Part of the challenge was to visit all 4 extreme compass points of the UK
Picture this for a moment.
Imagine setting out on the open road for an adventure that you have dreamed of for many years. Your ‘60s classic car is up to the job, and a classic caravan will be your base as you explore the four extreme compass points of the UK. Dipping your toes in the four seas around the country. Are you with us?
Now, set yourself the challenge of doing it all in just over four weeks, on a budget, and raising money for a good cause as you go along. Let us introduce you to Paul and Christina who got to experience the thrill of this remarkable trip.
Paul has long had a dream of driving his Triumph Herald around the coast of the UK, since he bought it as his first car over 40 years ago. Back then, he thought of removing the back seat and sleeping in the car. When he and Christina met 8 years ago, he was persuaded to embrace her love of camping by putting a tow bar on the back and finding a small caravan to go with it. The 4Cs dream was born, Classic Car, Caravan and Coast. As the planning evolved, it seemed a little self-indulgent in the present climate, so Paul and Christina created a challenge to raise money for a good cause.
The couple chose to support the East Anglian Air Ambulance. It is a charity that feels very relevant to car clubs, especially in rural areas where hospitals can be miles away. By the end of this epic adventure road trip, Paul and Christina had raised just over £1,500, and the donations are still rolling in.
Paul and Christina tell us why they wanted to organise a charitable road trip adventure and how they prepared for over 30 days on the road in a 1960s classic car and classic caravan.
4Cs Road Trip Inspiration
“We started to think about the trip early in 2020, to coincide with Paul’s 60th birthday in April 2021, but then Covid hit, and it was put on the backburner. We then decided to aim for April 2022, realising that we would have time to restore our 1960’s Viking Fibreline. However, as with many projects, this took longer than anticipated and so we postponed again to a new start date of June 2022, immediately after the Jubilee weekend.
We had a rough idea of the route, but with fuel prices increasing we needed to try to cut down other expenses so put out an appeal to fellow Triumph Sports Six Club members around the country. We asked if anyone had a driveway close to the coast that we could park on overnight. It seemed silly to pay for lots of facilities if we really just needed somewhere to stay overnight before setting off again early next morning. We had several offers and so these had some influence over the route.
Christina then spent many hours researching ‘budget’ campsites that fitted in between these driveways. We also had a reservation at the Triumph 2000 Register National (as we also have a 2.5 estate) in Paignton, which happened to be ‘right place, right time’, so this was also factored in. Paul didn’t want to tempt fate by booking too far ahead, but by the time we left, all stopovers were booked for the first week, and others were pencilled in or had been narrowed down to a couple of possibilities.
We did ‘tweak’ the route a couple of times, mostly so that we could meet up with friends at certain places, but on the whole, we stuck to the route as initially planned. As we started back down the east coast, we realised that we hadn’t planned that part of the journey in anywhere near as much detail, maybe this was because, subconsciously, we didn’t expect to get that far?!
The Classic Car & Classic Caravan
“The car is a 1966 Triumph Herald that Paul has owned since he was 17 and the car was 12 years old. Its engine and running gear are from a 2 litre Vitesse MKI, which is why it is capable of towing the Viking caravan. Before setting off, Paul did all the necessary checks and gave it a full service, but also packed lots of tools and spares should they be needed en-route!
The caravan is a late ‘60s Viking Fibreline, which needed full restoration as it had been stripped out and given a bad paint job before we got it. Full details of the resto can be found on www.paulstriumphherald.co.uk/four-cs-pre-journey. We went on a few ‘trial runs’ around the block to check that the brakes etc were all ok, and two weeks before we set off, we had a longer trip to Warwickshire to attend the Triumph Picnic at Walton Hall. This was also a trial run for us using a certified caravan site with very basic facilities!”
Life on the Road
“Part of the challenge was to visit all 4 extreme compass points, so we started at the one closest to us, Lowestoft Ness Point. From there we travelled in a clockwise direction, sticking as close to the coastline as possible. We covered an average of 140 miles a day, some days were longer but there were only 3 days when we didn’t travel at all.
