We had been talking for some time now about the possibility of taking register cars to France and because it was known that I had toured there on my Motorbike, I got volunteered. I have to admit that I was extremely apprehensive; the RREC has many members that are extremely good at this sort of thing and I did not want to distinguish myself by screwing up. 

I chose the week (June 1-7) between the bank holiday and the Annual Rally in the hopes that we would not clash with other important events or get stuck in heavy traffic. The plan was simple; take the ferry from Portsmouth, as it was the most accessible for everyone, to Cherbourg then spend a comfortable night in Valognes (10 miles south) and set off the following morning for Domfront, which is about 100 miles further South.

Domfront is an attractive town with good restaurants and bars, an interesting Church and various medieval remains to walk around. It is also at the centre of an area of outstanding natural beauty for which the French Tourist board supply a list of touring routes taking in various Chateaux etc. And it is within striking distance of Internationally renowned attractions like Mont St. Michel, the Bayeaux Tapestry and so on. It is an almost perfect location for touring in an old car.

We’d planned for 12 cars because Logis are small family run hotels and it would have enabled us to change easily if I’d picked a dud! In the event we got ten booked, two had to pull out and eight went. We had a marvellous time. Virtually empty roads, cheaper fuel, the incredible hospitality and friendliness of the French, mostly good weather and very much lower prices for food and accommodation aided considerably, but it has to be said that few groups of people can exist that are more accommodating. There were times when I felt they would have been nearly as happy had I booked us into Abu Graib. Provided of course, there was a wine list!

Each day we split into small groups and headed for whatever appealed. The illustrations give an idea of what there is to see in this lovely area.  Some of us lunched together and each evening we all dined in Le Relais de St. Michel. It was a modest but spotless Logis run by Father, Mother and Daughter and they could not have done more to make us welcome, often giving us drinks “on the house” and always providing excellent food. For £30 a night for bed breakfast and an excellent, three course evening meal (extra for drinks), it was nothing short of a miracle – I had chosen a modest hotel for our first attempt because I felt it was better to make an inexpensive mistake than the other sort! For next year (by popular request there will be one!) I have selected a more luxurious establishment with a most enthusiastic proprietor, it has thirty rooms and, provided I can find another close to Cherbourg, it will enable us to increase the number to around 15 cars. 

The interest in and enthusiasm for our cars was much greater than in the UK, everywhere we went, people waved and clapped, some shouted compliments and one even suggested Vic Clarke might be King! Two Newspapers photographed us and will publish the story of our visit and so on.

I have to say that I feel guilty that I enjoyed myself as much as I did, hosts usually have to work so hard there is no time to relax but as a US friend and club member observed “I’ve made the best friends I’ve ever had by buying one of these cars”

Ashley James.