Including the Goodwood Revival Festival
27 August to 12 September 2023
York, Manchester, Birmingham, Norwich, London and Southampton
The 2023 Classic Motorcycle tour to England will be a fantastic opportunity to visit some of the very best classic motorcycle museums, factories and events in England. Visit the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham and the Triumph and Norton factories nearby. Also visit the world renowned Goodwood Revival Festival, where classic motoring of days gone by comes to life. It sees an amazing mix of historic motoring and display motorcycles and cars. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Bookings will open soon – enquires can be sent to npaterson@umco.com.au.
Itinerary
DAY 1 Sunday 27 August 2023
The tour begins with our flight to the UK.
DAY 2 Monday 28 August 2023 York, UK
On arrival in London we will transfer to the city and board a train to York. We have a sightseeing tour of the city upon arrival. We are then transferred to our hotel.
DAY 3 Tuesday 29 August 2023 Manchester
We begin our day with a visit to The Craven Collection of Classic Motorcycles. Established by Dick Craven in 1994, the museum is housed in what was an old farm building, situated near York. Since its opening he has continually improved the museum and its contents. It now has over 250 motorcycles and a treasure trove of motoring memorabilia. We then transfer to Manchester for an afternoon visit to the British Commercial Vehicle Museum, it traces the development of transport from the days of horse-drawn buses right up to today’s newly developing hybrid and electric vehicles. Included are a number of BSA and Leyland motorcycles. We stay overnight in Manchester.
DAY 4 Wednesday 30 August 2023 Birmingham
A fantastic day today as we visit the Triumph factory for the Triumph exhibition and factory tour. The Triumph Factory Visitor Experience tells the whole story of why people ride by bringing together a spectacular collection of historic and modern achievements in motorcycle design, engineering, racing and popular culture. As well as showcasing legendary iconic motorcycles from Triumph’s long and impressive history, the Triumph exhibition also highlights the amazing engineering technology that makes Triumph the world-class motorcycle manufacturer that it is today. From concept to design, all the way through to realisation of the next Triumph model, a member of the team of in-house experts will take us on this fully-guided, behind-the-scenes journey into the heart of the Hinckley factory. We continue onto Birmingham for our three night stay.
DAY 5 Thursday 31 August 2023 Birmingham
Another exciting day as we visit the National Motorcycle Museum. The finest and largest British motorcycle museum in the world originally opened its doors in October 1984 with a collection of 350 motorcycles on display. The Museum collection now boasting some 1000 plus machines fully restored to the manufacturers original specifications. From ABC to Zenith the collection has at least one example of the 170 marques in the inventory covering every period including the pioneer, veteran, vintage and post war eras. With larger manufactures such as BSA, Norton or Triumph there can be many dozens of machines of a particular make on display.
DAY 6 Friday 1 September 2023 Birmingham
Today we will enjoy a visit to the Norton Motorcycle Co factory. Norton hand-build their motorcycles to ensure that each one is built to perfection and to the highest standards. The Norton brand has been established as a desirable British motorcycle marque among motorcycle owners and among those involved in motorcycle racing. We will have a behind the scenes look at the production process of these quality machines. We return to our hotel mid afternoon.
DAY 7 Saturday 2 September 2023 Norwich
This morning we visit the Coventry Transport Museum which houses the largest publicly owned collection of British vehicles on the planet, and tells the story of a city that changed the world through transport. We then travel east to the city of Norwich.
DAY 8 Sunday 3 September 2023 Norwich
We begin the day with a visit to the David Silver Honda Collection. In the collection, you will find over 200 different models produced by Honda from 1947 to 1992. Starting with the very first Honda model, the 1947 A-type and finishing with the 1992 NR-750 and CBR900RR Fireblade – a fitting tribute is provided to the period of Soichiro Honda. We continue on to the Norfolk Motorcycle Museum. It was started over 25 years ago by George Harmer and ever since George and his son Steve have been collecting motorcycles from the 1900’s to the 1980’s. With over 150 motorcycles this is a collection for the most hard core motorcycle as well as anyone with an interest in vintage items.
