The Vintage Minor Register
Wessex Rally
27th to 29th July, 2007
Milton Abbey
– the breathtaking location for our 2007 Summer Rally. The Abbey
lies tucked away amongst
beautiful
rolling hills in the heart of Dorset. The estate was bought in 1852
by Charles Joachim,
Baron Hambro,
a merchant banker from Denmark. Hambro was a highly successful banker
who sought
the final social accolade as a great landowner. He commissioned Sir
George Gilbert Scott
to restore
the Abbey Church in 1865, saving it from potential ruin. In 1953
the grounds were bought
by a trust
to establish a school, Milton Abbey which will be our host for our Vintage
Garden Party on Sunday.
Welcome to the VMR's 2007 Summer Webpage!
This year’s
Vintage Minor Register Summer Rally promises to be our best yet.
We will gather
in Milton Abbas, Dorset over the weekend of 27th to 29th July
for a magnificent
weekend of vintage motoring, social extravaganzas and a chance to
immerse ourselves
in a little of the history of this glorious corner of Britain made famous
by
Thomas Hardy,
whose life and literary works will feature throughout the Rally.
This page was updated 9/7/07. An invitation to the general public to join us at Milton Abbey on Sunday afternoon was added to the page.
(This page will be updated
as Rally plans develop.
Please stop by regularly
and check for important updates.)
Rally Entry Forms
Download the Entry Form here.
Download the Team Entry Form here.
Download the Yearbook/Rally Handbook Order Form here.
Download the Vintage Picnic Order Form here.
(Members of the public are
very welcome to join us from 1 p.m. on Sunday at Milton Abbey - no need
to book,
and come in your pre-war
or modern car. Entry includes access to the spectacular Abbey and
grounds.)
A Vintage Weekend in Hardy's Wessex
Here you will find all the
Rally information you need to make your Rally weekend a most enjoyable
one.
Planning is currently under
way and additional information will be added to this page as plans develop.
May we suggest that you consider
booking your accommodation as soon as possible,
as suitable accommodation
in deepest Dorset is at a premium in the summer.
The Register has block booked
three ancient and wonderful inns in the area.
Please contact
the Register for booking details without delay.
Further accommodation details
may be found below.
This year’s Summer Rally
will be centered on Milton Abbas, Dorset, in the heart of Thomas Hardy’s
Wessex
and definitely far from
the madding crowd! The weekend will have a distinct Hardy theme,
the highlight of the weekend
being a Vintage Garden Party at Milton
Abbey,
which was the ‘Middleton
Abbey’ in Thomas Hardy’s novel ‘The Woodlanders’.
(Download this informative
leaflet on Thomas Hardy’s Dorset here.
it may hold some useful
clues to help you in the Navigation Rally!)
All vintage Morrises, MG's
and all other vintage and pre-war cars
are cordially invited
to the weekend with suitable class awards
for the Navigation Rally.
Other invited clubs include the Early MG Society,
the MMM and Vintage Registers
of the MG Car Club, the Bullnose
Morris Club, the BSA Front Wheel Drive
Club,
and the Vintage
Sports-Car Club.
The objective of the occasion
is to enjoy a relaxed and informal vintage weekend in Hardy's Wessex
with the minimum of red
tape. Owners may therefore participate in any or all activities
over the weekend as they
wish.
Rally Itinerary
Friday evening
Summer Ball, Kingston Maurwood House
The magnificent
Kingston Maurward House, circa 1790, home of the Pitt family,
as used
as ‘Knapwater House’ in Hardy’s novel; 'Desperate Remedies'
and as
‘Enckworth House’ in ‘The Hand of Ethelberta’.
The weekend will kick off
with a spectacular Summer Ball at Kingston Maurward House.
This annual event will include
Pimms, dinner, jazz, disco, casino and more!
There will be a special
discount rate for Rally entrants and exclusive parking for us
directly in front of the
House. The house was built between 1717 and 1720 for George Pitt,
a cousin of Prime Minster
Pitt. Thomas Hardy was a frequent visitor as a boy during the mid
1800’s.
Arrive at Kingston Maurward
by 7.00 p.m. and listen to the live jazz band on the terrace,
sipping Pimms and enjoying
delicious canapés. Absorb the views over the lake and Dorset
countryside.
Dinner will begin at 8.00pm;
the first course, pudding and cheese board
will be served to your table
and the main course will consist of a buffet.
‘The Crack’, live band, will
play in the Conference Hall from 10.00 p.m. until late.
You will also have the chance
to have a flutter - the Casino opens at 9.45 p.m.
The bar will be available
until 1.00 a.m. for the purchase of your favourite drinks.
