2010 UK & EU major LR show calendar?

[TeriAnn]

I am hoping to get the money together to ship myself and my Land Rover Dormobile to the UK & points East sometime this spring and hope to spend the summer camping then head home sometime in the Fall. The trip will be one woman traveling and camping in a 1960 Land Rover Dormobile.

I have not been able to locate a calendar of LR events for 2010 nor am I sure which are the must see shows. So I'm hoping for some help.

First can anyone tell me which are the big "must attend" shows and Land Rover parts boot sales in both the UK and throughout the EU. I tend to think of a 3000 mile trip as a normal outing so distance is not an issue. I would like to attend as many as are practical in between touring to new places in my Dormobile.

Here's what I'm looking for:

- What is the show

- 2010 Date(s)

- What to expect

- Location

- If I need to make advance arrangements, what, how & how much would it cost

- Any pertinent comments

In addition to the shows what places would be of interest to a Land Rover enthusiast to visit?

In between shows I hope to just tour the country sights visiting ruins, scenic locations and possibly a historic reenactment or two. I've made several visits to the UK & Western Europe by plane and have visited several cities. This time, assuming I can swing the trip, I hope to get a feel for the countryside and a firsthand look at the history.

This will likely be the only time I bring my Land Rover to Europe so it must be a trip of a lifetime.

Any suggestions or advice??

[Holyzeus]

Show wise don't think much has been planned yet date wise.

LRM's show is here http://www.lrmshow.com/

Other good ones are Billing and LRO Peterborough no dates as yet i believe.

Also very worthwhile is the sortout http://www.newbury4x4andvintagesparesday.co.uk/, again no dates as yet?

[Retroanaconda]

As you are clearly not phased by distance, while you're in this country I would suggest a tour of pretty much all of the UK. There are plenty of National Parks and other wonderfully attractive areas, although obviously not on the scale you'll be used to. Should be reasonably easy to take in the UK show scene whilst touring too.

Europe is big, and of course there are some pretty spectacular places around that too. The Fjords up north, the Alps down south etc.

Be prepared for a big increase in fuel prices, petrol is currently around £1.06 per litre, that's about $6.55 per US gallon.

[neil610]

If you are in the UK in september the annual London to Brighton Land Rover run is a great weekend, camping in crystal palace on the saturday evening then a run down to brighton seafront http://www.london2brighton.org.uk/

[headhunter]

TeriAnn

Can't give you dates however the show season starts in February with the indoor -

Donnington 4x4 show (east midlands)

Then the outdoor season -

Sodbury Sortout early April major Land Rover auto-jumble, there's another one in October

LRO Spring Adventure usually April west of england

Driffield (north) 4x4 show in May

Billing Show (midlands) Mid July - considered the holy grail of UK shows by many, despised by others!

LRM Show (nearby) Mid July

LRO Show Peterborough (east midlands) Early/mid September

Abingdon 4x4 Show (south central) end of September

London-Brighton Run (south coast) end of September

There are other club events by region/county and Land Rover marque, throughout the spring/summer/autumn from green lanes to trials and competitions.

If you are into hardcore then the challenge season has plenty to offer in the UK/Eire/France/Russia and other old Soviet satellite countries.

On here look in the Competing Forum to get an idea of what has gone over the past year.

There are plenty of organized and tag along tours to The Alps, France Spain Portugal Morocco Tunisia Hungary Iceland Scandinavia Transylvania.

Not an exhaustive list, I am sure others will add to it and no doubt correct mine if the detail is less than accurate.

Land Rovers have a strong dedicated following in many European countries with active clubs and fantastic friendly and welcoming events.

Hope this helps.

John

[TeriAnn]

Can't give you dates however the show season starts in February with the indoor -

I'm not sure when I can pull this together. I don't expect to see any money before the end of the year, possibly later, then I need to get some time consuming dentistry done & a gearbox swap in my truck before the trip. I'm not sure if I can make it before Mid April but I'm tentatively targeting the end of March. I will need to pack up everything I own and put it into storage and I want to get my TR3 painted first along with front suspension work so it will be ready when I get back.

