14 Apr Land’s End Classic Road Trial

For over 100 years the Land’s End Trial has been a magnet for automotive eccentricity. We look forward to next weekend’s event in this latest Messenger post.

Every year on Easter Saturday engines from years gone by can be heard roaring (and spluttering) their way through the Cornish countryside. 

It’s a little-known motorsport event with no admission fee for spectators, no merchandising and no commentary to tell you what’s going on. Yet it invariably draws crowds from afar.

Established in 1901, the Motorcycle Club is one of the oldest motor sport clubs in the UK, and holds three long-distance road-based trials each year.  The three trials are the Exeter (in January), the Land’s End (held at Easter) and the Edinburgh (which actually takes place in Derbyshire) in October, and all are open to motorcycles, motorcycle combinations, three-wheelers and cars.

Class awards are given for first, second and third, and if a contestant gains a first at each of the three trials, he or she is eligible for a special ‘Triple’ award, which is a miniature of one of the old British road signs with arms pointing to each of the three destinations – a lovely thing.

The original idea of the trial was to enable motorcyclists to test their endurance skills. Incredibly, back then competitors were required to ride from London to Land’s End and back again, which was test enough on those roads. But over the decades, as road surfaces improved, the competition became a one-way affair, with certain designated hills to climb along the way. These days there are more cars than bikes, but all share the same mad spirit of adventure.

There are, of course, countless celebrated characters associated with the event. The Tucker-Peake family have been passionately involved since the 1920s, introducing several purpose-built “specials” along the way. In the 1940s these included the famous Scarlet Runner, an eight-geared, two-seat car with an individual brake for each rear wheel to help it get around tight bends.

Donald Healey, Perranporth’s most famous son, first took part in the Land’s End Trial in 1923, and he continued to do so when he wasn’t winning the Monte Carlo Rally, or flying in two world wars, or setting the World Land Speed Record on the Bonneville Salt Flats!

And it’s not just about the drivers and their vehicles. In deepest west Cornwall, Blue Hills, Robert Carlyon and his son Mark operate the winch that rescues any vehicles getting stuck halfway up the hill. Robert’s grandfather started using that very same winch in 1925. Talk about part of the scenery.

Every fan, no matter where they are from, have their own favourite section of the Land’s End to go to on Easter Saturday. Blue Hills is arguably one of the most spectacular of all. With the Atlantic as a backdrop, hundreds of spectators congregate precariously on the steep hillside to watch the succession of vehicles attempt to negotiate the rough old miner’s track.

So, will you be one of those spectators this year, keen to soak up the atmosphere and gaze in awe as vintage vehicles attempt the seemingly impossible hills!? 

• The Land’s End Trial takes place on Easter Saturday, April 19. There are sections throughout the South-West, and an entry list and details of spectator points can be found on the MCC (Motor Cycling Club) website .themotorcyclingclub.org.uk.
• Two examples are Crackington, where the first bike arrives at about 6.20am and is followed by a steady stream until the last car passes through at about 12.20pm, and Blue Hills, where the first bike is expected at about 11.10am and the last car at about 5.20pm.

Source: Motor Cycle Club