When I was a child my parents and I would often spend the first Sunday in November parked up by a country road in Sussex, watching the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run come through. I’ve long wanted to do this again, but work and life have always got in the way. This year I happened to be free that day, so I needed no further reason to make it happen.
Instead of travelling towards the coast I took a different approach, catching the cars as they came through central London. As luck would have it I was working in London the day before, so I took my camera along and stayed in town overnight so I could be up early and ready for their arrival.
Under cover of darkness I set off from my hotel in the Strand and walked to Westminster Bridge, hoping to see the first cars as they came by. The run starts from Hyde Park at 7am (sunrise at this time of year) so my arrival on the bridge at 7.07 coincided perfectly with their arrival. The oldest cars set off first, including Duncan Pittaway’s 1896 Salvesen steam car (above) which came puffing across Westminster Bridge.
Not all the vehicles had four wheels. The run includes a lot of penny farthing bicycles (which came through before I arrived as they have a head start) and this 1900 single cylinder Renaux tricycle. The upwards slope of the bridge caused a few problems, and the rider ground to a halt close to where I was standing. He soon got it running again and a passenger on a passing motorcycle gave him a push to help him get going.
Click on any photo to see it enlarged.
The weather at the start of the day was particularly inclement, with heavy, driving rain at times. I’d gone dressed for the conditions (even so, I still got very wet) but many of these pre-1905 cars lack luxuries we take for granted in modern cars such a windscreen, roof or heater. In such conditions you have to admire their tenacity, or perhaps what some may term madness!
The rain certainly didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits. There were plenty of people lined up along the bridge, cheering the participants on, and judging by their smiles, many of the drivers and passengers were having an absolute ball too!
While sunshine might have been more enjoyable, the rain certainly made for some atmospheric photos, with shiny tarmac and clouds of spray emanating from the wheels and tyres.
Inevitably one of the most obvious characteristics of these early cars is their sedate turn of speed and this made for some interesting moments of wheel to wheel action, as one car passed another in slow motion. On one occasion I actually saw someone on a bicycle making an overtake for the lead!
I wasn’t the only photographer on Westminster Bridge that day, and we came in all shapes and sizes. Some people were armed with phone cameras, while others were professionals capturing photos for the press, equipped with two camera bodies so as to avoid changing lenses in the rain. I made do with one camera, but I did find a momentary lull between the downpours to switch lenses and catch an alternative perspective.
After an hour or so I wandered back across the bridge, towards Parliament Square. When I first arrived the roads were all but deserted, but as time wore on the traffic grew heavier, creating some interesting juxtapositions between the historic cars and their modern counterparts.
As I photographed the car above, with its jaunty yellow-hatted occupants, I noticed a car behind which was running into trouble. The couple inside hopped out and, with the help of some of the crowd, pushed it into the central reservation of the Victoria Embankment. There they made a few tweaks beneath the bonnet and were soon on their way again.
Not all of the vehicles were cars. The folks on this Dennis fire engine looked like they were having a great time, but I couldn’t help but feel their seats looked rather precariously positioned, with very little to keep them on board!
From my new vantage point, by the end of Victoria Embankment I was able to capture a different perspective as the rain eased and the traffic began to build. Here I was able to catch groups of cars as they queued for the traffic lights, mingled in with modern cars and scarlet London buses.
As the cars spent a little more time stationary here, I was also able to see more of the characters within them, and many were evidently enjoying themselves enormously.
Two hours after I arrived on a dark and damp Westminster Bridge it was all over. All the entrants had passed me and were now wending their way through suburban London, heading toward the coast at Brighton, where they were greeted by blue skies and sunshine.
Of the 384 cars which began the run, 340 of them made it to the finish line - an amazing result considering every single one is well over a century old. As for me, it was time to go and get some breakfast and dry out… and plan for where I might go to watch this amazing cavalcade of tenacity next year!
Photos taken 2nd November 2025