H Town Car Club Returns
Club meetings always attract a few VW Beetles and they come in all sorts of fun colours.
Summer is finally here and for those who have kept their classics tucked away in a garage it is finally time to dust them off and put them back onto the road. With this comes the long-awaited return of Hitchin’s H Town Classic & Dub Club meet-ups. Founded at the back end of 2017 by a few friends and their air-cooled VWs, the club has rapidly grown from strength to strength in a short space of time. Within eighteen months it had made its way onto Practical Classics Magazine’s Top 10 UK Car Clubs (in fact I am lurking in the background of the club photo that made the magazine). Sadly, it didn’t win but it was a phenomenal achievement and hopefully it’ll have another crack in the future when all this Covis business has finally concluded.
After meeting up initially in Hitchin, the cars drive over in convoy to the main location of the event at the Cricketers Pub in Weston.
But what makes this club so special and how did it rise in popularity so quickly? While it may have been initially conceived with VWs in mind, the founder Felix has strived to make this event as inclusive as possible to the widest range of classics. Anyone can turn up in whatever they have whether it’s an old VW Beetle, Mercedes SL or some crazy Japanese 90s creation powered by the black magic of VTEC. Due to this the breadth of cars is often staggering, more than a hundred can turn up to an event and just about every type and era of vehicle is covered. And yes, when I say vehicle, you can get some pretty unusual things turn up. My favourite of these being a British Army Ferret Scout Car, complete with an old boy who drove them back in the day in the army to explain to younger generations what they were like to use in the Libyan desert.
The Ferret Scout Car from a previous meet-up in Hitchin town square. Certainly something you don’t see at most car events.
There’s been a worry amongst some that the enthusiasm around classic cars could die out amongst younger people as many of our beloved classics are now vehicles that were regularly used long before they were born. However, events like these are a great way to bridge the intergenerational gap and get people generally interested and excited through seeing these cars up close in the metal, as well as hear some the fun adventures they have been on. That’s not to say that all the classic car owners are old men! There’s plenty of younger people like myself who are classics owners and try to bring our cars down when we can.
Expect many onlookers when you arrive in your classic car.
In normal times the meet-ups are hosted in Hitchin town square with the odd event in summer being hosted at the beautiful Hitchin Lavender Farm. However, with Covid and the need to be more socially distanced the events are currently being held at the Cricketers Pub in Weston (although many initially meet-up in Hitchin to drive over in convoy) which offers plenty of space as well as a great location to have a beer and a pizza. The events run in the evening on the last Monday of everything month, twelve months a year. And yes, that includes in deepest, darkest winter. Not every classic car is a garage queen. Don’t despair if you don’t have a classic of your own, everyone is welcome to come along, just make sure to park your car in the right place so the club can maximise the space for the classics.
The Cricketers pub itself is a wonderful location, modern and serves good food and beer.
It’s a real privilege to have such a great club on my back doorstep and whilst it was a shame the weather wasn’t particularly good for the first meet-up in June, numbers were still good and hopefully July’s event will have better weather (and the Italian classics that need nothing short of dry conditions).
The weather wasn’t the best for the first meet-up but it didn’t deter people from turning up and socialising.
If you are interested in coming along then check out the club’s Facebook and Instagram pages. The evenings are also generally a great social event with people happily chatting and catching up about all sorts of things and not just cars. What better way to blow away those final lockdown cobwebs? If you do make it down, then I and everyone else at the club will look forward to seeing you there.
A fine looking early Saab 900 in white.
Even more impressive in the metal, this Corvette is elegant and head turning, somewhat reminiscent of a Gullwing SL of the same era.
Air-cooled Porsches are also a regular feature at the club.
Another oddball the Steyr-Puch Haflinger. Originally used as a utility vehicle in the Austrian army, some examples were imported to the UK in the 1960s to be used on farms. The owner assured me that it works very well off-road and shares the same air-cooled rear engines as used in the VWs of that era.
A Citröen GSA imported by the owner from the south of France.
Up close with the Citröen GSA’s air-cooled engine. It sits far forward and low with the spare wheel unusually sitting behind it in the engine bay.
Perhaps the most bizarre driver set up that could only come in a classic French car.
It gets even stranger when you look more closely at the dials. How much more character could you want from a classic car?
This souped-up Scirocco was a head turner with its body kit and bright yellow paintwork.
American import cars continue to become more popular and a few examples of these wacky design from the 1950s and 60s often turn up to meet-ups.
If you enjoyed this blog then please consider leaving a tip below.