Winter’s chill is receding, daylight creeps ever longer into the evenings. With Spring in the air, it’s time to imagine the delights of setting off on a drive in a decent classic car – hood down, naturally. As for an appropriate destination, what better than the country residence of the Royal Automobile Club? With such a grand port of call in mind, suitable conveyances are required. Roll forward, with leather-lined grace, this pairing of a 1976 Rolls-Royce Corniche Drophead Coupé and 1980 Aston Martin V8 Volante, both marques being holders of the Royal Warrant.
Fortunately the repeal of the Red Flag Act, 126 years ago, under which your man had to proceed ahead of your ‘horseless carriage’ waving a red flag, allowed the Great British motorist the freedom of the public highways. And one organisation that’s been influential in protecting the interests of British motorists ever since is the Royal Automobile Club, based in Pall Mall, the heart of London’s clubland.
A few brave pioneers of the 1890s attempted to encourage the growth of ‘automobilism’ at a time when horseless carriages were regarded with suspicion and scepticism. Harry J Lawson organised the first Emancipation Run in 1896 (the precursor to the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run) to celebrate motoring freedom, and it was followed by the 1000 Mile
