SDC Surrey Hills Tour

How many people can you seat comfortably in a 1987 Daimler limousine? The answer is eight.

I know this because one of the cars that came on the Surrey Hills tour on Saturday, 28th September was just such a Daimler and, at one point in the day (inevitably perhaps just after we had enjoyed a jolly lunch together!) the eight of us on the tour had tested the seating arrangements. I suppose we could have done the tour in that one car but it was more fun doing it in two Lotus’s, one Mazda MX5, a Daimler and a Rolls Royce.

We met at 10am at the Newlands Corner Centre to the south east of Guildford in glorious sunshine. The weather for the previous few days had been dreadful but Saturday dawned bright and beautiful.

Stephen Heath had done a lot of preparation work and had mapped out two driving sessions, one for the morning and the other for the afternoon.

Because we were only five cars we decided to drive in convoy. Stephen led the way in his Lotus followed by the other Lotus and the MX5. Then came the Daimler and, following up the rear, was my 20/25 Rolls Royce.

We drove for about two hours in the morning and then had an excellent lunch at The Parrot at Forest Green.

Much refreshed after lunch and after we had all got into the Daimler, we were on our way again with a drive up Zig Zag Lane to the top of Box Hill towards the end of the drive and then, for those who wanted to go there, a visit to Denbies vineyard.

All in all it was an amazing day – all the more amazing because the following day the rain returned again.