The Royal Automobile Club has hosted a perfect July warm-up to the third running of the Royal Automobile Club’s much-loved Summer Veteran Car Run, which takes place on Thursday, 18 July.
The single-day Summer Run was established in 2022 as the perfect warm-up to the annual RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which, as tradition dictates, takes place between dawn and dusk on the first Sunday in November.
The annual Jolly July jaunt gives owners of pioneering vehicles the ideal opportunity to enjoy their trailblazing cars in warmer climes than they sometimes experience in November on what remains the world’s longest-running motoring event.
The Summer Run will again be based at the Royal Automobile Club’s tranquil Woodcote Park clubhouse, set in 350 acres of beautiful countryside adjacent to the Epsom Downs in Surrey.
Come next Thursday, a full-capacity line-up of 35 veteran cars will assemble on the Cedar Lawn for morning refreshments. From there, they will set out onto the rural byways of southern England for a 54-mile tour, heading through the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Beauty and the picturesque Mole Valley and then towards a welcome lunch stop at Gildings Barns near Newdigate.
After their leisurely pit stop, participants will enjoy a gentle return to the seclusion of Woodcote Park for afternoon tea, informal concours, and prize-giving on the glorious grounds. The day’s proceedings will conclude with dinner in the historic Motor House, surrounded by the Club’s heritage vehicle collection.
While public access to Woodcote Park is restricted, there will be plenty of opportunities for spectators to savour the sights and sounds of these pioneering cars in the leafy lanes of Surrey and West Sussex. Idyllic country villages such as Leigh, Charlwood, Rusper and Brockhum all make for ideal viewing points.
Those on the roadside will be treated to many renowned early automotive manufacturers. Some of the nascent marques represented – Cadillac, Mercedes, Renault, Oldsmobile and Peugeot – are still familiar today, while others like Autocar, Argyll, Aster, De Dion Bouton, Gladiator, Mors, Napier and Wolseley were unable to stand the test of time.
While the Summer Run is limited to 35 entrants, more than 330 cars have already registered for this year’s RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Cost-saving Advanced entries are open until 13 August, with Standard entries available after that until 18 September.
Full details of both events are available on the official www.veterancarrun.com website.