May 17th – 20th
So why Salisbury?
Looking for somewhere different that could be easily accessed without having to use motorways and ideally less than 100 miles/3 hours away, we thought that Wiltshire and Dorset might be worth considering and at some 94 miles or 2hrs 50min from here, we found that Salisbury just about squeezes under that bar!
From most parts of the Midlands, it’s easily accessed using good A Roads such as the A429 Fosse Way, the A346 and the A338, so not a motorway in sight, and not much dual carriageway either, but fast enough to be interesting and picturesque as well!
Apart from a suggested halfway lunchtime stop on the Sunday at Westonbirt Arboretum, there won’t be any planned drives as such, although there is a special deal on tickets for the Haynes Motor Museum – more details on both below. There’s plenty to do in the area and all of the options below are within an hour or so of the hotel, and many of them much closer, and you’re free to do as much or as little as you please!
Salisbury itself is historically interesting and the impressive Cathedral is also the home of the Magna Carta. The original Iron Age Settlement of Old Sarum with its fort and Roman remains is within 5 miles. Within an hour (or in some cases quite a bit less) there’s Lacock Village (home to many tv and historic film dramas) Longleat House and Safari Park, the Westbury White Horse, picturesque Bradford on Avon, Avebury and its Stone Circle, Stonehenge itself and the magnificent parkland of Stourhead.
The historic towns of Blandford Forum, Shaftesbury (of Hovis ad fame!) and Romney in the New Forest are all well within reach as well.
On top of this, the Army Flying (who knew?!) the Fleet Air Arm museum and the remarkable Haynes Motor Museums are within an hour – and we can get a group discount at the Haynes Museum once we have firm numbers.
Finally, and the icing on the cake, we have managed to arrange a private visit to one of the premier international motorsport preparation workshops – they are the force behind numerous winners of of both classic and FIA class events ranging from Goodwood’s Revival and Members meetings to historic CamAm and current ALMS HGPA HSCC and WSC series – a truly unique opportunity with full details to be revealed at the event!
So no shortage of things to do, places to go and all in the main through lovely countryside.
Accommodation will be at The Riverside Hotel (riversidesalisbury.co.uk) which is just a 10 minute walk from the Cathedral and in a lovely peaceful setting with ample dedicated parking – have a look at the additional photos on the website and you’ll see what we mean.
The basic package is for 3 Nights Dinner Bed and Breakfast and includes the entry fee to Westonbirt Arboretum (and free tea or coffee) which is our Sunday en route halfway stop.
The 3 Night Double Room package will be £790.00 and the Single option will be £620.00 with payment to AHC Midlands as per the booking form – all extras to be paid for directly to the hotel.
Shoulder nights are also available at special rates for either DB&B or just B&B – these are not on the booking form so please email bernadettebryan@hotmail.com for further information.
What is on the booking form however, is the option to book your visit to the Haynes Motor Museum as mentioned above – if we can muster a group of 15 or more, we will be entitled to a 30% discount off their standard ‘on the day’ entry costs, thus reducing these from £23.75/£20.00 Seniors to just £16.63/£14.00 resp pp. We think this is definitely worth ticking the box for, so please do just that on the booking form if you’re interested and we’ll confirm details of arrangements to you in due course.
Deposit
A deposit of 50% is required at the time of booking, see booking form below. Please pay your deposit by BACS to “Austin Healey Club” sort code 23-05-80 account no 50301117 with “<Your Last Name>-SAL” as the reference. (PLEASE CHECK BANK DETAILS AS SOME MEMBERS ARE STILL PAYING IN TO OUR OLD BANK ACCOUNT). The balance will be due by 20th April 2026.
Booking Form
Bookings are open until 16th February 2026. Please note that the content of this form will NOT be saved to the website, copies will only be emailed to the yourself, the Webmaster, the Midland Secretary and the event organiser.