1900s. I remember my father proudly showing me photographs of his old Morris Minor. I was very taken by it and when Hubby mentioned recently that there is one for sale, I wished we could have it for ourselves.

We welcome vintage car enthusiasts at Blenheim Lodge. Our B&B is hidden from the main road, and we have a private on-site car park for guests. For classic car owners travelling in convoy, we are able to provide up to 21 bed spaces in a combination of double, twin, triple, and single rooms with private/en-suite facilities. There is also a lounge for guests to use as a meeting place if they so wish.

One classic car enthusiast remains firmly in my mind. It was a Japanese man who had shipped his car from Japan so that he enjoy driving it around the Lakes. I remember him clearly because he had asked my 6’2″ tall husband to take a seat in his car. Unfortunately, Hubby had barely recovered from a sore back and his spine at that time, and even at the best of times, is not particularly flexible. Thus, Hubby, who had been admiring the car since its arrival, had to regretfully decline his offer.

There are classic car shows in the Lake District as well as rallies, all of which are easily accessible from Blenheim Lodge. So if you are interested in classic cars or want to tour the Lakes in one, do consider a stay with us at our 4-Star Bowness B&B. We’d love for you to show off your pride and joy to us.

‘Blenheim Lodge . . . panoramic Lake views, peace and tranquillity, nestled against acres of beautiful fields and woodlands, in the heart of the English Lake District National Park.’