DERBYSHIRE HILL TRIAL FOR VINTAGE (PRE-1930) CARS SATURDAY 7TH MARCH

Love the sight of old cars? Well on Saturday 7th March you’ll get the chance to see quite few as the Vintage Sports Car Club stages its annual Derbyshire hill trial for vintage (pre-1930) cars in the north of the County. Starting and finishing in Ashover, it’s one of seven national trials held annually by the Club. This trial has been going for over 50 years and 100 plus vintage cars will compete, drawn from across the UK. Hill trialling has been going since the 1930s and was originally used by motor manufacturers to demonstrate the reliability and ruggedness of their vehicles. Cars were a bit more of a novelty back then. And thousands of spectators would turn out to watch the different marques competing on the steep, tricky trial hills typically set in forest and other challenging terrain. Today’s trial hills are all within a 10 mile radius of Ashover on private land. And we’re indebted to the landowners, such as Steve Perez, the Chatsworth Estate and Stanton Estates for the use of their land which allows the club to continue this nearly 100 year old sport. You can see the cars in action at Chatsworth (Calton Lees) and Walton. If you miss the cars on the hills, just look out for them motoring through Matlock or Ashover: they’ll be looking rather muddy. Email: johnharristrial@gmail.com if you want any further details.