Out and About - 2022

Since 2013, each Good Friday, the Branch has had a run out to the Bolton and Embsay Steam Railway near Skipton. Covid restrictions meant that we have had to miss this event for a couple of years but this year we were able to go ahead with it again.

There were two options for the day. One was to go straight to the station and the other was to meet at the McDonald's on the A59 near Clitheroe and then drive in convoy from there to meet up at Bolton Abbey Station. Most people opted for McDonald's and the convoy run. There were 13 Minors at the McDonald's car park and all were there in good time to get a drink and some breakfast as well as having a chat and catch up before setting off.

The Branch members who did not go on the steam train journey to Embsay, drifted away from the station and went for a beautiful walk up to nearby Bolton Abbey.. We had lovely weather on the day, so it was a pleasant stroll in the stunning countryside. Lunch was then taken in the picnic area in the station gardens before several members relived their youth by having a ride on the miniature railway that runs from the side of the café down the length of the car park. Judging by the smiles on their faces, it was a pound well spent.  After a great day members set off separately on their journey back home having enjoyed a lovely day at the railway.

This annual local show is organised by the Lancashire Vechicle Club (LVC).  Several members attended and were parked in front of Hall and overlooking the lake and fountain. 

It was really a lovely day.  Sadly, the Hall was closed due to ongoing renovation work but the courtyard café did a roaring trade and the gardens were open and of course plenty of cars from all decades to admire as well as our Minors.

Bleasdale Tower is a grand house in Lancashire built in the mid-19th century as a private residence which it remains to this day. Surrounded by magnificent, but relatively small, gardens with terraces and shrubberies dominated by beautiful rhododendrons it is not normally open to the public – except on one weekend a year when it opens to raise money for local charities.

The organisers welcome classic cars to the event and so the Branch rose to the occasion with 15 Morris Minors meeting at The Flower Bowl on the A6 before driving in convoy to the house. The approach is down a long winding drive and the cars looked impressive as they drove towards the house.  A Guardian Concert Brass Band played on the lawns, whilst in the courtyard plants were sold and home-made beef burgers and hot dogs were served – it would have been rude not to try them!  And cream teas with homemade cakes and strawberry cream scones were also offered. A lovely event!

This year's rally was held over four days, the weekend of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.  Some members attended all four days and they had a really good weekend, although the weather could have been better as it was really cold!

This event is usually only a two-day rally, so four days was quite ambitious and maybe wasn't the best idea, with so many other events on at the same time, be it rallies or jubilee events.  That said, many visitors attended the weekend and our Branch members always enjoy the show and are already looking forward to attending again next year.

Saturday 4th June fell nicely in the extended Jubilee bank holiday weekend.  The weekend was choc-a-block with car shows, organisers seeming to have the same idea of planning their events for the long weekend. 

Our chairman, Andrew Whittaker and his brother David, also a Branch member, were involved in organising the classic and vintage car section of the Great Harwood Agricultural Show that was taking place that day.  They arranged for LMMOC to have their own section within the classic cars and over 20 Minors answered the call and came out to support the show.  The Minors made a splendid sight, all parked in a line, and were drawing admiring looks from the public as they made their way around the show.  Our friends from the Lancashire Vehicle Club were lined up in their own group opposite our Minors.  There was a total of over 120 classic vehicles - the highest ever at the show which was remarkable given the number of other classic vehicle events being held over the Jubilee weekend.  

There were many different types of vehicles on display, including a double-decker bus that featured on the television news the day before.  It was a specially liveried Platinum Jubilee double-decker bus and was on the news because, earlier that day, it had been used to transport Ukrainian refugees and local councillors around Accrington and Great Harwood.  There was also a Series 2 Land Rover that the owner had used the week before for his wedding - it still had the wedding flowers on the front of it and, for those who remember the Firefighters’ strike many years ago, there was a “Green Goddess” fire engine.

It is always a great show - roll on next year when we can enjoy it all over again!

Branch members attended this show in their Morris Minors and were amongst a great variety of Classics – about 100 in all – although there was a notable absence of very old, vintage, vehicles.

The stars of the show were clearly the magnificent steam engines, road rollers and tractors which looked resplendent as they paraded around the arena. One can only imagine the work involved in preparing and maintaining these vehicles in their gleaming splendour.

Plenty of stalls and eating places made this a popular event which became busy as the day progressed. A most enjoyable and very interesting event

This event is the successor to the local ‘Pilling Crank Up’. There were about 40 Classics Cars there on Sunday along with displays of vintage tractors, static engines and motorbikes. There was not any judging or arena displays, just a quiet Sunday afternoon, enjoying the sunshine at the end of a busy weekend.

