It has become a tradition to get up early and head for Bicester's first Scramble of the year in early January. The day dawned fine and dry, and we set off at 7.30 in Nigel's XK.
The drive down was without incident and there was hardly any queue to enter when we got there on schedule at 9.25. Gates are only supposed to open at 9.00 but there were a heck of a lot of cars parked up already when we got there! Porsche's seemed to be the most popular make, and had they all been parked together I am sure that they would have had the largest display, as often seems to be the case.
Things are organised slightly differently at Bicester these days. Gone is the Car Club parking by marque on the edge of the airfield. Instead, the older cars (pre 1990?) get a reserved area but all the others (apart from Display cars in the centre of the site) park up in the 'General Parking' area. Mind you, even a stroll through this car park can unearth some unusual motors!
Following the obligatory 'breakfast stop', the first notable 'Jaguar' was the Ecurie Ecosse C-Type Recreation, Car 0001. This was not surprisingly attracting a large amount of attention, looking fabulous in Ecurie Ecosse Blue and White. The pictures don't fully do it justice!
Onwards we strolled, passing an XK and a D Type looking very purposeful outside the Fire Engine Shed. We came to 'building 88', which we must have walked past at least a dozen times, but today we noticed the name of the building - The 'Fire Party Hut'! Given recent events, this did seem pretty apt! (although it did seem very quiet inside!!).
The Jaguars continued to appear at intervals (see pictures below) and given the time of year the turnout was good (although attendee numbers were limited due to Covid guidelines).
One highlight was seeing (and hearing!) the BRM V16 Toolroom Copy / Recreation tootle round the site. The fact that it didn't have a horn to warn of it;s approach didn't matter in the slightest! The sound was just wonderful.
Watch out for news of the next Scramble at Bicester, which will probably be in the summer.
