Many of the UKs most spectacular roads can be found on the routes of different Touring Assemblies taking place around the country ever year. These non-competitive events allow participants to enjoy their cars and experience the navigational aspects of other formats – while also having great fun with like-minded motorsport people.

Primarily developed as social events, they are designed to be fun for the whole family, with participants following a predetermined – and often extremely scenic – route on public
roads. Directions are provided ahead of time, speeds rarely exceed 30mph and there are usually refreshment stops or scenic viewpoints to visit along the way.

Although many are for historic cars or specific makes or models, some – particularly those designated as StreetCar events – are open to everyday road cars. Revolution has highlighted a few options that are running in the coming months – and although entries often fill up quickly, some will have reserve lists, or you can always add them to your diary for next summer.

Two Rivers Tour

Organising Club: Forresters CC
Date: Sunday 21st July
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This event gets its name from a route that traverses the Rivers Wye and Usk on numerous occasions. This year will be its seventh running, with an expected full entry of sixty interesting cars setting off from the David Broome Eventing Centre near Chepstow. Cars of all ages enter, from Hillman Imps and Volvo Amazons to Porsches and a rare Plymouth Cricket.

Participants will initially follow the lanes through Monmouthshire and the Wye Valley, stopping after fifty miles for hot drinks, cake and a local brass band performance. Lunch is taken forty miles further on in Crickhowell, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons, with the final 40-mile leg on spectacular mountain roads back to Chepstow for a two-course Carvery.

Fiona Evans, the event entries secretary, says: “It always amazes me the wide and varied number of cars that enter. We have a large number of returning participants that like the relaxed atmosphere, our professional organising style and the food! Some crews come from as far afield as Derbyshire, Somerset, and Oxfordshire, making the tour into a long weekend.

Neil Fuller and Richard Shorey plan the route and add: “We grew up competing in road rallies on many of these lanes – just in the dark, without the views! Each year we try to find new roads and we have some cracking ones for this year, one with spectacular views to the Brecon Beacons and another over the Severn Estuary and its two suspension bridges.”

Tour of Speyside

Organised by: 63 Car Club (Elgin)
Date: Sunday 28th July
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This event offers participants the opportunity to enjoy some of the lesser-used driving roads in the region. The field of fifty cars will set off from beside the Moray Motor Museum in Elgin and head east to pick up the River Spey, following it south before crossing and heading back north towards the coast.

The tour stops for lunch at the Knowes Hotel in the beautiful seaside town of Macduff before heading back inland through the historic Banffshire lanes for the second half. Here, the
route follows the River Deveron towards Huntly then heads back into Speyside for a finish at the British Legion in Dufftown.

The event, which is now part of the StreetCar initiative, was founded by friends Stewart Christie and David Law. “We have participated in a wide variety of events in the past,” reveals
Law, “including another local Club’s tour Stewart’s Toyota Corolla GT, but most tours in the north east of Scotland typically target single-make owners clubs or classic cars.

“This tour was born to create an event that was inclusive to all types of cars and to allow Club members who did not regularly participate in events the opportunity to be part of something. It was initially run every two years but has now become an annual fixture of the Club calendar.”

Haunted Lincolnshire Classic Car Tour

Organised by: Mablethorpe & District MC
Date: Sunday 1st September
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This event, now in its 14th year, follows quiet roads around the Lincolnshire Wolds, picking out some haunted history. Past events covered the Dambusters’ Guy Gibson and his dog, whose ghostly apparition is local legend in Woodhall Spa; the paranormal hare of Bolingbroke Castle; and RAF Manby, the UK’s second most haunted airfield.

Starting at Horncastle Garden Centre, the route offers beautiful views through the rolling Wolds and farreaching views of the Lincolnshire coast. It includes a lunch stop and hot drinks and cake at the finish outside Market Rasen. It typically attracts classic and vintage vehicles, but all cars of interest are welcome, including ‘modern classics.’

Long-time participant Louise Wagg says: “It is always a delight to partake in this event, with old friends and new ones. The local Lincolnshire roads offer a perfect blend of winding country lanes and the lunch halts are always a highlight, giving the opportunity to stretch the legs and enjoy a delightful picnic amidst the stunning countryside.

“People are always interested in the ghostly elements – including the particularly eery Metheringham Lass, who waves down drivers on rainy nights and then mysteriously disappears after requesting help following a motorcycle crash! With the wealth of abandoned airfields in Lincolnshire, there is plenty of history to explore.

Tour of Mann

Organising Club: HRCR / Motorsport IOM
Date: Saturday 10th August
tourofmann@gmail.com

This year marks the inaugural running of this event. Part of the new Motorsport UK StreetCar initiative, it will involve a stunning 115-mile run through the Isle of Man’s picturesque scenery, including some of the roads involved in legendary Manx Rally Stages.

