Every year, on the first Sunday in November, hundreds of pre-1904 cars gather in Hyde Park for the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Last year, for the first time, I went into London to photograph them as they crossed Westminster Bridge at the start of their journey down to the south coast. I had a wonderful time (even if I did get absolutely drowned by heavy rain!), so Kevin and I decided to make an early morning drive into town to watch the spectacle once again. There was no rain this year, but I was hoping the mist which had been forecast last night might create some atmosphere. Sadly, the mist failed to materialise, but that wasn’t going to stop me trying to capture the fun and drama of the event.
Alongside the cars, there were a few tricycles and this one struggled with the incline on Westminster Bridge. A few yards after I took this photo it ground to a halt and the lady rider called for a push from the spectators to get her going again. I do hope she made it to Brighton after all that effort!
Lots of the passengers were capturing the journey on their mobile phones, and this couple decided that crossing Westminster Bridge was the perfect moment for a selfie while in motion!
Once I’d settled into the pace of things I decided to shake things up a little and try some slow speed panning photos. None of the cars were going especially fast, but even at 20mph it’s possible to create a sense of speed, even if lots of my shots were blurry failures! The only part of the car in focus in this photo is the front (complete with teddy bears!), but I think it captures the sense of motion and joy nonetheless.
Crossing to the other side of the bridge allowed me a little more distance, so I could capture both the speed of the cars and the crowds cheering them on.
No matter what the weather does, there’s always room for smiles on the London to Brighton run!
Changing back to my longer lens, I was able to collect several cars together in some of my photos - click on any image to see it enlarged.
As we walked away from Westminster Bridge to look for some breakfast we came across this fabulous old Vauxhall at the traffic lights. A classic from a much later era, surrounded by a fug of steam and smoke from the veteran car in front of it.
As we walked along Whitehall we saw a smattering of cars from the back of the field, intermingled with London’s iconic red buses.
A variety of modes of transport, lined up together for a traffic light grand prix, but which one would take the lead when the lights changed? My money was on the cyclist dressed all in black lycra and I was right!
Photographs taken 1 November 2026