Dress code: Black tie.
We have been allocated an
exclusive car park directly in front of the house for the evening,
and car parking stickers
will be issued by the Register with your Ball tickets.
Please display them prominently.
Full details and a Ball leaflet may be downloaded here.
Further details about Kingston Maurwood House and Gardens may be found here.
Kingston Maurward is located
just off the Eastern end of the A35 Dorchester by pass.
Directions to the House
may be found here.
(Note: Since the Navigation
Rally will take place on Saturday this year,
it is recommended that you
consider arriving on Friday to avoid a very
early start from home on
Saturday morning to reach the start by 8-30 a.m.!)
The Hambro Arms, Milton Abbas
For those early arrivers
who wish to forego the social rigours of the Ball
and keep their heads clear
for the navigational challenges of the morning after,
there will also be an informal
gathering at the Hambro Arms in
Milton Abbas.
Saturday
The Hardy's Wessex Navigation Rally
The Hardy’s Wessex Navigation
Rally and Tour – an approximately 60 mile route
through the byways of Hardy’s
Wessex, taking us to some fascinating and surprising locations.
As usual, there will be
a variety of classes and awards, including the Roy
Hogg Trophy and a team of vintage Minors
will once again challenge
a team of Austin Sevens for the coveted Lewis
& Nicholson Trophy.
Members of team entries can
expect some unexpected tasks which will require the resources
of the entire team to solve!
There will also be a touring
class for the navigationally challenged, and entrants in this class
will receive a Tour Handbook
describing the route in detail and providing a wealth of information
about the fascinating places
we will be visiting.
The Acorn Inn, Evrshot
The lunch stop will be at
the Acorn Inn, Evershot, a 16th
Century coaching inn that Thomas Hardy
called ‘The Sow & Acorn’
in ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’. There will ample parking in a reserved
car park and
one of the bars will be
made available for our exclusive use.
Cream Teas!
Fresh cream teas will be
available at the Moreton
village tearooms at the conclusion of the Navigation Rally
where results will be calculated
and awards presented.
Teas should be booked via
the Rally Entry Form.
(Moreton is the village made
famous by Hardy’s close friend T E Lawrence
who was killed nearby and
who is buried in the village.
Lawrence rented a tiny isolated
brick and tile cottage at nearby Clouds
Hill (NT)
from 1923 until he finally
purchased it in 1929. The austere rooms are much as he left them
and reflect his complex
personality and close links with the Middle East.
An exhibition in the cottage
details Lawrence's extraordinary life.
Without giving anything
away, we will be visiting this cottage during the course of the Navigation
Rally.)
Only one OS map will be required
for the Navigation Rally this year.
It is Map 194 (Dorchester
and Weymouth), edition C2.
Touring Class entrasnts will not ned the map, but may wish to avail themselves of a copy.
Order your map directly from the Ordnance Survey here.
(Here is another map which you might find useul on the Navigation Rally!)
(Note: Milton Abbas village
will be COMPLETELY CLOSED during the day on Saturday for the annual Victorian
Street Fair.
Our Navigation Rally will
avoid the village, but bear this in mind when traveling to the start or
returning after the conclusion.
The crowds will have dispersed
by the time of our evening barbeque - see below.)
Saturday evening
A Vintage Barbeque at Milton Manor
Milton Manor, then named Hill House, was the wartime home of the Hambro family.
An informal and convivial
evening courtesy of the current Manor owners
and fellow vintage car owners
Jeremy and Lucy Thompson.
A lamb barbecue - fresh locally
reared lamb - cooked on a large spit barbecue in situ.
Roasted vegetable couscous
salad - good for vegetarians as well as going well with lamb
Tomato and Basil Salad or
Green Salad
New potatoes served hot
Selection of locally made
bread rolls with butter
A selection of puddings
Cheese board with biscuits,
butter, grapes, celery
Coffee or Tea with chocolates
The first glass of wine free. Additional wine may be purchased by the bottle.
There is also a swimming pool, so bring your togs if you fancy a dip!
Arrive at 7-30 p.m. and stay as long as you like.
Plenty of parking in a nearby field.
Tickets should be booked via the Rally Entry Form.
Sunday at Dawn
The Sunrise Run
Bulbarrow at dawn
For the energetic insomniacs
among us!
The sun will rise over north
Dorset today at 4.47 a.m.
If you would like to experience
an unforgettable summer sunrise over the ethereal Wessex uplands,
then be at the
car park on Bulbarrow Hill by 4-40 a.m.
(coffee and Alka Seltzers
will be available in the car park!)