DAY 9 Monday 4 September 2023 London
We depart Norwich and travel to London. On the way we stop at the Battlesbridge Motorcycle Museum. This little museum evokes an ambience of motorcycling through the ages with assorted memorabilia scattered between the classic and vintage motorcycles. We will see the extensive range of vintage motorcycles and accessories housed in the museum. We continue onto London. Upon arrival we will have an overview sightseeing tour of the city. We will see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral and more.
DAY 10 Tuesday 5 September 2023 London
A free day in London to do some sightseeing or shopping. For those who are interested there will be the opportunity to hire a classic motorcycle for an afternoon touring in the English countryside (additional charges apply). Options include a Triumph Bonneville 750 (1974) or an MV Agusta 350 (1977).
DAY 11 Wednesday 6 September 2023 Southampton
We depart London and travel south to visit the National Automobile Museum at Beaulieu. The museum houses a collection of over 250 automobiles and motorcycles, which tell the story of motoring on the roads of Britain from the dawn of motoring to the present day. It includes the Motorcycle Story, where you can see motorcycles displayed with unique backdrops, each giving a hint to their cultural context. We then transfer to our hotel in Southampton.
DAY 12 Thursday 7 September 2023 Southampton
This morning we visit the Haynes International Motor Museum. A living and working Museum, with over 400 amazing cars and bikes from nostalgic classics of the 50s and 60s, glorious Bentleys and Rolls Royces to exciting super cars of today. There is a special motorcycle section featuring Norton, BSA and Brough bikes, it is a great place to explore. Our afternoon visit is to the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum. The Museum houses one of the finest collections of fully restored motorcycles in the world, including factory racers and exotic prototypes, with the collection constantly evolving as new bikes are acquired. This is a living museum with almost every motorcycle in the museum in full running order.
DAY 13 Friday 8 September 2023 Southampton
A highlight of the tour, we go to The Goodwood Revival Festival. It is truly a magical step back in time, celebrating the halcyon days of motor racing as it used to be, with all of the accompanying spectacle and glamour of the era. Competitors and spectators alike dress in period fashions, with the finest sights and entertainment of the pre-1966 era for all to enjoy. Held in the immaculate grounds of Goodwood House, this annual event is a true celebration of historic motoring.
DAY 14 Saturday 9 September 2023 Southampton
Our second full day at the amazing Goodwood Revival Festival.
DAY15 Sunday 10 September 2023 London
Another full day at the extraordinary Goodwood Revival Festival. We then transfer to London. Tonight, enjoy a final night dinner.
DAY 16 Monday 11 September 2023 Departure
The morning will be free. This afternoon we are transferred to the airport for our flight back to Australia.
DAY 17 Tuesday 12 September 2023 In flight
DAY 18 Wednesday 13 September 2023 Arrival
We arrive back into Australia. The tour concludes.
Your host – Nigel Paterson, Australian Road Rider Editor
A motorcycle journalist for 30 years and rider for 40, Nigel’s passion for bikes runs deep. From hiring bikes when very young to becoming a motorcycle courier while still a teenager, Nigel went on to road race in his early 20s before packing all his belongings on the back of a Yamaha and riding across the Nullarbor Plain from Perth to Phillip Island for the first 500cc Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Soon after he was a freelance contributor to REVS Motorcycle News before becoming news editor on the title. A year later he was deputy editor of Two Wheels. In 1999 Nigel started Cycle Torque – a magazine, digital channel and TV show. In 2019 he became editor of Australian Road Rider, a position he still holds and more recently took over running Retrobike, allowing him indulge his passion for classic and modified machinery.
Nigel has owned many motorcycles and ridden vastly more – he’s attended the world launches of dozens of bikes, has ridden on four continents and written more than a million words about motorcycles and motorcycling. He has hosted riding tours through Vietnam and Cambodia. Nigel’s knowledge and passion for motorcycling in all its forms makes him the perfect host for this tour.
Bookings will open soon – enquires can be sent to npaterson@umco.com.au.
