Zeds in The Lakes Tour and Zeds in the North
The ZR/ZS/ZT Register made its first foray into organising a tour with the Zeds in the Lakes tour in September. The tour was organised through Scenic Car Tours and was based at the Riverside Hotel in Kendal. Nine cars were on the tour and came from as far as Hampshire and Stirling. Two couples made special efforts to make it on the Friday as bizarrely they both had the same problem with theirs ZRs. Both had seized brake callipers shortly after setting out. Both couple returned to their respected homes and swapped over to their second car. In the case of Francois and Hartley MacDonald their ZT and Sheila and Colin Ballard in their MG6.
On the Saturday the group set out on a drive taking in Ambleside, Keswick and Ullswater with Rob Johns in the lead car. The outward leg was via Kirkstone Pass where we stopped at a pull in for photo opportunities with terrific views out over the pass towards Ullswater. Then on via a scenic route along the shores of Ullswater to Keswick. There things went awry as the town was extremely busy causing many on the tour to lose contact with each other. Everyone then split up into various groups and returned to the hotel at their own speed. However each in their own way seemed to have an enjoyable afternoon. Even the weather bucked up from being cloudy and misty in the morning to a glorious sunny afternoon.
On the Sunday the tour included the Zeds in the North event at the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. There we were joined at Haverthwaite Station by another half a dozen local cars joining us for the day making a display of all ages and colours of zeds including a 1958 ZB Magnette. Most people took the opportunity to ride the train to Lakeside which was included in the tour, some also then going on the connecting steamer across the lake to Bowness. The weather had been forecast to be wet but luckily it turned out to be sunny. One thing that couldn’t have been better if we had tried to organise it was that the steam locomotive on duty for the day was “Victor” the ex-Longbridge shunting engine. This was to the delight of a couple of the railway buffs on the tour who had wanted to see this particular engine for years, and those with an interest in the birthplace of our cars.
On the Monday it was time to disperse home, although some decided to head out for further photo opportunities before starting the journey back. This was the first time the register had arranged such a tour which had been postponed from last year because of the pandemic. Nevertheless a good time seemed to be enjoyed by all the participants and we will probably be looking to organise more in future. Perhaps back to the Lakes as we felt we had only just scratched to surface of everything the area had to offer. Special thanks are due to Rob Johns who stepped in as the tour organiser at short notice.