Power and passion at 2026 Bring Your Own Vehicle Day

An enthusiastic group of Guild members and their guests enjoyed the latest Bring Your Own Vehicle Day on Saturday 3rd October, based around the New Forest and evolving from two wheels to wheels and wings.

Expertly organised and overseen on the day by committee member Chris Adamson and former General Secretary and Friend of the Guild Pat Lodge, participants gathered from 9am for breakfast at the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum, north of Bournemouth. The line-up of cars brought by members was interesting in itself, some modern machinery but others including a Jaguar XK150, Mercedes-Benz SL, Triumph Vitesse, MG ZF and even an Austin A35 van, which knowledgeable members will not be surprised to hear was driven by Kim Henson.

The remarkable museum collection numbers more than 500 motorcycles, the vast majority of which are in working order. Guided tours were conducted by Sammy himself and Guild member Alan Cathcart, the only person aside from Sammy permitted to ride the bikes in the collection.

The tours included a look ‘behind the scenes’ in Sammy’s workshop, with plenty of anecdotes from the man himself, still full of energy at the ripe old age of 92.

There then followed the choice of a direct route to the second venue or a scenic drive, Chris providing QR codes to allow members to download the route into their Google Maps apps on their smartphones. Your editor took the scenic route which wended its way through the New Forest countryside with plenty of the famous ponies to view on the way.

The afternoon was spent at the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, today based at Old Sarum Airfield, five miles from Boscombe Down which still plays a role in military experimental work. 

The fascinating museum includes several experimental aircraft, drones and other technology while a notable aspect are the several cockpits, almost all of them open for visitors to try for size. Together with the enthusiastic volunteer staff who spent some time chatting to members and explaining various aspects of the museum, it made for an entertaining second half of the day.

All who took part appeared to enjoy themselves and Chris and Pat are to be applauded for organising such an interesting day.