The event, which will raise money for Isle Stand up to Suicide, is open to three- and four-wheeled cars of any age and the organisers are aiming to create a diverse entry. The full day of activity includes a lunch stop in the village Sulby and concludes at Babbage’s Bistro and Bar.

Organiser Mark Quayle says: “We are looking forward to welcoming locals and off-island entrants who enjoy the sheer pleasure of driving their cars, meeting like-minded owners and discovering some driveable roads they may not otherwise have found.

“We will provide a road book with tulip diagrams including information on points of interest as well other elements like petrol stations and toilets. It is a great event for crews to catch up with people they have met on other events, exchange stories and help each other out.”

Classic Car Tour, South Oxon

Organising Club: South Oxon CC
Date: Sunday 28th July
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This new event is part of the Motorsport UK StreetCar initiative and will follow a 70-mile route through some of the most stunning areas of the Cotswolds. The first step into classic cars for South Oxon CC, it is open to anyone with a passion for motoring with cars ranging from vintage to modern classics made prior to 1994.

It begins in Witney and covers plenty of interesting sights, including the Alpine F1 factory, distant views of Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm, a stately home that was a Rally Stage on the Network Q Rally, a crossing of the Oxford Canal and a pass-by of Silverstone race circuit before ending up at Preston Bissett nurseries.

Organiser Timothy Sawyer says: “I have taken part in many events over the years, as well as historic road rallies, but this is my first scenic tour as Clerk of the Course. Having lived in the area for many years, I have driven many of these roads over the years in my own Mk1 Escort so it was easy to create a stunning route for the tour.

Rose and Thistle

Organising Club: Wigton MC
Date: Saturday 17th August
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This event is part of the Club’s Classic and Motorsport weekend and is followed on the Sunday by a show at Dalemain by Ullswater. The route picks up some stunning north Cumbria countryside, running close to the Scottish Border and Northumberland, and includes lunch at Hexham Racecourse and a finish at Penrith Golf Club.

The tour heads north to the sparsely populated ‘Debateable Lands’ and into the Bewcastle area, famous for its huge herd of Belted Galloway cattle. Upon reaching Hadrian’s Wall, it heads east towards Hexham, south of the River Tyne, over Plenmellor and Whitfield Commons and along the west flank of the Pennines to finish at Penrith.

Event organiser Ron Palmer says: “We have up to 80 cars taking part, ranging from a 1929 Alvis through the many British cars of the 60s, 70s and 80s to an increasing number of later Jaguars, Aston Martins and Mercedes. Entrants include former rally and racing drivers, classic car enthusiasts and many who are entirely new to motor club events.

“Already this year we have entries of 26 different makes and 44 different models – so it is a veritable motor show on its own! A tour can be a good taster event for those wanting
a first step to competing as many organisers have a rally history and retrace routes from Road Rallies of the past, avoiding built up areas and busy A roads wherever possible.

Valleys and Villages Tour

Organised by: Devizes & District MC
Date: Sunday 4th August
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Starting with breakfast rolls at Royal Wootton Bassett Rugby Football Club, this is a 110-mile run through the picturesque Southern Cotswolds, including the Vale of the White Horse, Hungerford Common, Savernake Forest and the Marlborough Downs, as well as lots of quintessentially pretty English villages.

This year’s event, which raises money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Blood Cancer UK, includes a lunch stop at Newbury Showground, where the West Berkshire Classic Vehicle Club are holding their Annual Show, and the group reconvenes at the end of a full day for an evening meal back at the Rugby Football Club.

The event typically involves classic cars produced prior to 1986, but welcomes anything “a little bit different” with the oldest entry so far being a 1928 Dodge Victory 6. The entry list also includes MGs, Morgans and Austin-Healeys, a Marlin Roadster, a Pilgrim Sumo and a Hillman Super Minx. This is for cars that owners enjoy driving, rather than a Concours d’Elegance!

Jill Shepherd, organiser, participant and former marshal, says: “Everyone takes part for the sheer pleasure of driving their classic cars, meeting like-minded owners and discovering some driveable roads they may not otherwise have found. We provide a road book with tulip diagrams and OS map extracts and some people even plot their own maps.

“We include information on points of interest passed, where to find petrol stations and toilets, and we also have a few optional easy-to-spot treasure hunt questions to keep navigators amused! Many crews taking part catch up with people they have met on similar events, exchange stories and help each other out.

Get on Tour

All the Touring Assemblies that have applied for Motorsport UK permits can be found on the Motorsport UK event finder website – www.motorsportuk.org/events/find-events

Simply select the type of Event Permit you are searching for – TAs use a ‘Certificate of Exemption’, and then choose the event type – ‘Touring Assembly / Procession’.

For further details on upcoming StreetCar Tours, see https://streetcarmotorsportuk.com/rallying/touring-assembly