Lydford Inaugural Rally Takes Off
The first Lydford open classic car rally was held on Friday 3rd June 2022 as part of Her Majesty’s platinum jubilee celebrations. The beautiful weather on bank holiday Friday was just right for the 36 mile drive out across the moors. The figure 8 circuit took in some of the finest scenery Dartmoor has to offer.
At around 11am, about half of the 40 classic cars headed out in a procession - starting from The Castle Inn, Lydford. There were stunning vehicles of all ages and designs, from Austin to Zephyr. 23 classic cars left Lydford and headed for Tavistock along the beautiful Brentor Road, which at this time of year provided a glorious canopy of green along the avenue.
After reaching Tavistock, the cavalcade travelled towards their first pitstop at ‘The Rock’ at Yelverton, where drivers and navigators could stop for refreshments and a quick briefing before the second homeward bound phase of the rally.
The return leg was off onto the moor, heading for Princetown and then coming back through Merrivale towards Tavistock but this time turning right onto the A386 via Mary Tavy back towards Lydford.
The official end was at the Dartmoor Inn, Lydford. They kindly provided a splendid display of family rally memorabilia from the 1950’s with photos, trophies, medals, rally plates and medals won by Raymond Brookes. He had won the 1956 Tulip Rally in an Austin A30, but he also rallied in an Austin Healy ‘Frogeye’ Sprite as well as an MG A with famous international rally driver John Gott. Brookes was also a driver for Pathé News (Newsreel) reporting on the rallies back in the day.
The drivers and navigators were welcomed back into the village with a special jubilee Garden Party at The Castle Inn, which included live music and an all-day Bar-B-Q.
If you are interested in joining the rally next year and driving the 36 miles of outstanding Devon scenery, or just coming along to have a look at the classic cars, the organisers would love to hear from you. Drop them a line at frogeyeguy@outlook.com