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Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club Austria Tour0

A personal view by David Jobson-Scott.

Ten Jaguars and two Daimlers set off from the UK for an Austrian adventure at the end of August 2011. Five of the cars were V12s. The tour leaders were Simon and Ann Cronin from the JEC , on a scenic driving holiday planned & arranged by Travel Destinations. Cars ranged from a 1948 XK120 to a new XJ saloon and set off from all corners of the UK. Most used the Eurotunnel service on 31st August, with several using the Hull to Zeebrugge crossing. The main “tunnel” group met up outside the terminal building before boarding the shuttle for France. We caught occasional glimpses of some of the cars during the day, but only met up with everyone at the first hotel in Marche-en-Famenne, Southern Belgium. One factor very obvious from the start was that this trip was very well organised, with detailed daily itineraries from Travel Destinations. The “door to door” mileage for us over the entire trip was an impressive 2,546. We set off in our 1976 Daimler Double Six Avon-Stevens Convertible from North Devon on Tuesday 30th August, hood down all the way, for the 273 mile drive to Folkestone.

Driving the Grossglockner

Day One, Wednesday 31st August.
We boarded the 08.50hrs Shuttle for France and immediately found ourselves separated from the rest of the group by the loading staff!  There was ample time to put the hood down and prepare for the Continent. It was then a longish drive of 214 miles, much on motorway, to the first Hotel Quartier Latin at Marche-en-Famenne in the Ardenne region of Southern Belgium. This is a beautifully green and forested area.  We did find a nice restaurant for our lunch, but the service was very strange to say the least. After a wait of about 30 minutes from ordering, the waiter came to tell us that the machine for slicing ham had broken down and would we like to choose something else! Consequently, our “brief” lunch stop extended to 75 minutes. We ended up being about the last to arrive at the hotel but there was one compensation in that we had underground parking and the car hood could be left down.
Marche-en-Famenne was a delightful old-fashioned town with lots of cobbled streets and an impressive central square: well worth walking around and enjoying the atmosphere. There was an extensive sitting out area in front of the hotel and many of the group congregated there after arrival. We were treated later to a typical Belgian dinner and were able to meet all the other participants for the first time.

Day Two, Thursday 1st September.
Our next destination was to be the Hotel Pfalzblick in Dahn, Germany and another drive of 191 miles. We followed the first part of the suggested route through Northern Luxembourg and along the river to Echternach. We then diverged by heading for Trier and then across miles of very narrow country roads to pick up the motorway later on. The hotel at Dahn was unusual in several respects: firstly the reception was being redecorated on our arrival so we entered via a back door and secondly, our room was several floors below the Reception area. The hotel is designed to be upside down in this respect. We were the second car to arrive and had a delightful lunch on the wonderful terrace at the rear of the hotel with the Kenworthys.
The hotel was of a very good standard and we had a most enjoyable dinner with the entire touring group later in the evening. As usual, the name badges were an invaluable help in stirring the old grey cells into action. Despite the large group we met on the Croatian trip last year, only Simon and Ann and the Lindsays were known to us. It was, however, immediately apparent that we had a very interesting and varied group of fellow JEC travellers to get to know during our extensive tour to Austria.

Day Three, Friday 2nd September.
A longish drive of 232 miles to the Hotel Hirsch at Füssen, almost on the Austrian border. We had already encountered some road works on our route down and sadly today was no exception. The weather was also very questionable at times, but we kept the hood down through quite heavy rain until it became just too wet. We didn’t have far to drive at this stage and eventually arrived at Füssen in glorious hot sunshine!  The Old Town was an enchanting place to explore and we had coffee and wonderful apfelstrudel whilst we watched the world go by. The old church was spectacularly ornate, with superbly painted ceilings and rich gold encrusted decorations. One of the highlights of the old town was a huge shop displaying all the local clothes fashions. The lederhosen were resisted! Dinner was again provided by the Hotel.

