Vintage Car Rally video snippets

The annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run was back on the roads this morning (Sunday November 5), passing through West Sussex on the way.

Friends Committee member Steve Payne was at Pease Pottage in sunny but chilly conditions to capture on film just a few of the amazing vehicles passing by.

The 400 drivers and their machines set off from London’s Hyde Park on the 60-mile trip and started to filter through Pease Pottage around 8.30am.

The run dates back to when the Locomotives on the Highways Act was passed 127 years ago, raising the speed limit from 4mph to 14mph, so abolishing the need for the cars to be preceded by a man with a red flag!

The Act was celebrated by the first ‘Emancipation Run’, with 30 cars travelling from London to Brighton on November 14 1896.

The halfway halt each year is at Crawley, with the intrepid drivers then heading off to Brighton after a warming drink and refreshments.

For this year two movie star cars made an appearance and were first away in the early hours. These were the Darracq and Spyker from the film Genevieve, which was first shown 70 years ago.

All manner of vehicles took to the road, including an 1898 Peugeot, an 1899 Benz, various motorbikes and even a brave man on a Penny Farthing!