VSCC Club Chairman presents £3000 cheque to Friends of Trinity Fields School Chairperson and Pupils
To help celebrate its 10th anniversary, Valleys Sports & Classic Cars organised a Classic Car Tour of Caerphilly Borough. The Tour raised money for charity, raised the profile of leisure and tourism in the Borough, and provided classic vehicle enthusiasts with a good day out.
The start venue was the Civic Centre, Pontllanfraith. Club members arrived at 8.00 a.m. to prepare the site for the event. Classic vehicles started to arrive at approximately nine o'clock, and after collecting their rally plaques and information packs, they were parked in an orderly manner by the marshals.
The Mayor of Caerphilly Borough, Liz Aldworth, arrived at 10.00 to view the vehicles and to officiate at the start. The first car off was an Austin A90 driven by one of the main sponsors, Vincent Brickley of Tandem Transport. Unfortunately, the other main sponsor, Bob Wilson of Bob Wilson Cars, was unable to attend due to ill-health. The second car off was an MG Magnette driven by club chairman, Colin Trapp. The last vehicle to leave was a huge Scammel lorry driven by Alex Drummond. Due to its size and low speed, it followed a shortened version of the Tour's route.
The 90 mile route took the drivers through Maesycwmmer, Llanbradach, Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen down to Lower Machen before turning off for Drythen. Advance publicity ensured that the vehicles and their occupants were cheered on by people lining the streets of these villages. The route then took the 'tourists' along Rudry Lane where Rhys Williams took photographs of their vehicles as they passed a picturesque cottage. Then it was on to Lisvane and Cefn On before climbing to the top of Caerphilly Mountain where many people stopped for refreshments. After descending into Caerphilly the route then headed further northwards through Senghenydd, Nelson, Ystrad Mynach, Bargoed and Rhymney to Bryn Bach Park. Drivers then turned southwards into Tredegar before travelling on through Cefn Golau, Bedwellty and Blackwood to the Scenic Drive at Cwmcarn. Thanks to the kindness of Forest Enterprises, admission was free. The route then turned into the Sirhowy Valley at Risca to take the vehicles back to Pontllanfraith
On returning to the Civic Centre, participants were treated to a free buffet. Some people chatted and admired each others vehicles whilst eating, whilst others found a shady spot under the trees.
Thanks to the speed of Rhys and his team, they were able to offer souvenir mounted photographs for a nominal sum. All proceeds were donated to the charity fund.
At the awards ceremony, the Chairman's choice went to Rob Reagan for his magnificent, 1926 Rolls Royce 20/25 drop-head coupe, and the furthest travelled vehicle was an MGB owned by Peter Pratt of Andover, Hants.
Councillor Kevin Etheridge gave us his support by drawing the raffle which concluded an extremely successful event.
Many, many thanks to all those who helped make it such a wonderful day, whether helping with the organisation or participating in the Tour.
Comments made in the completed evaluation sheets were very favourable. Here is a typical example:
A very enjoyable day. Well planned. Information pack very helpful and easy to use. Route was interesting and scenic. We saw much that we have planned to see for a while, and some to go back and see another time. Apologies for not making the buffet we didn't get back in time - too busy enjoying the route!
C & J Mills - Entry No. 70
We would like to give a special mention to the following:
| Paul Hudson | Tourism & Leisure Dept., Caerphilly Borough Council |
| Ray Love | Caretaker, Civic Centre, Pontllanfraith |
| Tanya Dykes | Forest Enterprises |
| Dave Matthews | Traffic Management, Gwent Constabulary |
| Simon Fowler | Motor-sport Division, RAC |
We have recently received a letter of thanks from Gaynor Payne, Chairperson to the Friends of Trinity School.