How It All Started

Tom's idea was to get a small group of like-minded classic car owners together for a run around Somerset and end with a nice lunch!  In 2021 along with Richard Davis and Dinah Moore, they put the word out and were delighted to recruit over 30 cars for the first Clifton Classic Car Rally based in the quad at Clifton College. Chris Harris from Top Gear waved us off and the Clifton Classic Car Rally was born.  

Buoyed by the popularity of the first rally, the team set about #2 in 2022, with the added aim of raising funds for the local charity, Barton Camp. Based at Clifton College again, where W.O. Bentley was educated, the Rally headed off across Somerset and ended with a parade, led by bagpipes, through Clifton Village.  

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2023 necessitated a change of venue as we had outgrown the small quad, and the Palladian mansion Leigh Court kindly took us in and allowed us to park on their manicured lawns!  The rally snaked across The Mendips, stopping for tea at Langford Court ( kindly offered by Lady Wills) . The party concluded with prize-giving, lunch and a live band at Leigh Court. The weather was not the best this year, but that did not stop the entrants who all had a great time and raised funds for Canine Partners 

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2024 - The weather gods were kind to us and presented us with calm clear weather with periods of sunshine, enough to encourage all the soft-tops to be stowed away.  We were especially delighted to see several cars that had come all the way from Cornwall. Our 57 Mile route took us into South Gloucestershire, following alongside the River Severn through Rockhampton and Thornbury. Our mid-point stop was by the kind hospitality of Tim and Liz Ross, who squeezed us onto their lawn, and where we were treated to a special display of Tim's Cooper race cars. The lunch and prize-giving was jolly and fun, and we all got home before the rain having raised funds for Square Food Foundation. 

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 2025  - Watch this space!