Lunch Stop on the JEC Austria Tour

Day Four, Saturday 3rd September.
The final 193 mile leg of our marathon drive across Europe was to the wonderful Grüner Baum Hotel at Bad Gastein in Austria. We left the Füssen Hotel for the Fernpass and immediately joined a traffic jam which persisted all over the pass. In fact our overriding memory of Austria is that it is a wonderful clean fresh country, but lots of traffic, road works and tractors! The weather was sunny and warm and the journey quite easy. We stopped for petrol just after coming off the Innsbruck motorway and found a very peaceful café behind the garage which was perfect for our lunch stop. The final part of the run climbed up into the foothills of the Alps and we wound our way around the valley to the very secluded Hotel complex. Sparkling wine was presented to us as we checked in: all very civilised.  Our room was in the annex that houses the spa complex. The accommodation was spacious and very well appointed, with balcony looking up the valley towards the mountains.
We had arrived in good time to be able to have over an hour enjoying the outdoor swimming pool. This was a lovely relaxing reward for all the travelling. A champagne reception was held later beside the pool, hosted by the Blumschein family who own the Hotel. It was during this that we were handed our “route books” for all the activities taking place over the next few days. A huge amount of effort must have gone into the preparation and planning for these events. An excellent dinner was later served in the main Hotel restaurant. Our cars were resting in a specially reserved area behind the hotel.

Day Five, Sunday 4th September.
An early start for a trip to the Austrian Lake District and lunch at the Hotel Weisses Rössl (White Horse) in St. Wolfgang on Lake Wolfgangsee. Our initial instructions were to follow the “maniac Rolls Royce driver”. The Blumscheins have a delectable 1936 Rolls Royce 20/25  (GBJ 29 for RR aficionados) which was to lead us on our local travels. An eccentric Austrian in a Rolls Royce is quite a sight, particularly as we were summoned to proceed by Mr Blumstein with an Austrian hunting horn! A delightful day followed, including parking the cars right in the centre of St. Wolfgang. Our little convoy behind the majestic 20/25 must have created quite a stir. We had an excellent lunch at the White Horse and were then able to explore the town afterwards. We made our own way home and were surprised to find that quite a few of the group chose the toll pass over the mountains: very spectacular scenery and great fun for our cars.  We clocked up a surprising 164 miles. Dinner was again in the main restaurant.

Hotel Gruner Baum, Bad Gastein, Austria

Day Six, Monday 5th September.
Our first “rest day”, or to be more precise, rest morning as plans had been made for our party to be transported by horse drawn carriages to the “Prossau”. The Prossau was a restaurant at the head of the valley behind the hotel and just over an hour ride up the valley (all owned by the Blumscheins). Many of the group set off to explore the town during the morning: we had a very lazy day around the hotel, including leisurely coffee in the “Apotheke”. This is the bar which is fitted out just like an old chemist’s dispensary, complete with masses of pull-out drawers.
The weather wasn’t at all pleasant, with mist and light rain. We set off in our carriages with the hoods raised. This was a great shame because the views were impressive, but visibility out of the carriage was very restricted. We climbed to a height of 1278 metres. Some stretches of the track were very steep and the horses had quite a struggle. It certainly made a change from driving the cars up mountains, as progress was very much more stately and sedate.
On arrival at the Prossau, we were ushered in to the restaurant area and treated to a magnificent spread of cold meats and other delicacies. Also included was a small glass of the local “fire water” (Sambuca): very potent. It was a delightful and unexpectedly large meal, with a view looking down the rather misty valley. During lunch, the clouds started to lift a little and we were able to descend back to the hotel with the carriages open, thus enjoying the view rather more.

Dinner was a specially themed event in the main restaurant, with lots of Austrian folk music, including some yodelling and an excellent Austrian farmer style buffet. There was a superb range of different dishes to try. Many of the group certainly entered into the spirit of the evening!

Day Seven, Tuesday 6th September.
One of the main highlights of the holiday, the climb over the Grossglockner and an unexpectedly early start for a holiday at 08.30 hrs! We were marshalled into a convoy, behind the 1936 20/25 Rolls, to head for the train at Bockstein, just south of Bad Gastein, for the trip through the Alps to Mallnitz. On the way, we had a conducted tour all through Bad Gastein and this gave us an excellent view of most parts of the town. At the terminal, we drove the cars onto the train and then went to sit in the passenger carriages for the trip through the mountains.

