Few things sum up the difference between a dream and reality quite as well as the ‘classic car’. Wouldn’t it be nice, you might say to yourself on a sunny afternoon, if I could hop into an E-Type Jag and go for a drive in the beautiful British countryside? Wouldn’t it be dandy, you might ponder, to fire up an Austin Healey and pootle down to the nearest pub with the roof down, feeling the wind in your hair? Perhaps, you might think, I could put on some goggles and gloves and go to the Goodwood Revival?
The realities of owning one can be somewhat different. The ‘classic car’, by its very definition, is of a certain age and things of a certain age have a habit of breaking. If they are of a very certain age and were manufactured in the Midlands, they will have a serious habit of breaking. As many of us reading this might be well aware, old and broken things are quite difficult to repair. I’ve many friends who have dipped their toe into classic-car ownership and the results have been fairly unanimous: the days with the wind in the hair are worth it, the constant repair bills, the rust and the search for replacement parts are not. It is a tricky and expensive balance.
How do you get one without the other? The answer is to ring up a man called Ed Andrews, who lives in Leicestershire, and ask if you can borrow one of his cars for the day. Ed is the founder of Auto Rendezvous, a ‘specialist car hire and tour operator’ based in the Welland valley. When I first meet him, I am distracted by the brilliant red Austin Healey 3000 Mk2A that is parked outside the Nevill Arms in Medbourne. You can drive the car, but Ed will handle the route and, more importantly, the maintenance.
The Austin Healey 3000 Mk2A parked outside the Nevill Arms.
Ed’s love of classic cars began at a young age. ‘An uncle of mine bought a Triumph TR3 when I was six years old and I went with him to collect it,’ he recalls. ‘I was blown away by its sheer beauty, style and grace. Classic cars were a passion from then and, over the years, I’ve always had at least one.’ Now, he has three: the Austin Healey, a Morgan Plus 8 and a Mercedes 280SL Pagoda. A delightful stable for any aspiring classic-car enthusiast.
Today, I am in the Austin Healey and, after a bit of wiggling to get my 6ft 4in frame into the driver’s seat, plus a brief chat on which switches do what, we are under way with a testy roar. Not only am I here to drive a classic car for the first time, but also to explore the Welland valley, a sure-fire answer to the oft-asked question ‘where are the next Cotswolds?’ I had long heard rumour that this area, a proverbial 'flyover state' of central England, was utterly beautiful and charming. I was not disappointed, by either the Welland Valley or the car.
The Austin Healey was built in 1962 and is powered by a 3.0 litre six-cylinder engine, which means it is chatty and loud. Once I get used to the unpowered steering, we are zooming along the A- and B-roads of middle England. It is a glorious summer’s day and the ironstone towns of Uppingham and Great Easton come and go. I buzz past Belvoir Castle and Rockingham. As the Harringworth Viaduct fades into the rear-view mirror, I wonder why I ever bothered to drive anything else.
Ed is my passenger all day and is remarkably calm throughout, considering he’s just chucked me the keys to one of his favourite cars. He talks me through the idea behind Auto Rendezvous. It’s the perfect plan — customers get all the benefits of driving a classic with none of the downside and Ed gets to own three classic cars. It's like being the fun uncle or aunt: you get to play with the baby, but when it starts to cry, you can give it back.
Clients include people such as me, who have always wanted to drive a classic, but never had the chance, to those who might be considered mildly more eccentric. ‘One client I’ll never forget was a Canadian,’ Ed says. ‘When he was on a trip to Britain, he flew in a Tiger Moth out of Duxford in Cambridgeshire, went on a canal boat at Ashby, north-west Leicestershire and came here to drive the Healey. He saw a real slice of Britain’s history.’
Ed in his Morgan Plus 8.
'There is something immensely refreshing about the analog elegance of the vintage sports car'
It doesn’t take too long for me to understand why Ed is so obsessed with the classics. I get to drive a lot of new cars. They are supremely comfortable, efficient and (whisper it) a little bit boring. In the Austin Healey, every sense is alive all the time. The smell of petrol burning through the engine. The sound. The feedback from the steering wheel as you corner through the winding roads of Rutland, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.
It is exhilarating and it reminds me that driving is supposed to be an activity with which you engage. The gizmos and gadgets on a brand-new car might make the school run easier, but it certainly isn’t fun. We live in a world of screens and there is something immensely refreshing about the analog elegance of the vintage sports car.
‘You don’t become one with a modern car, but with a classic, you do,’ Lewis Harrison, the founder of Paddock Prestige in West Sussex, explains to me over Zoom. ‘It’s a lot more real and a lot more fun. I’m quite old fashioned, so I think it’s nice to drive something you have to think about. Not having the radio on, not merely an automatic gearbox — although, with a lot of vintage cars, even if you did have a radio, you wouldn’t hear it.’
A few years back, Lewis wanted to take his partner out for her birthday in a classic car. ‘I couldn’t find one anywhere,’ he admits. To solve the problem, he started Paddock Prestige, which currently runs a fleet of five cars, such as a Porsche 356 Speedster and an MGA. Like Ed up in Rutland, he quickly realised that there was plenty of demand for the experience of a classic car without the agonies of ownership.
Both Ed and Lewis are locals and are keen to stress that, although they enjoy their cars, they also love the countryside they live in and want people to come to enjoy it. It’s not only about the driving experience, but the scenery, the shops, the restaurants, pubs and hotels. Both businesses offer inclusive packages, with planned routes, dinners and overnight stays.
In the Welland valley, Ed has teamed up with The Nevill Arms, Medbourne. ‘The village and the pub are famous for their “chocolate-box” appearance, so it seemed a natural partner,’ he observes. The hotel has its own farm, so all the pork, beef and lamb you eat in the wonderful restaurant is reared on the pastures you drive past and the 10 bedrooms are delightfully well appointed. Further south, Lewis declares that he’s trying to create a community. ‘Other companies say “here’s the keys, it’s up to you”, but I’m trying to create something beyond car hire — the car is a tool to explore the South Downs.’
The best way to discover the British countryside is by car, so we should probably take a bit more care to make sure that we’re driving the right vehicle. Yet, thanks to Ed and Lewis, we don’t have to take too much care — just enough to enjoy the ride.
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