By September 1907 Claude Johnson and the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost had completed several demonstration hill climbs, two trips to Scotland and the 15,000 mile Reliability Trial, all in the space of just over 3 months! Not surprisingly he decided to take the car, his family, and a few friends down to Cornwall for a holiday.
The 20-Ghost Club intends to do likewise, although not emulating Johnson’s exuberant start, which involved driving all 300 miles from London to Penzance in one day! The tour will start on Thursday 6th June at Brooklands which, like the Silver Ghost, is celebrating its centenary in 2007.
Accommodation
The tour will stay in a variety of lovely hotels, including a magnificent castle, one of the country’s top spa hotels and some very fine country manor houses. Dinner will be included every evening.
Itinerary
Maybe subject to change without notice
Wednesday 5th September
There is an optional stay overnight at the Oatlands Park Hotel, near Weybridge and the Brooklands Museum, before starting the tour tomorrow.
Thursday 6th September
All tour participants to meet in at Brooklands Museum at 9.30am. Visit Mercedes Benz World and the Brooklands Museum. After lunch drive to the New Forest in Hampshire, via the South Downs and Winchester. Stay for the next two nights near Brockenhurst, in two hotels - New Park Manor and Whitley Ridge. There will be a welcome gastronomic dinner for all participants at Whitley Ridge - the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the area.
Friday 7th September
After a delicious breakfast, drive to the beautiful village of Beaulieu, home to the National Motor Museum. Enjoy a private tour of the cars, palace, and grounds, or visit the Beaulieu Autojumble. Explore the 200 acre grounds of the captivating Exbury Gardens. They are renowned for the azaleas and rhododendrons, as well as the beautiful autumn colours.
After lunch, visit the unique village of Buckler’s Hard, on the banks of the Beaulieu River, and discover its distinguished ship building history. Drive down the coast to Lymington and then return to Brockenhurst via the Setley Ridge vineyards for a free wine tasting. Take a stroll before dinner through the open forest to work up an appetite for dinner.
Saturday 8th September
Leave the New Forest and drive along the Jurassic Coast through Dorset and into Devon. Stay overnight at the Palace Hotel in Torquay, where dinner is included.
Sunday 9th September
Leave Torquay and head across Dartmoor. Stop for a private lunch at the fabulous Boconnoc House and enjoy a tour of the house and deer park. If you like gardens, spend the afternoon at either the Eden Project or the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Stay for the next two nights in St. Ives, in the magnificent 18th-century Tregenna Castle, where dinner is included on both nights.
Monday 10th September
There are two circular day trips to choose from today. One will take you to Lands End, St Michaels’s Mount and Falmouth. The other is for garden lovers and will take you to Eden, Heligan, Trebah, Trelissick or Glendurgan. Sadly it isn’t possible to do justice to more than one or two of them in a day.
Tuesday 11th September
Meander up the north Cornwall coast and visit Padstow. Enjoy lunch at Rick Stein’s St Petroc’s Bistro. Stay for the next two nights on the north Devon coast at The Imperial Hotel in Barnstaple.
Wednesday 12th September
Spend the day exploring Exmoor and climb the famous Countisbury and Porlock Hills, as well as many smaller hills around Lorna Doone country.
Thursday 13th September
Leave Devon behind and head north, through Somerset, to the Cotswolds. Visit the unique Cheddar Gorge, and then pause in Bath or Cirencester for some shopping or culture. For garden enthusiasts there is Westonbirt Arboretum. Due to the terrible flooding in Gloucestershire in July we have had to change hotels. We are now staying at Wyck Hill House in Stow on the Wold. Dinner is included.
Friday 14th September
A lovely scenic drive will explore the Cotswolds with its pretty, honeyed-stone buildings and gently rolling countryside. There is the Cotswold Motor Museum at Bourton on the Water or Sudeley Castle to visit, as well as the Prescott Hill Climb at Gotherington, home to the Bugatti Owners’ Club. There will be a Gala dinner tonight to end the tour.
Saturday 15th September
Celebrate the RREC’s golden jubilee celebrations at Walton Hall near Stratford on Avon. There is an option of staying a third night at Wyck Hill House.
Details
Dates:
Start: 6th September 2007
End: 15th September 2007
Duration: 9 nights
Price:
£1,500 per person - based on two people sharing a twin or double room
Single Supplement: £125 per person
Optional extras:
5th September: Oatlands Park Hotel - £166 (double)/ £140 (single) per room including breakfast
15th September: Wyck Hill Hotel - £170 (double)/£130 (single) per room including breakfast
What’s included:
- Tour participation
- Nine nights accommodation
- Breakfast every morning
- Dinner every evening
- Lunch at Rick Stein’s St Petroc’s Bistro in Padstow
- Private lunch at Boconnoc House near Lostwithiel, Cornwall
- Tour book - includes a brief history of the areas to be visited, emergency details, maps and directions, accommodation information, and a very detailed, tailored account of sights and visits for each day. The book effectively eliminates the need for any other guide books
- Rally plaques for each car
- A Phillips UK road atlas - 3 miles:1 inch
- Classic Travelling tour guide
What’s not included:
- Entry into attractions and activities
- Personal travel and medical insurance
- We strongly suggest and recommend you have appropriate breakdown cover
- All drinks are extra to accommodate individual preferences
- Optional overnight stays on 5th September and 15th September
Requirements
- This tour is only open to members of the 20-Ghost Club or owners of pre-1945 Rolls-Royces.
- Dinner on most evenings will be a smart-casual affair, and a jacket and tie is usually expected for men.
- You are also required to carry a warning triangle, first-aid kit, two fluorescent jackets, set of replacement bulbs and a national identification sticker.
- However, the most important requirement is that you take pleasure in motoring through fabulous scenery, relish individual, character hotels and enjoy the company of like-minded travellers.
Import/Export Regulations
Entrants from outside the European Union need to be aware that there are special regulations covering the importation and subsequent re-export of historic vehicles over 75 years old with a value of more than £30,400. Since this applies to all Silver Ghosts, it is important that the correct paperwork is completed on entry, so the necessary permissions can be given for re-export.
Guidance for issuing an Export Licence for Cultural Goods is now provided by the Export Licencing Unit, Museums, Libraries & Archives Council. www.culture.ov.uk/cultural_property/export_licencing.htm or telephone: 020 7273 8265/66/69/73
Booking
Apart from our scheduled, escorted group tours, none of our itineraries are set in stone - after all, this is your holiday - so we can fine-tune any aspect of these tours to meet your wishes. Any of our escorted tours may also be taken as a private, independent tour, at a time to suit you.
We work closely with a number of classic and spots car hire companies across the UK, Europe, and beyond, so we can arrange your car hire for you , too. Please contact us for futher details and the cars we have available.
