Classic Car Outings 2026

We had a great turn out for TSSC Norfolk’s New Year Brunch Run. Despite snow, especially on the Norfolk coast, stopping several members from attending and others choosing their moderns, we still managed a good turnout of 17 Triumphs along with a Standard and MG.

There was a short run, starting from Attleborough, along frosty country roads, including a quick dip in a ford, and ending at Forncett Steam Museum, where the Triumphs parked up together. The museum did a great job accommodating 55 of us with some lovely soup, bacon rolls, tea and cake, along with a guided tour (in two groups due to the number attending). All this whilst supporting the museum, which is run by volunteers and purely from donations, raising £550 for hosting us for the day – everyone’s a winner!

With the Triumph 2500 estate Polybushed all round a good drive out seemed to be in order and the TSSC AGM seemed like the ideal opportunity.

She ran like a dream, its great to be able to cruise at 60mph in reasonable comfort. Saturday saw us having a quick look at Foxton Locks and then onto the Premier Inn, Market Harborough, and meeting up with a few fellow AOs before attending the AGM on the Sunday. Hoping that the estate will make it down to Cornwall for the 2000 Register National, but happy the way she is at the moment.

Originally started during Covid as a way of getting Triumphs out for a drive but without mixing in groups, and now in its fifth year, TSSC Norfolk Drive It Day Scatter Treasure Hunt keeps growing in popularity.

The hunt started between 10 and 10.30 with a choice of eight locations to choose from. The rest of the stops could be done in any order. Each stop had 3–5 questions with points given for correct answers. Although the big scores were from taking photos of other Triumphs out and about.

Our lunchtime stop this year was at Whitwell and Reepham Station where we had 22 Triumphs parked up at various times, plus a Rover and MG. Other stops included County School Station, a church ruins and Bug park.

(Both the Heralds in the main photo have the Vitesse engine, note the different ways to making it fit with the Herald bonnet, the most common way is to cut the grill so it can go infront of the bonnet, versus the bonnet extension on my Herald).

The threatened rain (hence the decision to take the estate) never materialised, and we managed to have a great day wandering around, sitting by our cars and having a good natter. Thanks again to Tim for organising for us.

One of our favourite runs, if only because its organised by Andy and Gill. For this one Nick came along too as he was down for the weekend.

After our initial wrong turn all went well with a Herald estate following us along the route. Halfway there, in the middle of a country lane, we met some of the Norfolk youth coming the other way and had a quick chat and picked up the gazebo they’d borrowed for their weekend.

Waxham Barn was a great place to meet and we were allowed to park up in front of the barn.

The Triumph behaved well and gave us a chance to check out the new temperature gauge added to the gearbox ready for our run down to Cornwall.

Starting with one of the hottest Mays ever, we travelled down to Brands Hatch for TSSC Essex’s line up at Grand Britannia 100, spending two nights at their campsite. Then came a week of early starts to get a few miles under our belt before the heat of the day as we headed down to Cornwall. 

The trip down included a day at Haynes Motor Museum during the hottest part of the day and a sleepover in a picnic area on the A303. 

About 25 miles from our destination a suspected leaky gearbox seal meant our grand touring plans, including staying at the Austin A35 National, were promptly chucked out the window. We abandoned the scenic route and headed straight to Hendra Holiday Park.

Thankfully, without the caravan attached, the leak wasn’t too bad allowing us to do some drive outs in the Triumph during the week including the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Padstow and a trip to Healeys Cider

We attempted the drive home to Norfolk, but realised that playing “will we or won’t we run out of oil on the M4” wasn’t a game we wanted to play. So, after a tense 200 miles and consuming around 4 liters of ATF, we conceded defeat and called the AA. They took the car almost the whole way home, leaving us just enough distance (20 miles) to drive it back in a face-saving finale. Meanwhile, the caravan got its own VIP, separate flatbed ride home.

We did better than last year (broken flexplate), but still not quite good enough. Over 630 miles with the caravan on the back and around 150 miles without. Next year, we have a radical idea: actually making it to the National and back again under our own steam. No tow trucks, no broken bits and no excessive use of fluids.

A massive thank you to Jo, Mark, and the friendly lot at the Register for a great week. Hopefully see you next year!

Our first trip out in the Herald/Viking combo since September last year. A short 30 minute drive to Old Buckenham for a few days coinciding with the July meet of the TSSC Norfolk monthly meet. Great to get away for a few days and great that we didn’t have to go to far, something I suspect we might be doing a bit of this year.

Christina had work to go to on the Friday so the Corsa came too. It’s been a while since I drove the combo on my own, but thouroughly enjoed getting them out again.

The meeting on the Thursday evening saw 27 Triumphs coming together . Amongst the usual selection of small chassis Triumphs we also had a number of TRs from a TR3 to a trio of TR7s as well as a 2500PI, Stag, Roadster and a Sammio Spyder special. A great variety of cars to look at.

All in all, a great few days. Next run-out for the combo will be in a couple of weeks to the TSSC National at Gaydon.

Our second big trip of the year, to Gaydon via Ashwell, near Baldock, to drop off the estate’s gearbox for rebuilding.

