2021 Crossley Register UK National Rally - "The Reunion".

Photos - Malcolm Asquith unless otherwise stated

Martin and Penny Sims along with John and Brenda Cole volunteered to organise a rally for us in 2020.  Alas, Covid put an end to that and for the first time in many years we did not get a chance to meet up that year. The organisers had booked the Stanton House hotel, just north of Swindon, for us and luckily they were able to re-book for July 2021, Alas, government restrictions were then still with us so a further postponement was needed until 2nd September. As a further complication, in the meantime, the hotel had been sold to new owners and there was some doubt at first whether or not our booking would still exist but fortunately all was well. As a further experiment the rally was held mid-week to try and avoid weddings which tend to take over the sort of place we want.

Wednesday 1st September

Although not strictly part of the rally Wednesday saw the arrival of cars from various parts of the country. Some of the regular cars were missing however, my Torquay suffered a badly leaking radiator (still not fixed as I write) and the same fate befell the 14hp van of the Donovan's. The Cox's 14hp tourer was left at home as they were off on holiday immediately after the rally and was substituted by their Reliant Scimitar.

Thursday 2nd September

Thursday dawned with  no rain but rather overcast as we set off to tour the Wiltshire countryside where our organisers had managed to find plenty of country lanes and largely avoiding the busy roads that pass through the area. 

Passing through the pre-historic stone circle at Avebury (28.2 miles) we arrived at our lunch stop at the canal side Barge Inn.(34.9 miles) where parking was reserved for us. It was here that we heard the news that Martin and Penny in their newly restored 10hp tourer had had an accident resulting in Martin being taken to hospital. No-one knew the extent of his injuries but the message was that we should carry on.

After lunch we all set off in a rather sombre mood for a scenic drive through Marlborough (44 miles) and back to the hotel.(63 miles). Special thanks from me to Richard Naughton for giving Kath and myself a lift in his magnificent 20.9 saloon and apologies to him for the occasional diversion from the intended route - I'm not used to navigating.

In the evening we all gathered for our annual dinner and were cheered by the good news that Martin and Penny were out of hospital and on their way to the hotel but not in their Crossley which had been moved to secure accommodation and examination by the insurance company. With all the consternation it was realised that the annual car judging had been missed so the trophies were not presented with the exception of the Gorton brick which John Humphries round to to Martin and Penny.

Friday 3rd September

Friday was sunny and this time we got a lift with John and Jenni Beasley in their 19.6 tourer - note how I picked the open car for the day with the best weather. Our first stop was at the Uffington White Horse (10.8 miles) where we temporarily abandoned our cars to climb up to the ancient monument. From here our planners had two routes with one avoiding the steepest hill.  From there it was a short run to the Star Inn in Sparsholt for a buffet lunch outside in the sunshine. The afternoon visit was to Buscot Park where we were directed to our reserved parking by his lordship's butler (allegedly) and a visit to the magnificent and extensive gardens

From Buscot it was an 8 mile journey back to our hotel.

Saturday

On Saturday it was time for off and home. I have to report that, in my modern car, I was held up somewhere in the Cotswolds in a queue of traffic behind an old car.