A reminder that time is running out on the pre-reserved rooms at the Thorpeness Hotel and Golf Club for the LFOC Autumn Tour. We have a good sized group of some fifteen LeaFs signed up and a fine itinerary planned, including art, archaeology, science and engineering plus wine making while taking in beautiful countryside and seashores. We would also like to welcome anyone who would like to join us during the day or for dinner. Please make dinner reservations with Thorpeness Hotel, mentioning the LFOC. Members can contact Hugh Price for details or see the April edition of the Club magazine, the LeaFlet, available to registered users of this website here.
A small group of Leaf members travelled to Noordwijk in South Holland to see the tulip fields and the Keukenhof Botanical Garden in the area of Lisse.
Apart from the visit to Keukenhof, which was in full bloom with varieties of plants, shrubs and tulips of many wonderful colours, visits were made in the surrounding area.
The Louwman museum, which has one of the most beautiful automotive collections in the world, was originally The National Automobile Museum but now it is a private collection. It was stunning, and we actually came across a rolling Lea Francis Chassis complete with engine, gearbox and back axle (this special, based on a P-Type chassis, was created in South Africa by H.W.Nicholson).
We had a guided tour of Delft, organized by our member Koos Lamboo, whose daughter is a Tour Guide. We walked the streets of the old City and visited one of the last two remaining Delft Potteries still family run.
A visit to Kasteel de Haar, the biggest castle in the Netherlands which in 1887 became entwined with the Rothschild family and prospers to this day. A wonderful castle and grounds.
For some, a visit into the bustling city of Leiden with its extensive waterways, windmill on a hill overlooking the town, the Saturday market and seeing the preparations for the VE day celebrations. Others visited the Space Museum and the Cruquius Museum, an old steam pumping station used to pump the Haarlem Lake dry.
Good company, nice food and accommodation were greatly enjoyed along, of course, with a walk on the beach!
Organisers, HERO-ERA Rallies, say The Flying Scotsman Rally is Europe’s premier event for vintage motor cars. It is certainly a challenging event for both cars and crews with 650 road miles to cover, about a dozen regularity sections and a similar number of off-road tests.
Last year, Belgian LFOC member Kurt Vanderspinnen took part in his Lea-Francis Hyper replica, coming a very impressive 2nd overall. This year, the Flying Scotsman Rally takes place between 3rd and 6th April 2025 and Kurt is back with his Lea-Francis.
This year the adventure will depart into the North Yorkshire Moors and scenic Yorkshire Dales, chases the Pennines into Northumberland and onto the overnight halt in Newcastle; then heads through some classic and some new venues into Edinburgh, with the final leg northwards to the regal, world-famous, Gleneagles Hotel.
There are opportunities to spectate along the route of the event, so why not get along and support Kurt. Spectator information can be found on this PDF document or on the Flying Scotsman webpage linked to above.