It makes you proud to be British. Who else would organise a run to the seaside in almost exclusively open top cars in November?
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally lays claim to being the longest running motor event in the world, though as it wasn’t held between the first event in 1896 and the next in 1927 some would dispute that. The original reason for the run was to celebrate the end of the need for a man with a red flag to precede motor cars; but now it is a tradition, a gesture of affection to the pre-1905 cars which take place; and a grand day out. It is not a race – though the film Genevieve which used the event featured racing – bad show that – and those completing the course before half-past four having had the obligatory stop in Crawley for coffee get a medal. Indeed participants must keep below 20mph as they drive from Hyde Park to Preston Park in Brighton. Not that speeds above 20mph are usual in London anyway.
Car spotters and celebrity spotters observe the run with equal fervour: the former delighted to clock a De Dion-Bouton, or Duryea or Pope-Tribune; the latter hoping to see Eddie Kidd, Sterling Moss , Alvin Stardust or maybe the Queen if she decides to brave the weather and repeat the run she last made in the seventies.
More British Institutions
Afternoon Tea
Allotments
April Fools Day
Big Ben
Binge Drinking
Black Cabs
Bonfire Night
British Sense of Humour
Brown Windsor Soup
Burns Night
Cadburys
Castles
Changing the Guard
City of London
Coronation Street
Cowes Week
Cricket
Crufts
Dad’s Army
E-Type Jag
Eccentricity
English Country Garden
Fish and Chips
Fish Fingers
Fox Hunting
Full English Breakfast
Gin and Tonic
Glastonbury
Glorious Goodwood
Grand National
Grouse Shooting
Harrods
Highland Games
Hogmanay
James Bond
John Bull
King Arthur
Land Rover
Lloyds of London
London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally
Marks and Spencer
Monty Python
Morecambe and Wise
Old School Tie
Oxbridge
Panto
Picnics
Pimms
Point-to-Point
Punch and Judy
Queueing
Real Ale
Red Arrows
Red Telephone Boxes
Remembrance Poppies
Robin Hood
Rolls Royce
Royal Ascot
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Savile Row Suits
School Discos
School Sports Day
Seaside Piers
Speakers’ Corner
Stag Nights
Stiff Upper Lip
Strawberries and Cream
Street Markets
Summer Festivals
Sunday Roasts
The Archers
The BBC
The Beano
The Boat Race
The Brass Band
The British Bobby
The Bulldog
The Church of England
The Cup Final
The Curry House
The English Rose
The Garden Shed
The Honours System
The Kilt
The Last Night at the Proms
The London Bus
The Mini
The National Trust
The NHS
The Oak
The Pub
The Queen’s Speech
The Rolling Stones
The Royal Christmas Message
The Spitfire
The V Sign
The Village Fete
The Weather
Travelling Fairs
Trooping the Colour
Village Greens
Wedgwood
Wellington Boots
Wimbledon
Wine Gums
Yeomen of the Guard
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