Our Highly Popular, Premier Social Event
Over the years we have visited many locations and different routes in areas such as Derbyshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and even the Cotswolds.
The first OMC Classic Car Tour was run in May 1999, it was decided to branch out into this field due to the growing number of classic cars coming into club members hands. Mark Barnes & Anton Bird were the organising team and the tour proved an instant hit with club members and friends.
This very popular tour now takes place annually. Each year a new scenic route is chosen with varied places of interest to visit along the way
Places of interest have included, Crich Tramway Museum, National Trust Properties, National Heritage sites, Cosford Aerospace Museum, The Patrick Collection, Jaguar Cars, Papplewick Pumping Station and The Great British Car Journey.
Pre selected roads – not too narrow & not too rough are the norm. We aim to put together a scenic 50 to 60 miles of good ‘B’ roads to finish at a venue of interest around lunchtime or just after depending upon the total mileage.
The venue can then be enjoyed during the afternoon departing at a time to suit yourself.
A tried and tested format which has been extremely popular with our membership and their invited friends, OMC open up this event in this way as it is seen as the premier social event of the year, it also helps attract a very varied entry, not just classics but interesting moderns are also welcome.
In 2010 Geoff Smith took over the reins assisted by Brian Austin. Geoff has many contacts in the “Classic Car World” and the 2010 event, starting from Hanbury Hall in Worcestershire, attracted a fantastic 45 car entry which even included a Steam Car! A good route through the Worcestershire country side followed, with interesting visits and a superb lunch finish at “The Fleece Inn” a 1300 centaury Public House. Geoff continued compiling excellent routes and venues. Then in 2015 club members Martin Parkes and Roger Tristram took over organisational duties for the ‘Owen Classic Car Section’ and Geoff decided to retire from organising it. Roger & Martin then revamped the famous ‘OMC Classic Car Tour’ and Martin Parkes suggested it now be re-named “The Tony Matthews Classic Tour” in honour of our late chairman who was a great classic car enthusiast. Bob Cotterell, with his great knowledge of white and yellow roads, was also drafted into the team.
This event then ran for a number of years gaining popularity along the way. In 2019 Roger Tristram took the tour to the next level and had it included it in the ‘HRCR Scenic Tours Series’ and club member Melvyn Cox took over the role of compiling the roadbook from Martin. This format then continued for another four years receiving praise from the new HRCR competitors. Due to the amount of organisation/time required and the increasing difficulty in finding suitable start/finish venues for the large amount of cars and now trailers it was decided to revert back to the original tour format. So from 2025, with Dean Forrest now assisting Martin Parkes, the tour is now run for club members & invited friends only. A pleasant scenic Sunday drive finishing around lunchtime at a suitable interesting venue. The following timeline shows our venues etc. since the tour started in 1999.