As with the trip down to Cornwall the other month, this trip was to be during another heatwave. But we were taking the Herald/Viking combo…

With the rear seat of the Herald removed and put in the caravan, and the estate gearbox loaded in its place, the caravan hitched, and we were off. A nice easy run with the roof down, we arrived at Ashwell after a couple of hours. Grateful to have been breaking the journey to Gaydon in two. After unhitching at the campsite, we dropped off the gearbox at the repairers and officially switched into relaxation mode for a few days.

As the temperatures climbed up to the 30s, keeping cool came to be the name of the game. Paul made the mistake of falling asleep in the shade for the sun to come round the caravan and burn his legs while his eyes were closed. The coolest spot in the village turned out to be the natural spring (the source of the River Cam).

Christina enjoyed a civilised paddle, while Paul got collateral-damaged by a young girl engaged in a high-stakes water fight with her friends. We also took the Herald out for a trip to Hitchin, where it seemed to enjoy not having the weight of the gearbox or the caravan on the back to contend with.

On the Friday when it was time to leave, we had cameras both sides of us which, while nice to be appreciated, did make us feel a bit self-conscious. The temperature was in the low 30s and, not wanting to be towing in the heat of the day, we arranged to stop mid-way at Bletchley Park to spend the majority of the day. A fascinating place with lots to do, although it was too hot to do it justice. We vowed to come back in the autumn for a proper visit (the ticket allowed for repeat visits). While on the way there, we had a call for help at Gaydon so didn’t stay as long as we intended and ended up leaving in the heat of the day…

All was good until around 30 minutes from Gaydon when the car seemed to be getting especially hot and started to stutter as we went up a hill. I did start to feel a bit guilty putting the Herald through it. After a couple of minutes it seemed to clear, but I took it as a bit of a moan that I was pushing her too hard in the heat. But she made it!

Thankfully most of the heavy work was done by the time we arrived, and it wasn’t long before we were set up and having a good natter to the other campers.

Friday night Paul went to take a look at the bar and didn’t get back to the caravan until quite late, but it was very nice (and at £3.33 a pint, cheap beer) apparently.

The fridge seemed to be having trouble keeping cool in the heat with the milk going off pretty quickly and the spread being runny, so on Saturday, while there was a drive out organised we decided to go for a short run out to make sure the Herald was behaving itself along with topping up with petrol and buying a few supplies, and again seemed to enjoy not having the caravan to hold it back.

Saturday night was the party night, and we splashed out and bought dinner (a great deal at the same £3.33 a portion, and very nice it was too). So they could finish before the England game, the band came on early, and while the first set was a bit empty, by the time the second set started the tables were full, and it wasn’t long before the dancing started. Not being overly fussed with the football, we retired reasonably early and let the others watch it on the big screen.

Sunday was the day of the BMC/BL Day and while tempted to take the caravan down to the display area, decided against it and just took the Herald down and then gave a hand getting the shop up and the marquee down.

We had a look around the museum, as last time, the most interesting place is where they keep the cars that aren’t on exhibit, upstairs above the red Jaguars. Lots of interesting stuff packed into what is, in effect, a car park of rare cars.

We decided to gamble on doing the journey home in a single run, crossing our fingers that the Herald wouldn’t hold a three-hour drive against us. Leaving around 4 (with a quick pitstop near Cambridge), we rolled into our driveway before 8 in the evening without a single hiccup. If only we could get the estate to behave the same…

A tip for the hot weather was to take the demister tubes off and direct them to the footwells, which helped stop our feet from overheating.

This is always one we enjoy, using the Herald/Viking combo for the North Norfolk Railway Golden Years event. This year we were away from the main event at Holt and back to Weybourne, where we were the only activity; they usually have scooters and Morris Minors to help get folks off the train. That being said,  we seemed to be just as busy as previous years with a sudden rush every time a train came in.

The “Carry On” shower we took went down well, although it’s starting to look a bit tired. I think it’s time for some new faces.

The weekend also saw the first public appearance of the N2 1744 steam train since returning to service after its refit.

Another day, another campsite. Back on the Sunday from North Norfolk and off again on the Monday to Hunstanton…

This time we were taking Kai with us for a couple of days to Searles, sorting out some of the details for the TSSC weekend in September. So Monday morning was spent swapping caravans – the Sprite 400 with its three-berth layout instead of the Viking with just the double bed. With the estate still getting its gearbox fitted, we were towing with the Herald. The last time the Herald towed the 400 was when we bought it last year.

With special perental permission to put Kai in the front (no seat belts in the back) we had a very easy drive up to Hunstanton, taking just over an hour. Our spot was quite secluded but near the beach path and toilets, and it wasn’t long before we were set up with the awning up.

The 400/awning set up seemed to work well with the three of us, possibly time to sell the Musketeer?

It was good to be using it for a holiday and not on display, although the combo did get a few looks, with a young lad asking questions about the Herald and wanting his photo taken with it at one point.

Searles is a great caravan park to take kids to, with indoor and outdoor play areas, indoor and outdoor swimming pools (yes, we did); there’s plenty to keep young ‘uns amused. Not to mention the beach being just a short walk away.

All too soon it was time to leave again and nice to be back home in just over an hour. I could get used to just caravanning in Norfolk.
So completes a busy start to summer camping, with the last eight weeks having 26 nights spent in a caravan, with 60 being spent at home.