There was really good catering supplied by the village hall café, which did a roaring trade in cooked breakfasts and lunches while in the hall, there were craft stalls and displays by Fylde Country Life Preservation Society and The Merry Trotter Mobile Museum of Memorabilia.

The Branch 'Bring Your Car Night' is always an eagerly anticipated meeting.

The skies were a bit grey, and some members cars were still drying out after our visit to Heywood the day before, but nevertheless a good turnout of 13 cars lined up next to the cricket pitch – where for some of the time a game was being played and we all hoped they wouldn’t knock a six!  The usual chat and banter went on for some time before everyone retired to the club house for our shorter meeting and excellent buffet – provided by the Branch on this occasion.

This is another typical Lancashire agricultural show.  There was a small vintage vehicle section. It was a lovely warm sunny day and as time progressed the show got busier and busier.                                                             

Always a good event Classics in the Park was run this year by Lancashire Vehicle Group in liaison with Friends of Miller and Avenham Parks.

There were some superb vehicles on show and the LVC did their usual sterling job in organising cars into groups and expertly marshalling everyone to their correct places.  The Lancashire Branch met up at The Phantom Winger before driving in convoy to the park where a club stand was put in place and the cars parked in line next to the embankment. And very impressive they looked too – attracting great attention.

A very enjoyable event despite the intense heat – better than pouring rain though!

This was a very special occasion – the room was decorated with Australian flags and blow-up kangaroos and wallabies (!) as a tribute and send off for one of our most enthusiastic and popular Branch members Byron Littlewood who is soon to emigrate to Australia.

After a wonderful lunch Branch members enjoyed the glorious gardens in brilliant sunshine.

Lancashire Branch MMOC, and other classic vehicle owners, were invited to attend this 2022 Festival. On the second day of the festival there were several other classic car events around Lancashire, even so, there was a good variety of classic cars on show and LMMOC was well represented. In addition to some beautifully restored buses and coaches there were many old and new commercial vehicles on show. The free rides around the area on veteran buses were very popular. An excellent day out!

After the two year delay it was great to park once more in front of the beautiful Art Deco Midland Hotel on a dry Saturday morning which, on both days, proved that the weather forecasters must have been on their summer holidays and left the job to trainees. 

There were not as many classic cars there as we have seen in the past including those of our members but away from the car park there was a lot to see. Over at The Platform (the original railway terminus building) there was an extensive display of stalls selling all sorts of vintage clothing, jewellery and memorabilia. There was a craft market filling the nearby Winter Gardens Theatre where, at certain times, the organ accompanied a lady singing vintage classics from the 30's and 40's. On the outside area between the Hotel and the Lifeboat Station there was lots going on for children in a marquee and a fairground was in full swing on the site of the old outdoor Lido.

The Vintage Festival is organised by Hemingway Design in conjunction the local Council and a number of other sponsors. One of our member's Morris Minor milk float was chosen as the 'Best In Show' Classic Car. On the Sunday there was a bigger display of classics in the Midland Car Park and later on the Bradford to Morecambe Drive arrived and added an impressive display on the Promenade Car Park.

The highlight of Sunday is, of course, Afternoon Tea at the Midland Hotel. Members sat down at a table in the Veranda with a lovely view down the Stone Jetty and across Morecambe Bay to Grange-over-Sands. 

It was a very quiet affair for the last meeting of “Bring Your Vehicle Night” at Farm Yard Ales for 2022.  A thunderstorm and torrential downpour at teatime put a lot of people off attending and there were probably 100 vehicles on display.  Ranging from a 1920’s Austin 7 Tourer to a trio of modern-day Aston-Martins but the most interesting was a ‘Little Grey Fergie’.  This was not a standard Ferguson TE20 but one that had been converted to electric, namely 48 volts dc.  The 24 x 2 volt batteries were wired in series to produce 48 volts.  5 batteries were either side of the driver’s seat and the rest were the fuel tank, engine block and radiator would have been.  A 2 furrow Ferguson plough was attached to the tractor and the owner was hoping to get a day’s ploughing out of an overnight charge.

Electric powered cars have come a long way in the last decade or so.  Electric powered Tractors are not far behind them.

Our Branch joined our friends from the Lancashire Vehicle Club for this charity fundraiser for Derian House Children’s Hospice.  We were fortunate to be blessed with a dry start to the day and the weather stayed dry throughout the event but there was a biting Autumn wind making itself known as we stood around chatting on the car park. In total we had 8 Minors there, so the Morris marque was well represented. As the show season was drawing to a close it was good to fit another one in before we slide into Winter and, generally, tuck our cars away until Spring. A very worthwhile event for our members and Derian House.