The final day, the final stretch to London, with the full group of (well over) 100 rally cars. Not a lot of kilometers to cover today, but still an interesting trip, as we crossed the channel to the UK, and then drove into the city of London, right into the very center.
The route
Not a long trip today, starting at the Barrière hotel in Lille, then to the final checkpoint and lunch location, the Cocove castle. After lunch, smalls groups of cars left for Folkestone to board the channel tunnel train.
Arrived in Dover, the last kilometers of the rally, towards London and into the center of it, to arrive at Perks Field in the Kensington Gardens.
- A = Hôtel Casino Barrière, Lille, France
- B = Chateau De Cocove, Recques-sur-Hem, France
- C = Folkestone, UK
- D = Perk’s Field, Kensington Gardens, London, UK
Leaving Lille
Yes, we did the “gather in front of the hotel” project again. But that was getting a bit difficult with over 100 Astons… just not enough space 🙂 So we had to leave for the Cocove castle in smaller groups.
Two of the other V12 Vantage Roadsters, the one on the left in Kopi Bronze, the right one in Elwood Blue.
Lunch / Checkpoint at Chateau De Cocove
The lunch location of day 4 was the Cocove castle, also the last checkpoint where extra cars were added to the rally. All rally cars lined up in the castle gardens, what a great sight. Too much to take in, in fact.
Here’s my attempt at capturing the experience in photos:
Taking the Eurotunnel
We have been to the UK with our Astons many times, but always taking the ferry from Calais to Dover. So this was our first time taking the Eurotunnel, the channel tunnel train.
And I must say this is a very efficient way to get to the UK with your car, especially since we got directed towards the truck section, which is a bit wider, so less chance of damage to our rims.
Finish in London!
Wow, London is huge! After leaving the M25 (the highway around London), our sat nav indicated we still had 17 miles to go to Kensington Gardens.
But traversing the London traffic, with 6 Aston Martins in a row, was a great experience. Lots of nice reactions from people on the streets (the joy of driving a convertible). British people love Astons 🙂
Finish!!!
What better way to finish than entering Perk’s Field right behind a classic (and very blue) Aston Martin, a Mark II Long Chassis Special Sports Saloon, from 1936.
Private parking at Perk’s Field:
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