A Return to Classic Nostalgia at Shelsley Walsh

One of the most renowned hillclimbs on the planet was once again a trip well worth it:

After weeks of what has been a depressingly wet English “summer”, the sun finally emerged a couple of weeks ago and shone on Shelsley Walsh’s flagship event, Classic Nostalgia – well, mostly, and certainly on the day I went, Sunday. We’ve covered it a couple of times in the past for the international edition of ViaRETRO, but it’s been three years since I was last there – my contracting Covid and shocking weather caused me to miss the last two, so it was a delight to return to one of the most picturesque and oldest motorsport venues in the UK.

Shelsely Walsh Speed Hill Climb – to give it it’s full name – lays claim to being the oldest motorsport venue still holding events on it’s original track. The track itself is exactly 1,000 yards (914 metres) long, rising 328 feet (100 metres) in that distance, with an average gradient of 1 in 9, and a steepest gradient of 1 in 6.

As usual, the event was billed as “Celebrating the Glory Days of Motorsport” and featured a wide range of race cars from F1, NASCAR, rallying and more taking to the hill, as well as a Concours, club displays (I went with the Porsche Club) and the usual ancillary entertainment and catering, all sset against the background of the rolling hills of the Cotswolds.

It’s a short 50-minute drive to Shelsley from my home through lovely verdant countryside, and I rolled up a little after the gates opened at 08.00 on a beautiful sunny morning for the second day of the event. I was parked between a 964 Targa and a very rare 1988 Carrera CS, excellent company! Among other clubs, there was a fine turnout from the Morgan and Stag clubs, as you might expect, with Morgan in particular being based just a few kilometres away in Malvern, but perhaps less expectedly, Citroën.

I ran into an old friend of ViaRETRO, Dave Leadbetter, who was taking part in his BMW 2002 – it was good to see him again and he was clearly having tremendous fun tackling the hill.

My neighbour Tom Richardson was also taking on the hill in his 1925 GN Gypsy special, powered by a 1929 De Havilland Gypsy Aero 6-litre engine of the type that used to be fitted to Tiger Moth aircraft.  Tom recently registered his car for the road – yes! – and has been seen (and heard!) taking the Gypsy out on our local roads; it’s quite a sight and sound!

There was a great variety of cars scattered around the paddocks and fields, both road and track. The event itself comprised a mixture of competition and demonstration runs, the latter from historic F1 cars such as an ex-Schuhmacher Benetton and ex-James Hunt Hesketh 308, a gaggle of fire-breathing NASCAR racers and a celebration of rally greats, including none other than Stig Blomqvist in an Audi Quattro.

Of course, an event such as this – which drew record crowds – also attracts many of the “usual” classics (I say “usual” because in the wider world, every classic is un-usual), MGB’s, Triumph TR’s and Stags…you know the drill, and this is a good thing, as these cars and their clubs form the bedrock of the classic car world.  However, it also brings out the occasional rarity, and I wanted to single out a few.

Among those taking part in the hill climb was a car I knew nothing about until last weekend, even though it has apparently appeared at Goodwood more than once – a 1965 Isuzu Bellett. It looked similar to many mid-60’s Japanese cars, though it was none the worse for that. It was also for sale, available for £24,000 (c.€28,500), with spares including engines, gearbox, wheels. This unique – in the UK – car has also participated in the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix, so may be known to some of you.

Staying with the hill climb cars, I also loved the red 1965 Alpine A110 – I’ve never seen one in red, I thought it looked superb. I really like the A110, but I’ll never own one as I can’t get in… and another favourite was the gorgeous silver over orange Porsche 904, one of the prettiest cars ever.

Some of you might remember that my favourite colour on many classics is yellow, and on such a sunny day, such classics made the day even brighter – so for no other reason, the next set of photos is of yellow classics, and what a joyful selection they make!

Among the road-going classics, a unique – literally, in this case – car was the charming, if somewhat awkwardly styled, 1948 Lanchester Woody, which attracted a lot of attention. Based on an LD10, the rear third doesn’t work for me at all, making it look like the car has a broken back, which might be why only one was ever built. Nevertheless, it was a treat to see such an unusual car, and in such immaculate condition.

Other cars that caught my eye included an absolutely gorgeous 1961 AC Ace roadster in a deep metallic blue, a very smart 1995 Alpine 610 V6 Turbo, a stunning 1965 Gordon Keeble in metallic blue (there was another in burgundy, so 2% of all the GK’s ever built were present!) that’s had the same owner for 40 years, and an exquisite little 1931 Austin Seven Swallow Saloon, designed by William Lyons and one of the roots from which Jaguar was eventually to grow.

You could say that Classic Nostalgia is a mini-Goodwood Festival of Speed, if you like, and while it might not have the glamour, it’s much more relaxed, much less corporate – no access restrictions, freedom to wander around the paddocks, and with better views of the hill. Oh, and tickets cost about 20% of the price. It was great to return to this delightful venue after a three-year gap; I’ll try to make sure I don’t leave it as long again, and leave you with a random gallery to finish with.