Veteran London to Brighton

[richardmorris]

While I’m feeling sociable and non stressed. Does anyone fancy meeting up at Staplefield on the 3rd November to watch the veteran car rally? The pub does a good bbq breakfast.

[Three Speed]

Yup

[nigel bickle]

Mebee 

[richardmorris]

https://www.veterancarrun.com/__media/Routes/VCR19-Spectator-Route-Guide-V2C.pdf

 

https://www.veterancarrun.com/__media/Routes/VCR19-Spectator-Route-Guide-V2C.pdf

[Noel Tidybeard]

Fuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz is driving this year

[richardmorris]

At work this morning in a rather wet and very windy yard I saw one of the cars ( 1904 blue Cadillac) loaded into a transporter. 

I am planning on being in Staplefield ( first the pub for breakfast bap and coffee and then the green) from 8 -10 tomorrow. Then to get some exercise I’m going up to Nymans for a walk. 

 

[Three Speed]

See you at Staplefield but I'll have to pass on the walk.

[barrett]

I'm car 292 I think. Give us a wave if we make it

[jonny69]

Ah FFS, another year goes past and I’ve missed this! I’m setting a calendar reminder...

[barrett]

Sorry, we're 295. Just stopped for tea and bacon. Going well so far, touch wood

[richardmorris]

Lots of waving. Met up with 3speed and we pounced on other Citroen owners.then just as I was leaving I had to help push a very stuck xk150. My plastic mud boards got donated but it just got more stuck in the mud. 

[Three Speed]

Good to see you today Richard. 

Sorry barrett - we may not have paying complete attention to the actual veteran cars. So we missed you. Will try harder next year, probably.

[richardmorris]

4 hours ago, Three Speed said:

Good to see you today Richard. 

Sorry barrett - we may not have paying complete attention to the actual veteran cars. So we missed you. Will try harder next year, probably.

Thanks again for breakfast. My treat next time when I will try and remember to take cash!

[richardmorris]

Another death. But what on Earth was he doing on the motorway?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-50281989

[Quasimoto]

Few pictures from today / drove the route from Handcross to Brighton / was a bit late so caught up with many broken down cars and time i got to Staplefield  most folk were leaving but next year making an early start like i usually do

[BorniteIdentity]

22 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Another death. But what on Earth was he doing on the motorway?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-50281989

I suspect he was 80, was following the majority of traffic, got flustered and it all ended terribly. 

I know the route didn’t involve any motorways (obviously) but how well was it marshalled? Could there have been someone at that junction to wave people down? 

[brownnova]

Sadly it seems he took a wrong turning and ended up on the motorway when he shouldn’t have done. No protection against a lorry in that car. 

Sad times. 

[richardmorris]

45 minutes ago, Quasimoto said:

Few pictures from today / drove the route from Handcross to Brighton / was a bit late so caught up with many broken down cars and time i got to Staplefield  most folk were leaving but next year making an early start like i usually do

That s the xk150 still stuck in the mud - presumably my mud boards are still buried!

[meshking]

44 minutes ago, BorniteIdentity said:

I suspect he was 80, was following the majority of traffic, got flustered and it all ended terribly. 

I know the route didn’t involve any motorways (obviously) but how well was it marshalled? Could there have been someone at that junction to wave people down? 

IIRC it is marshalled by car clubs down the route. I used to live in Coulsdon, and went to help a few times. There was a slight incline and cars often needed a bit of help. Further down, at Hooley, is where the A23 turns off onto the M23 - you have to make a conscious decision to go onto the M23 (well signposted with blue signs) rather than stay on the A23.

Sad times - must be scary enough driving one, let alone ending up on the motorway

https://goo.gl/maps/x6qeAKjKUJTqmSo29

[richardmorris]

14 minutes ago, brownnova said:

Sadly it seems he took a wrong turning and ended up on the motorway when he shouldn’t have done. No protection against a lorry in that car. 

Sad times. 

Both three speed and  I gasped when we saw a van pull out in front of a veteran on the downhill road to Staplefield. Missed it by a second. People don’t realise that cars this old just don’t stop, at all well.

[Three Speed]

1 hour ago, richardmorris said:

Another death. But what on Earth was he doing on the motorway?

 

I imagine he stayed in the left lane at Hooley where the M23 and A23 split. The left lane becomes the M23 and there's no turning back. Then he would have had to negotiate the M25 junction. Very sad.

[captain_70s]

3 hours ago, Three Speed said:

I imagine he stayed in the left lane at Hooley where the M23 and A23 split. The left lane becomes the M23 and there's no turning back. Then he would have had to negotiate the M25 junction. Very sad.

Especially easy if you're hugging left to let faster traffic past. There are also plenty of cars which get shipped over from other countries for the run, so could well be the driver wasn't familiar with UK roads.

[barrett]

That junction is a bit dicey - we were hugging the left shoulder and then you have to move across two lanes to get in to the A23 lane. I can see how one could get caught out. The signposting there isn't brilliant either, and there is no way a marshall could be stood on that junction really. The marshalling is terrible (not the marshalls themselves, who are great, but the number of marshalls) in most places, the new organisers have cut the number of marshalls by a huge amount. Staplefield used to be very well marshalled, for instance, with no chance of people pulling out of those side roads at the end of the green - a couple of years ago they all disappeared. It desperately needs a re-think in terms of number of marshalls and areas where there are closed-road sections. They do it for bike races and marathons, so why not for this?

[Quasimoto]

• Another photo from Staplefield

[skoda_fan]

Well done sir for taking part. I've the greatest admiration for anyone prepared to dice with modern traffic in a valuable and irreplaceable veteran.  Yes that junction can be very dodgy, even in a modern car. Also I always think the veterans look very vulnerable at the bottom of the A23 where it widens out towards the junction with the A27. Idiots in modern cars make no allowances. I really hope safety concerns don't put the future of the event in jeopardy.... Anyway,  I unexpectedly went to Staplefield to spectate. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of classics* parked round the green. Only a few years ago there was always a full blown informal car show but in recent years this has dwindled to only a few. Wonderful as always though watching the veterans come through. Then on to Madeira drive to see the stragglers arrive....again a real spectacle. An added bonus in Brighton was a duo called Fukushima Dolphin who were busking near the pier and were really fab...I was actually distracted from motor cars for a while! All in all a great day out.

[Three Speed]

It may be cancelled this year but here are a few old crocks that ventured out anyway. A bit off the normal route,  they made it as far as a cafe in Horsham.

[brownnova]

I believe some Vauxhall’s are out and about today in lieu of the run.