The automobile was originally created to give people much greater freedom of mobility, yet somehow this was lost on the people who buy comfortable and safe SUVs and sedans only to get them to and from work or the nearest grocery shop. So the young ones need a bit of lecturing in globe-trotting from the old guns.
Geoffrey Herdman, a member of the Royal Automobile Club, and his wife, Hilary, have completed a trip around the world in their 1956 Bristol 405 Drophead Coupe, of which only 42 were made. This tour took them over 33,000 miles from North America to Halifax, and even in far away places like Turkey and Australia.
"Central America was perhaps the most exciting part of the trip. There were no signposts or GPS coverage. The first night in Guatemala, having taken three hours to cross the frontier, we climbed for an hour in first gear on precipitous narrow roads. Long after dark we gave up trying to reach Lake Atitlan and stayed in a roadside hotel at 8,000 feet, it was bitterly cold and we were clearly the first guests to stay in a very long time. We lost count of how many times we were stopped by the police in Spanish America, but the record was five times in three hours driving through Honduras,” Geoffrey Herdman, who is President of the Bristol Owners Club.
"We are always pleased to recognize and celebrate the achievements of our club members and Geoffrey Herdman's is clearly one of the most remarkable," adds Ben Cussons, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee.
"Central America was perhaps the most exciting part of the trip. There were no signposts or GPS coverage. The first night in Guatemala, having taken three hours to cross the frontier, we climbed for an hour in first gear on precipitous narrow roads. Long after dark we gave up trying to reach Lake Atitlan and stayed in a roadside hotel at 8,000 feet, it was bitterly cold and we were clearly the first guests to stay in a very long time. We lost count of how many times we were stopped by the police in Spanish America, but the record was five times in three hours driving through Honduras,” Geoffrey Herdman, who is President of the Bristol Owners Club.
"We are always pleased to recognize and celebrate the achievements of our club members and Geoffrey Herdman's is clearly one of the most remarkable," adds Ben Cussons, Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee.
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