Sunrise will be followed
by a ramble to nearby Rawlsbury Camp, an Iron Age hill fort
from which can be seen five
counties on a clear dawn.
The spectacular Wessex Downs
(The parking area is on what
is usually known as Bulbarrow Hill but is actually Woolland Hill (OS ST
783059).
The parking area lies just
to the north-east of the junction on top of Bulbarrow, where four roads
meet.
From the north-east take
the road from Ibberton and Sturminster Newton.
From the north-west take
the road from Hazelbury Bryan and Sherborne.
From the south-west take
the road from Ansty and Dorchester.
From the south-east take
the road from Milton Abbas and Blandford.
Sunday Morning
The Lulworth Cove Run
Lulworth
Cove, where Hardy’s Sergeant Troy took his ill-fated swim
and was
swept away in ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’
We could not come to Dorset
without visiting the dramatic coastline, and nowhere is the Dorset coast
more dramatic than at Lulworth
Cove, a textbook perfect cove where the surrounding landscape
is some of the most outstanding
in Britain. Lulworth Cove is a key part of the Jurassic Coast,
a World Heritage Site which
has been internationally recognised for its unique land forms and geology.
We will assemble at Milton Abbey at 9.15 a.m. and head off at 9.30 a.m. sharp for a run of approximately fifteen miles.
The delightful thatched Castle Inn, Lulworth Cove
After visiting the cove and
the nearby Heritage
Centre located right on the beach, we will take refreshments
at the Castle
Inn, Lulworth Cove, one of the prettiest and most traditional thatched
inns
in the county before returning
to arrive at Milton Abbey by 1.00 p.m.
Sunday
The Milton Abbey Vintage Garden Party
Milton Abbey
occupies probably the most beautiful setting of any church in the county
of Dorset.
It rests
in a natural amphitheatre surrounded by delightfully wooded hills.
The highlight and culmination
of the weekend will be the Vintage Garden Party and Picnic at Milton Abbey.
Milton Abbey was once owned
by the Hambro family but is now a private
school.
Vintage picnics will be
available against prior order (download the Order Form at the top of this
page)
and cold drinks and ice
creams will be available from the school Tuck Shop.
(Please bring you own wine
and beer - the Tuck Shop doesn't sell alcohol!)
The Hambro family will be
presenting a new trophy – the Angus Hambro Memorial Trophy
for the most meritorious
rally entry by a VMR member.
In addition, The
Sports & Vintage Cup will once again be awarded.
Various vintage activities
– details currently TBA.
Arrange to arrive at 1 p.m.
Tickets for this private Garden Party should be applied for in advance on the Rally Entry Form.
The Combined 2007 VMR Yearbook and Rally Handbook
The combined VMR Yearbook
and Rally Handbook will be available in June.
An order from may be downloaded
at the top of this page.
The Yearbook contains a comprehensive 16-page Rally Programme and background information on the weekend.
And Finally ...
There will be a Farewell gathering at the Hambro Arms on Sunday evening for those staying overnight in the area.
And as usual at VMR Summer Rallies, there will be
FREE BEER
for those who marshaled over the weekend!
Rally Accommodation
It is particularly
important that you book your accommodation as early as possible,
as the famous
Milton Abbas Victorian Street Fair takes place on Saturday
and visitors
come from all over the country to attend this famous festival.
Last year,
the Fair attracted over 26,000 visitors!
A number of hotel rooms in
the area have been reserved by the Register and we have had an excellent
take-up to date.
We have filled every available
room in the Poachers, Piddletrenthide
and are starting to fill the Fox
at Ansty.
Once the Fox is full, we
will start filling the Acorn at Evershot.
If you think you will require
accommodation, we urge you to contact
the Register without delay,
as we cannot hold our reserved
rooms much longer without bookings and deposits.
For those wishing to camp
in the area, we are recommneding the Inside
Park Camp Site at Blandford Forum.
Read reviews of the camp
site here.
The campsite is approximately
7 miles from Milton Abbey.
Additional local accommodation
details may be found at the West
Dorset Tourist Information website
or at RuralDorset.com.
If you have any questions regarding accommodation, please contact the Register for assistance.
So where is the Rally?
The Rally will be based around
Milton Abbas in Dorset,
roughly equidistant between
Dorchester and Blandford Forum.
Become a member of the Vintage Minor Register!
You don't have to be a Register member to enter our Sumer Rally!
However ...
Would you like to join the
Vintage Minor Register?
Membership is open to all
who have an interest in the Pre-War Minor or M Type MG.
Please contact
the Register for further details or download a Membership
Form.
Need more information?
If you have any questions,
comments, or suggestions, please contact the Register.
We would be pleased
to hear from you!