The Light car & Edwardian Section of the VSCC recently held their popular Welsh Rally and Trial with a full entry of 158 cars. The Saturday tour followed a route of 93 miles with lunch stop at the seaside town of Aberystwyth on the west coast where cars were carefully parked along the promenade and each car was given a square of carpet to act as a drip tray to protect the precious paving.
The morning section was blessed with healthy Welsh rain which added to the impact of the dramatic scenery as they drove through glorious countryside famous for its silver, lead and zinc mining history since Roman times and those who stopped to inspect the ancient Cwmystwyth mining remains should have read the sign!
The Austin Sevens numbered 55 this year, with 11 GNs, 9 Humber and Morris, 6 Riley, 4 Singer and Talbot and assorted others, including 2 rare Deemsters.
Hamish Ogston owns them both and he drove the 1923 yellow car
whilst his friend Hugh Wace drove the 1928 Red car. Ogston enjoyed demonstrating the earlier car's superiority uphill which spelled disaster for the big ends by Aberystwyth!
The afternoon teased us with sunshine on the return route and after parking all the cars in the hotel car park, everybody enjoyed dinner together and then sat back to be entertained by our 'speaker' who is famous for making the sounds of railway trains. After starting a Brough Superior motorcycle, taking us on an underground train, firing up a Merlin Spitfire engine flollowed by a 'Seagull' outboard motor we were rolling in the aisles. His pièce de résistance was the Flying Scotsman getting up steam and pulling out of the station. Simply brilliant!
Sunday morning saw 40 stalwarts slip-sliding about the trials hills and we can share with you a picture of Winston Teague in his 1922 GN Legere who won the Cyclecar class with 123 points.
More pictures can be found HERE whilst this writer attends to his wayward sidelight, and Hamish his big ends.
Text / pictures Robin Batchelor.