On day 2, we had a fright as we thought that the rear suspension had gone after we’d travelled on some particularly rough roads, so from then on, we tried to avoid really minor roads unless they were really necessary to get to our overnight stop. We did also have to check each night that the next day’s route was free of steep hills as these can be troublesome, especially if a hill start is required.
One of our stopovers was on a Scout camp near Fort William. The last part of the roadway was just a track and particularly bad for potholes, so Christina had to stand in the back of the caravan to provide ballast and relieve some of the weight on the rear for the car (strictly not to be done on public roads!).
Being ‘on the road’ had good and bad points! We got lots of toots, waves and thumbs-up as we travelled, which was great, and very encouraging. However, we were constantly on the alert, Paul for road conditions and Christina for signage and navigation. It was tiring, but we always tried to pull over for a break every 2 hours (about 50 miles.) Paul mastered the art of a roadside snooze before the final leg most days. Christina found the passenger seat a little lacking in support so had to use cushions, and we did have an issue with the doors as they worked loose and had to be adjusted to stop them coming open on bends. There were lots of places we would have liked to spend longer at, but with the caravan on the back it wasn’t always possible to find space to park.”
Adventure Road Tripping Highlights
“For Paul, it was being able to park up and take photos in front of the Land’s End Archway. For Christina it was probably getting to speak to Sara Cox about the trip, on her Radio 2 Drive Time show. For both of us, getting home after a successful trip was pretty amazing too!
There are lots of places we’d like to go back to, to explore further. We plan to take the caravan to a central, accessible point then travel out daily with just the car. Top of the list is the Pembrokeshire Coast and Cardigan Bay. We would also like to go back to the North Yorkshire Moors as we had hoped to go to Whitby but were warned off because of steep hills and sharp bends.
We met many fellow classic car enthusiasts along the way too. We joined the Triumph 2000 Register in Paignton, we stayed on the driveways of fellow Triumph Sports Six Club members, and we also happened upon the monthly meet of a Hillman Imp club in Gosport. In several places people would come to talk to us and tell us “I learned to drive in one of those” or would tell us about classic cars that they had, or still do own. We visited a cousin just for a few hours and his neighbour came out wanting to show us his Wolseley 1300 stored away in his garage!”
Best road: “The A77 from Stranraer to Ayr. So many breath-taking views as it is so close to the coastline.”
Best campsite: “Difficult to say, as they were all so varied, but best overnight stays were those hosted by fellow TSSC members who liked to swap classic car stories!”
Best scenic spot: “Again, so many! But we did take a great photo at Weymouth, by pulling into a bus stop. The way the picture is captured could be back in the ‘60’s when the car and caravan were new! But overall, the UK has such a beautiful and varied coastline that to choose the best would be impossible.”
Best food: “We did most of our cooking in the caravan. It was really nice being able to pull off the road, put the kettle on and have a cuppa without having to spend money! Our son, James, joined us in Anglesey and did a barbeque on an open fire which was another memorable meal. And the best treat must have been the ice-creams on the campsite in Kent which had its own ice-cream parlour!”
Any Adventure Road Trip Tips?
“Do it! But planning is important. Know your car’s limitations and plan the route accordingly. Research roads, get a good satnav but don’t abandon the good old fashioned road map! And use Google earth so that you know what you’re looking for when approaching your destination.”
What’s Next?
“Probably not another road trip for a while but we want to walk the North Norfolk Coastal Path in September. We have a couple of camping weekends with the Triumph Sports Six Club planned. And we will definitely go back to some of the places on our list to spend longer on the beaches and coastal paths.”
Paul and Christina’s funding page is still open should anyone wish to donate to the East Anglian Air Ambulance: www.justgiving.com/FourCs
Thank you very much, Paul and Christina, for talking to us. We hope to catch up with you at an event soon. The ClassicLine team is looking forward to attending the Triumph & MG Weekend 2022 later in August, we hope to see you there!
