Tomorrow (Sun 6th Nov) morning, around 500 vintage motor cars will start the annual London to Brighton run, leaving Hyde Park at sunrise and arriving in Brighton later in the afternoon.
In addition, today (Sat) around 100 of the cars will be on display with many of the drivers and passengers in period costume along Regents Street in the West End. The display will be from 11am till 3pm.
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run commemorates the Emancipation Run of 14 November 1896 which celebrated the passing into law of the Locomotives on the Highway Act, which raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4 mph to 14 mph and abolished the requirement for these vehicles to be preceded by a man on foot carrying a red flag.
Each year the run is recreated – as is a ceremonial destruction of a red flag in memory of the abolition of the act.
The event has taken place annual since it was recreated in 1927, and this year also marks the 75th anniversary of the decision to move the start point to Hyde Park.
Leaping ahead to the Sunday Run itself, the rough timetable is:
- Hyde Park – 7am, with cars departing regularly until around 8:30am
- Lambeth – around 7.10 to 09.15
- Norbury – around 07.25 to 10.45
- Croydon – around 07.35 to 11am
- Crawley – from 08:15am to around 1:45pm
- Brighton – from 10am to around 4:30pm
Those of us in London then get an easier opportunity to photograph the entire parade as it goes past, as they are still clustered close to each other and all the cars will pass in 90 minutes.
If you want the full list of pre 1905 vintage vehicles taking place – then that is on this pdf document. Alternatively you can buy a catalogue from Hyde Park (or Regents St today).
The run is through central London, then down the Brighton Road (A23) to Brighton town centre.
The map they provide is a little light on detail – so I have tried to turn it into a Google map – the accuracy in London and Brighton is high, but I am making presumptions of no diversions in between the two cities.
The route definitely doesn’t go down the fast A23 dual carriageway through Sussex, see http://www.veterancarrun.com/spectate/ – http://www.veterancarrun.com/downloads/2011-downloads/Spectate%20-%20Document%20Downloads%5CWheretowatch.pdf
Curious – I think the map was showing my initial version of the route until I got more details afterwards.