THE YORKSHIRE & PEAK DISTRICT TOUR: SEPT 29TH – OCT 1st 2017

The first Beaulieu One Hundred ‘weekend tour’ was by general consensus greatly enjoyed. Despite the M1 doing its best to deter those heading north, people arrived at various times during the course of Friday afternoon. The weather was benign and the views from The 3-Acres across Emley Moor were stunning. The views from the more modest Foxglove just down the road in Kirkburton, were less spectacular but the compensation was that John Smith joined us for a drink in the evening and entertained us with his Yorkshire tales and humour.

On Saturday morning we made the short drive down to Mirfield to see John’s wonderful and truly eclectic collection of beautiful cars which were displayed in his various garages and around his drive. John explained the significance of each of the cars and the passion for each one was obvious. He admitted that if there was a ‘first among equals’ it would probably be the green Series 1 E-Type Jaguar FHC. The Healey 100 however is clearly a favourite and the Ford Popular was probably the first car he ever travelled in. The Jaguar Mk II under restoration has family connections and the Ferrari, which first attracted the attentions of Helen, clearly has a very significant place in the collection.

After enjoying the tour of the collection at the house, a short break for some northern hospitality as Helen and her mum served us with tea and biscuits (and yes, there were the promised Wagon Wheels!). Next stop was down to John’s business where he was delighted to explain how he had developed from a car breaking business into a sophisticated car component procurement operation with some very attractive margin opportunities – so the link to the fine car collection was apparent. Then there were more cars! Another garage with more beautiful cars including a Daimler Dart, MG, Mini Cooper etc.

On Saturday evening we had arranged a private dining room at The 3-Acres. The room was perfect and even though the complementary glass of sparkling wine was a little suspect, the food compensated for that. The evening was progressing beautifully and then John’s friend Richard was persuaded to entertain us with a few songs from his Elvis repertoire. This totally unplanned development transformed a lovely evening into something that was truly fantastic and will not be forgotten quickly.

On Sunday morning, we left Kirkburton in convoy and took an absolutely beautiful route through South Yorkshire into Derbyshire and to Alan and Tina Beardshaw’s home in Curbar. The roads were superb, the weather remained dry and the views were gorgeous. Tina and Alan made us very welcome with drinks and biscuits while Alan told us a little about his business. Both he and John made this business stuff seem so straight forward we were left wondering why we had all not managed to do the same!

Alan’s collection appeared to have two dominant themes – Aston Martins and Endurance rallying. Quite amazingly he combined these two with a rally prepared DB5!! Once again Alan’s passion for each of his magnificent cars came across as he told us about each one in turn. He naturally values his privacy and all there is to say is that if you weren’t there and want to have the opportunity to view the collections of our fellow Beaulieu One Hundred members, in future make sure you join us!

Sincere thanks to John & Helen and to Alan & Tina for their hospitality and generosity and a special thanks to Richard Green for giving us a little bit of Elvis.

Thank you to John Reed and Tony Vroon for the photographs
Mike Timmins – Yorkshire Tour organiser and “Reporter”

Suggestions for the next Beaulieu One Hundred tour are welcome!