After leaving the train, we stopped to put the car hood down. The next stage of the journey took us to Winklern and the start of the 107 Grossglockner road. The drive up the pass was a delight, with very gentle curves and wonderfully wide road. Our first halt was a “comfort” stop not far from the top of the pass. The final ascent to the viewing point at Edelweissspitze (2,571 metres) was unusual in that we became stuck in a traffic jam. It was unbelievably busy and parking was quite a problem. However, it was all worth the effort for the Champagne reception that the Blumscheins had organised for us at the top. This included delicious snacks as well! The view was spectacular, especially so because we had bright sunshine but also clouds “flowing” over the mountains: all very dramatic. I remember as a child being driven over this pass with my parents on the way to Venice in about 1958. It was every bit as impressive this time round.

Having experienced the wonders of the Grossglockner pass, one might have expected that the events for the day were almost over. Not so, as we then headed for Zell am See and to the impressive Schloss Kammer at Maishofen for an excellent lunch outside in the gloriously hot sunny weather. We were then treated to a shooting match on the resident range behind the Schloss. Suffice to say that the ladies of our group seemed to do rather better than the men! We had clocked up 122 miles by the time we arrived back at Bad Gastein.
The final chapter of the day was a Gala dinner in one of the magnificent special function rooms at the Hotel Grüner Baum. We met up for drinks in the Apotheke beforehand and then had a very special final meal at this impressive Hotel. Various presentations were made afterwards, particularly the shooting award which went to Ann Cronin. We had a wonderful time and will be eternally grateful for all the hard work put in by the Blumschein family to make our stay at the Grüner Baum so special.

David's Daimler Double Six Avon-Stevens Convertible

Day Eight, Wednesday 7th September.
On the move again and a pleasant drive to the Hotel Bayerischerhof on the Island at Lindau on Lake Constance (Bodensee). The weather wasn’t particularly inspiring and this was to be the first full day with the hood up. The early part of the drive was very busy, via Zell am See, Saalfelden and St. Johann. Once on the motorway to skirt around Innsbruck, the progress was faster, but it was only when we headed for the Alberg Pass that the traffic really thinned out. We then continued over the Hochtannberg Pass towards Bregenz. This was a lovely drive. We had our first picnic of the trip going over the Arlberg, although it was far too windy to sit outside the car. We clocked up 261 miles by the time we reached Lindau and the glorious view out over the lake.
Dinner was at our leisure, so we explored lots of restaurants and eventually ended up having an excellent meal at our own hotel in the terrace bar/brasserie. It was sheer delight to be able to sit out on our balcony overlooking the harbour and watch the world go by.

Day Nine, Thursday 8th September.
A real “rest day” and an improvement in the weather. We explored most of the island part of Lindau and joined some of the group for coffee. Lunch was again at the hotel’s excellent terrace bar. The view over the harbour and the lake is well worth any additional cost. Frequent arrivals of the ferry boats meant that there was lots to watch. The view from our room at the front of the hotel included the old lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour. I had decided that this must be climbed! After a suitable interval from lunch we set off towards the tower. The climb was much more arduous than I had expected (Marilyn stayed at the bottom), but well well worth the effort. The view from the top was spectacular. We had dinner at an excellent restaurant in the main street and were joined by David and Ann Render.

Day Ten, Friday 9th September.
The day of our 9th Wedding Anniversary and 202 mile drive to Le Parc Hotel, Obernai, Alsace, France. The Bayerischerhof Hotel was excellent and our cars were parked in the underground car park. This allowed us to put the car hood down before we set off. Our route was along the north side of Lake Constance towards Titisee. After Titisee we then climbed up into the mountains, through cloud and rain over the Feld pass. We were fortunate that the garage we found to replenish our fuel had a small café attached and we were able to leave the car under the canopy while we had lunch. The journey through the southern Black Forest towards Mullheim was delightful.
We then followed the Rhine for many miles but, very unfortunately, didn’t actually see much of the river until closer to Obernai, because the road was lower than the bank. There was almost no traffic on this road and it was a very relaxing drive. We arrived at Le Parc in brilliant sunshine just before 15.00 hrs and were able to enjoy our anniversary exploring the hotel and grounds. An excellent dinner followed, preceded by an anniversary Kirsch Royal aperitif out on the terrace. This was to be our last dinner as a group and the final chance to see everyone together. A small presentation was made to Simon and Ann.

