Grassroots Motorsports

Where Good Meets Wood Jul 19, 2006

I just got back from England, where Tim and I spent a week driving on the wrong side of the road in a 1966 Alvis Drophead Coupe. (I think I just had a glimmer of insight into how David E. Davis felt when he wrote that most smug of all datelines, “Aboard the QE II.”) We were in the UK touring with a group of our readers in classic cars, and it was wonderful.

We started at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, a 3-day event that is most like Monterey in the U.S., I suppose, except that it’s all in one place (the Earl of March’s estate in Sussex) instead of spread out over a 30-mile radius, and it’s full of the most educated, enthusiastic and informed fans I’ve ever seen at any sports car event. I saw several groups that were obviously father, son and grandson all watching avidly and commenting knowledgeably as 100 years’ worth of Grand Prix cars made their way up the hillclimb course—sometimes quite aggressively. (It’s a fine thing to see a new Clio Renault Sport buzz and claw its way around a corner right in front of you; it’s a miraculous thing to see Derek Bell or Nigel Mansell do the same in an historic race car.) We also climbed to the top of the hill to see the forest rally stages, where another fine collection of cars (including some notable Group B rally cars) proved that the best kind of car show has dirty, loud, smelly and decidedly un-museum-like exhibits that are glimpsed only briefly, but memorably. Add in the astounding levels of access the spectators were granted in the paddock, and you get well, a Festival of Speed. Goodwood is fantastic, brilliant, intense, and worth a flight across the Atlantic all on its own. No wonder they call it Glorious Goodwood.

Next we picked up our cars and set off for the Cotswolds, one of England’s “beauty areas.” This is a region of stone houses and closely huddled villages in muted beiges and creams, with tile or thatch roofs, and surrounded by fields bordered in lush hedgerows and ample wildflowers. Pubs that were hundreds of years old and with names like “Swan” and “Rose and Crown” and “Unicorn” dotted the countryside, and were easy to spot by the riotous baskets of flowers that were hung along the front. It’s like every cookie-tin scene of England you ever saw, only prettier.

We took a break from the scenery to tour the Morgan factory in Malvern Link, which it was every bit as nostalgically picturesque as the English countryside, but in a different way. From the artisans hand-beating panels onto the (naturally) hand-made wooden frames to the casual appearance of Charles Morgan himself to greet our tour group and talk shop, this “factory” felt like something between a throwback to the last century and a large, well-run shop run by enthusiasts. You don’t have to be a Morgan enthusiast to enjoy this trip—though if you’re not, you will be by the time you leave.

We also stopped at Stonehenge, Goodrich castle, historic abbeys and cathedrals, classic pubs (of course), as well as a couple more “car-guy” sites like the Heritage Museum and a cool private car museum in Burton-on-the-Water. All good stuff, and all very well organized by our tour leader, Andy Tyacke of England Specials. We plan to do it again next year, and if this tour was any indication, that one will include a lot of very friendly people having a lot of fun. I hope I’m one of them!

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