Take a very old car and drive it to the ends of the Earth. The increasingly popular phenomenon of classic-car rallies is opening up a whole new world of adventure motoring, as dedicated participant Paddy Walker reveals
A Briefing note to the author from Country Life’s Travel editor ends ‘and is it like The Wacky Races?’. i grew up on a Scottish hillside where grampian TV’s tea-time staple was endless repeats of the wonderful Hanna-barbera slapstick cartoon. The Wacky Races ran on America’s CbS in the late 1960s. it involved 23 characters (some people, but, i recall, quite a lot of animals) spread among 11 race cars, all whizzing through the badlands of America in search of glory. Is there really any connection between Muttley, the Ant Hill Mob and, of course, Penelope Pitstop with the growing hobby sport that is long-distance adventure driving?
Of course there is. The TV show might have finished in 1969, but, nearly half a century later, any would be Dick Dastardly now has several ways to take part in his or her own endurance rally. Long or short, fearsomely How to blend competitive or simply a leisurely tour, in (at high rallies of all shapes and sizes now speed) in offer classic-car owners ways to use the Gobi their machines all over the globe. Desert
Founded in 1987 to organise the first Pirelli Classic Marathon to Italy and back, the Endurance Rally Association (ERA) (01235 831221; www. endurorally.com) is the daddy of the sport. ERA director Nikki Bannister reckons that she has some 3,000 names from 26 countries on her database and these enthusiasts have multiple vehicles sitting in their garages, so the universe of participating classic cars is considerable.
Denne historien er fra August 31 2016-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 31 2016-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