The Jobson-Scott anniversary

Day Eleven, Saturday 10th September.
A 246 mile drive to the Hotel Continental in the centre of Reims. Virtually no traffic on the road through the Vosges mountains and lots of very twisty narrow sections. The weather was very hot and we were lucky to find a roadside café for refreshments. It was interesting to see the change in the scenery as the landscape became flatter and flatter. The final section of the suggested route was across mile after mile of traffic-free gently undulating countryside. It was a shock hitting the motorway again for the final entry into Reims. It was extremely hot when we finally checked in at 16.35hrs and it took me ages to find the aircon controls in our room (actually behind the open bedroom door!). The cars were parked in a huge underground car park on the fifth floor down. Once cooled off after all the unloading, etc., it was a pleasure to be able to walk around the town. The place was heaving with people and all the eating places were very busy. The last time we were here was on one of our Alvis trips in 1997 and 2002. I can’t ever remember it being so full of people. We had a very good dinner at a lovely Piano bar restaurant not far from the hotel and indulged ourselves in two Planters Punches each: very refreshing on such a hot and humid night.

Day Twelve, Sunday 11th September.
A completely free day to recharge our batteries, check the car and generally recover from all the travelling before the final phase of our run home. After a leisurely breakfast, we set off to explore the surrounding area. The weather had completely broken, with very heavy rain overnight and the temperature had dropped drastically. We had coffee and lunch, explored the cathedral again and dodged the rain drops all day. We found a nice restaurant for dinner just across from the Hotel, because I wasn’t feeling quite so good.

Day Thirteen, Monday 12th September.
The first part of the final leg home, was 174 miles from Reims to the Channel Tunnel. We set off with the hood down and in reasonable weather. It was windy and became progressively blustery. By some extraordinary chance we happened to stop at the same motorway service station on the A26 as the main group travelling with Simon and Ann. Marilyn got talking to some bikers who were all from Devon!  The journey became progressively more interesting as the wind and then rain hit us. It became so unpleasant after we had checked in at the tunnel that we had to pull over and put the hood up. The weather was now so awful that we decided to go directly to join the shuttle queues, rather than try to meet up with the others: sorry about that folks but all I wanted to do was get home.

Once back in England, the weather wasn’t too bad apart from the wind. We did, however, keep the hood up for the 274 mile drive home to North Devon and arrived home at 17.25 hrs. A good fast and easy run without too much traffic. The end of a most enjoyable holiday in excellent company, and 2,546 more miles on the clock.
Thanks to group leaders Simon and Ann Cronin, Holiday organisers Travel Destinations, our hosts in Austria the Blumschein Family and all the other hotels that made this such a special holiday. Finally, special thanks to Scarlet our wonderful Daimler for transporting us in such grand style and comfort.

The Author

The Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club have arranged two tours with Travel Destinations in 2012.
20th – 25th May JEC Ireland Tour
12th – 16th September, JEC Jersey Tour

The MG Owners’ Club is returning to Austria with Travel Destinations in 2012.
2nd – 14th September, MG Austria Tour

For more information please follow the links above.

Characters at the Nurburgring 24 Hours0

Part of the fun in attending lots of motor racing events is meeting lots of really nice people.
Although the week leading up to the Nurburgring 24 Hours 2011 was certainly damp there were no dampened spirits at the Travel Destinations private campsite at the circuit.

The Travel Destinations welcome tent was up early at the campsite

Early arrivals at the Travel Destinations campsite shelter from the rain

Aaron arrived in his campervan powered only by cooking oil

Keeping the German theme going at the Travel Destinations campsite

Will Belcher and the West Country Crew enjoy the Nurburgring sunshine

As the Travel Destinations private trackside campsite filled up the atmosphere grew, the sunshine came out and there was great expectation for the start of the Nurburgring 24 Hours 2011.

Further along the Pacific Coast0

Wednesday 2nd February 2011

I woke up this morning to the strange collective sound of about 30 wild turkeys!  Ugly things really but can’t help feeling sorry for them – Thanksgiving soon comes round.

I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been with the weather here and everybody I meet tells me so – apparently I should be wearing gloves and a hat instead of shorts and t-shirt.  It gets a bit chilly at night though. At the Ranch there is absolutely no ambient light – they are very sensitive around here to uplighting, so there is an opportunity to star gaze in the true sense of the word – I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars.  It’s a pity I don’t know my Orion from my Big Dipper!