Right now I'm hoping April through however long I'm still having a good time. At least through the end of September, maybe longer since I don't expect to be able to repeat this kind of trip.

Thanks for your suggestions so far.

[q-rover]

There is a relatively big 'gathering' in France in the Alps, that could be worth a look.

If your not worried about distance or time, come to Norway and drive all 2500Km S> N.

Then go back down through Russia and into the Baltic states.

[robert_smoldzino]

TeriAnn - you welcome to 2010 Baltic Land Rover Meeting in Poland, last weekend of June as usually. Some pictures of previous events and more info at www.smoldzino.org

Best

Robert

[landroversforever]

IIRC, I don't think the donnington show is on, as i believe the building has been knocked down for the track improvements.

Billing show will be 16/17/18 July

[FridgeFreezer]

Dates of interest I can think of:

Shire Seven Sisters Spectacular is TBC but usually around the weekend of the 20th ish of September.

Ladoga 2010 (St Petersburg, Russia) is 29th of May - 6th of June

I'm not sure I'd want to go to all the LR shows in the calendar, if you've been to one you probably don't need to go to more as you'll just see most of the same stuff twice, just in a different rainy field.

One event I would heartily recommend is the Land Rover London To Brighton run - 26th Sept 2010, you won't see more Land Rovers in one place and the vibe is excellent.

[protoprincess]

I agree with "once you seen a show, you have seen them all". Im my opinion - try to go to the Billing, (not the best not the worts but good for LR related stuff and for parking up and meeting people from all over Europe)

I would tour UK from top to bottom - start at Lands End, take small country roads, have a cream tea in Devon, visit Bodmin moor, drive past Stonehenge, visit Breacon Beacon national park, get some maps and try to get green laning, get up to Yorkshire Dales, visit Glasgow, Fort William, drive on the coast of Scotland to John O'Groats, visit Aberdeen, drive to Edinburgh to get some Edinburgh rock, through North Yorkshire Moors to the York for some history, visit Lincoln catherdral and hop over to Nottingham to see Robin Hood, buy a real pork pie in Melton Mowbray, visit Cambridge, (I assume you have been to London - if not then find a B&B and take the train in ) down to Dover and hop over to Europe.

There is so much to see in UK that you be spoiled for choice. Depends really what you want to do (and eat )

And there is always Europe - its not big and roads are good - for example you could be In Prague in 12 hours (ok ok - 18 in a Land Rover)

As they say - world is your oyster

[landroversforever]

And I'm sure there are plenty of us on here who would show you round our patch!

I for one! If you like old stuff... Uffington White horse!!!

[SOA 93]

The ‘Land Rover Heritage Run’ springs to mind for you. This year it was on May 3rd . A procession of Land Rovers of various ages and types drives from the Solihull factory to the ‘Heritage Motor Centre’ at Gaydon, the run is by invitation, but the small show is open to the public. I would have thought you would be a good candidate for an invitation. While your in this area, for history you could check out ‘Warwick Castle’ they do re-enactments, jousting etc. For ruins there is ‘Kenilworth Castle’. For English civil war re-enactments there is ‘The Sealed Knot’, is this the kind of thing your looking for? Don’t forget every American’s favourite ‘Stratford on Avon’.

Googling any of the above should get you a few hits.

In terms of Land Rover shows, if I remember correctly you’ve been to Billing before, first time is always the best I think, my opinion is it’s not so ‘cluby’ as it was before, with more emphasis on vendors nowadays. However attending in your own vehicle would no doubt put a smile on your face.

Places worthy of a visit for views, photos etc. ‘Snowdonia’ in Wales, the ‘Lake District’ in England and ‘The Highlands’ in Scotland of course.

Further a field, you could tour the Pyrenees from the Atlantic sea to the Mediterranean, the Alps are worth a visit, how about a tour around Mont Blanc taking in France, Switzerland and Italy.

As you can tell I like the mountains.

Andy