Spanish Bay Golf Course

After a leisurely breakfast I decided to take a drive down into Carmel and a have a good nose around at the multi-million pound houses that look like they’d blow over in a small breeze, before going back to Carmel Valley Ranch for a guided tour.  Although this place has a very nice golf course, they can’t compete with the courses down in pebble Beach – and at $500 a round at Pebble Beach who would want to?
So in order to make this facility more than just a golf course they offer various educational classes – cooking, bee-keeping, organic farming, guided tours as well as fitness classes and lesiure facilities.  Sounds like Butlins?  Believe me it’s far from it – shame I’m not staying longer.

H.

Thursday 3rd February 2011

Time to leave the Carmel Valley Ranch, it’s wildlife, tranquility (and fabulous infinity pool overlooking the links), and head to the other end of the scale – Laguna Seca Raceway. Set high up in the hills in a National Park, this track is like most race tracks when there is no event – pretty desolate – but the scenery and views up here are stunning.

Pacific Coast

I am really here in Monterey and Carmel for two reasons – the Pebble Beach Concourse and the racing events at the track such as the Moto GP and the American Le Mans Series.  All good so far, so keep an eye on our website www.traveldestinations.co.uk to see whats happening.

After being driven round the track at a very ladylike pace by the lovely Jeannie, (which was a bit of a relief really as the corkscrew is a 10 storey drop!), I head back to Monterey for what I can only describe as the best steak I’ve had in along time.  Can’t remeber the name of the place but will get back to you on that!

H

Saturday 6th Feb

Well my job here in Monterey and Carmel is pretty much done.
Travel Destinations are now able to get you here, book you a nice hotel, get you to the Pebble Beach Concours D’elegance and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Laguna Seca.

Pacific Highway

But I couldn’t leave here without fulfilling my duty completely – after all, when you call the office to book, we need to be able to tell you about the area and what you can do here, so purely  for ‘educational purposes’, I took a drive down the coast from Monterey to Big Sur.  For some reason I always thought Big Sur was ‘surfers paradise’ – but is in fact walkers, hikers, twitchers, nature lovers and campers paradise. Needless to say I didn’t do any of those things, however just cruising along the coast I was extremely privileged to see a pair of Californian Condors, which I am led to believe are extremely rare, whales migrating south along the coast, sea otters, seals, sea-lions and a humming bird  – all in one day.  Just amazing to see all of these animals in their natural habitat.  For some though their natural habitat is dwindling, so I also took a trip to the Monterey Aquarium which is highly educational and a wonderful opportunity to see many creatures of the deep close up.

I am now off to San Francisco for a few days holiday. I know, I know – it sounds like I’ve been on holiday all week!

Have a nice day now y’all and come back real soon.

H

A great finish at the Rolex 24 at Daytona0

Sunday 30^th January 2011

Early morning mist and fog slowed the race to a yellow flag for a while this morning, but the sun burnt it off leaving it all to play for.  Sadly Doran Racing,  and our friend rookie Ross Kaiser, decided to cut their losses during the night after losing too many laps in a couple of unfortunate incidents in the chicanes, but there were still some big names hanging on in there.

The final hours at the Rolex 24 at Daytona

After a few pics in the pitlane and another Bud (light!), it was time to get to Victory Lane for the podium presentation and the chance to get you some race fan info!!

Huge congratulations to Chip Ganassi Racing, who not only took 1^st but also 2^nd place in the DP class, with Action Express Racing Porsche/Riley taking 3^rd, and the United Autosports team featuring the experience of British drivers Mark Blundell and Martin Brundle finishing a very creditable 4th.

1^st in the GT class was car number 67 with TRG Porsche GT3, 2^nd was Paul Miller Racing and a really well deserved 3^rd place to ….drum roll……….yes you guessed it, my favourite “Dr McDreamy” himself Dempsey Racing (in a Mazda!).

Mazda had a good result at Daytona

After all this excitement I am in grave danger of becoming disloyal to my first love – the Le Mans 24hrs race, but in the words of one of our regular Le Mans customers, that is here enjoying the sunshine, ”the Rolex 24 is a must – in addition to Le Mans”.

For those of you able to read between my cunningly disguised attempts to sound like I know what I’m talking about, you will have guessed by now that I actually know very little about the technical side of motor racing, but I am very aware that I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by, and unknowingly spoken to, some of the most successful racing drivers in their field this weekend. I have taken obscene amounts of photographs of people who may or may not be racing drivers but have a racing suit on so I thought I’d hedge my bets!

And I have to confess that I only knew who was in the lead at any one time because I asked a local!

So why exactly, you may ask, did Travel Destinations send me here?

Well, because I don’t need to know too much about the ‘techie’ stuff – I can leave that to the likes of ‘Hindy’ at Radio Le Mans and you, the real race fan. My job is to let you know about the Rolex 24 at Daytona, truly a race fans race; the electric atmosphere, the privileged experiences, the do’s, the don’ts, the sights, the sounds and the smells – and if I’m any good at my job at all I’ll see you back here for the 50^th Rolex 24 anniversary in 2012.

Why not call Travel Destinations now to register your interest at being here next year? The number you need is 0844 873 0203!

H.

More from our lady In Daytona0

Friday 28th January 2011

Well this place just gets better and better! Sorry to rub it in but the sun is still shining and hotting up!

After a bit of chasing around and getting people where they needed to be, the morning has been  a huge success.

All our customers were offered the opportunity to visit the Sprint Tower suites this morning and the control tower. This is where what’s happening on the track gets transferred to the people on the ground – the heart centre of the race.

In the Daytona Paddock

So after the obligatory coffee and doughnuts and a privileged insight into the technical competitive side of this event from Mark Raffauf, the Grand Am director of competition, a trip to the roof of the sprint tower was the highlight – a bird’s eye view of the whole track – truly an amazing sight!!

View from the Sprint Tower

Back down in the garages all seems to be going well with practices – more people today and plenty more action.  Don’t have a press pass so am sat in the Sprint Fanzone, with a Bud (Light, of course), pretending to look like I’m working hard!

So I managed to blag my way onto a garage tour which was led by Robin Liddell, who this year is driving for Stevenson Motorsport (car 57).  It’s his 8^th race at Daytona so he was well qualified to educate even the most ignorant of race goers – just like me.

Needless to say I glazed over when it started getting too ‘techie’, but we bumped into Hurley Hayward, who despite retiring from racing last year, just can’t stay away from the Daytona Speedway. He’ll be in car 59 for Brumos Racing.

My tip for one to watch – Magnus Racing, car 44.
You heard it here first.

H.

The Classic Motor Show0

The Classic Motor Show took place at the NEC, Birmingham from the 12th – 14th November and as always the Travel Destinations team were all present on our stand next to the main entrance in Hall 4. This show is often described as the last car event of the season, and for many it is, but for us it really is the beginning of next season. Over the years the Classic Motor Show has been the show at which we launch our new tours and events brochure for the following year. The 2010 show was no exception with the launch of our 2011 Tours and Events brochure alongside the official launch of our re-designed website www.traveldestinations.co.uk, of which this blog is a part.

Travel Destinations Stand before the Classic Motor Show

Shows of this scale are always a big undertaking for companies like us, as staff, stands, audio and visual equipment and of course the new brochure are transported from the office to the NEC. Setting up on Thursday evening gives particpants a chance to wander the show without the crowds and take in a few of the exceptional car exhibits up close. A quick tip for all exhibitors here, get the number of a good local pizza delivery company, so that you can have pizza delivered while setting up! You will soon find that your exhibiting neighbours are good friends!

Friday was very busy on the Travel Destinations stand and it set the tone for the rest of the weekend. It is always good to be approached by a new customer for more information on Le Mans, the Nurburgring or Spa. Even better if they are returning customer wanting to something again with you. Friday was a day full of these people, with many car club members and motorsport fans popping by to say hello and pick up the new brochure.

MG Owners' Club at the Classic Motor Show

Of course we had lots of new things to talk about for 2011. The 24 hours of Le Mans is always the favourite, but other endurance races are now also getting a look in. The Nurburgring 24 is clearly going to be a popular event, and Spa 24 will not be far behind. We already have quite a few bookings for Florida next year, particularly for the Rolex 24 at Daytona and a few now for the American Le Mans Series opener at Sebring.

For historic motor racing fans looking for a 2011 event in the absence of the Le Mans Classic, the offers to the Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nurburgring and the new Spa Classic have shown lots of early interest. The Oltimer Grand Prix will be helping celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type in 2011 so will no doubt attract a large British audience, and the brand new Spa Classic is going to be a hit. It was great to see the race organisers spending some time on our stand on Saturday.

GT40 Enthusiasts' Club

So what is my personal recommendation for a must do in 2011?
Of course I would like to do everything, but after the success of the driving experience at the Nurburgring in 2010, then I will be first in the queue for 2011. If you like to drive your car then you will love this event. Taking your car on to the skid pan at the professional driving school for one to one tuition from a local racing driver, before experiencing the Nordschleife in the hands of driver from one of the local test centres. It is an amazing weekend, but don’t take my word for it; one of our customers has already contributed to this blog.

A crowd gathers at the Travel Destinations stand

So the Classic Motor Show was a great weekend. If you came by to see us, thank you, it was great to see you. If you missed us or couldn’t make the show, then we are returning to the NEC in January for the Autosport show (Stand 6610) so please do come along.

Travel Destinations' 2011 Tours and Events Brochure

An experience of the Nurburgring0

After another of our group returned from our “Nurburgring Drivers Experience” we received the following letter.
We don’t often publish this sort of thing, but we thought you might like to know how our customers got on:

Dear Richard and Ben,

Just a quick note to thank you for our Nurburgring Experience this weekend.
As you would have been aware the experience was a gift to me from my wife Anne, after she decided to treat me to a trip where I could take my Austin Healey around the Nordschleife.

The help and advice your company gave me right from the outset was invaluable; as my choice of car for the event was a 1964 Austin Healey 3000, I was delighted with the enthusiasm you expressed at me choosing to bring a more aged vehicle; especially as we were to be by far the oldest and potentially slowest on the event that weekend.

Austin Healey on the Nurburgring skid pan

The trip through Europe to the hotel was a real pleasure, your recommended choice of route was excellent; particularly when I compare it to the Satnav route I chose to follow on the return home! We did take the opportunity of stopping at Monschau as advised; it was a beautiful small town tucked out of the way and the perfect place for a bite to eat and a stretch of the legs for an hour or so.

As we neared close to the Nordschleife at 5.30 on the Friday evening, we took the opportunity to call in and see the track. Once there the atmosphere was so electric and contagious we could not resist the chance of taking the Healey around the famed 20km. The blast around the Nordschleife will go down on my list of “must things to do” for anyone with even a drop of petrol in their blood. With the roof down and Anne shrieking words of encouragement beside me, we flew around the track with all my dreams of racing glory coming true around me, albeit we were overtaken by every Porsche, BMW and motorbike in the Eifel region it was still a wonderful experience.

Once we had calmed down and reduced the size of the ecstatic smiles on our faces, we made our way to the hotel.
This was such a good choice, set in a beautiful location away from the hustle and bustle of the day. It was great to feel that we were staying in a family run German hotel as opposed the standard branded hotel that we all know from our trips to any major town or city.

As I had now completed all my personal goals for the weekend; a pleasant drive through three countries, lunch in a beautiful old town, dinner with a few beers in nice hotel and most importantly a first lap of the Nordschleife, I was totally open minded as to how the rest of the trip could go.

David & Anne's Austin Healey

But please may I thank both of you for the organisation and the Nurburgring for providing a truly amazing day on the Saturday, the skid pan training and road exercises were brilliant. This day was way beyond my expectations, the level of tuition by Wolfgang Kauffman our instructor for the day was suburb. The endless encouragement and enthusiasm put into the day’s activities was above and beyond anything I have experienced in the UK. The day was perfectly split into the differing activities and was the perfect match of being both hugely informative; learning the capabilities of your own cars performance and handling, as well as being above all else massively good entertainment. To have the opportunity to push my both myself and car to the limits and above in such a well set up safe environment was tremendous. Please pass on our thanks to Wolfgang, the attention he gave to each car was exceptional and his advice and witty remarks helped make for a wonderful day.

Your company and humour on the Saturday evening made the tour dinner go with suitable aplomb and the hotel’s service and food where to a very high standard. The Sunday’s tour of the Jaguar  Test Centre was a nice end to the weekend with the lap of the Nordschleife in the hands of their test driver being a truly awe inspiring and humbling experience. Your efforts at ensuring that we got back to our car in order for us to make a reasonably timed get away were much appreciated.

Once again may I thank you both for a fantastic trip to Nurburgring, which I shall be recommending to everyone as an absolutely unmissable experience in whatever car you may have.

Many Thanks

David an Anne Jones

If you would like to experience a weekend at the Nurburgring please call us on (0844) 873 0203. Due to the amount of one to one tuition given spaces are strictly limited, so please book early to avoid disappointement.