Social Events

Every year, volunteers from the SVW Register organise an event for Register members and their guests. This social event brings together SVW car owners from across the world and involves touring, visiting local attractions and, of course, lots of car talk!

Details of this year’s event as well as photos and information from past events are below.

SVW Event 2024 – Holland

SVW Event 2024 - Holland

Holland 2024

The event will take place in Holland, earlier in 2024 than is usual – April 24, 25 and 26. This is to take advantage of the amazing tulip fields at that time of year. It will be based near Alkmaar, north of Amsterdam.

Further details (PDF)

Booking form (Word doc)

SVW Event 2023 – Yorkshire

The 2023 SVW Event took place in Yorkshire from July 11th to 13th and was based at the the Mercure York Fairfield Manor Hotel.

Mercure York Fairfield Manor Hotel

Mercure York Fairfield Manor Hotel

SVW Event 2022 – Lincolnshire

The event, this year, organised by Peter Ratcliffe and Alison Jackson was based at The Petwood Hotel in Lincolnshire on 26th – 27th July. The hotel was occupied by the officers of 617 (Dambusters) Squadron during WW2 when the squadron moved to RAF Woodhall Spa.

SVW cars in front of a Lancaster bomber

SVW cars in front of a Lancaster bomber

65 people and a total of 21 SVW cars attended the event. The itinerary included a 66 mile circuit of the Lincolnshire Wolds, including a few laps of Cadwell Park motorcycle race track, a visit to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre and the Bubble Car Museum. 

More photos and summary of the SVW Event in Lincolnshire

SVW Event 2021 – Battle, East Sussex

The 2021 event (27th-29th July), organised by John Dutton and Gary Perry, was based in the town of Battle in East Sussex.

Battle Abbey

Battle Abbey

More photos and summary of the SVW Event in Battle

SVW Event 2020 – cancelled

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the SVW Event for 2020 did not go ahead.

SVW Event 2019 – Holland

Organised by Rene Pas and Peter van den Heuvel the event took place between Jun 25-27th in “The Green Heart of Holland”.

SVWs on the ferry!

SVWs on the ferry!

The Event HQ was the Hotel “Van Der Valk Avifauna” situated quite literally in the middle of a bird zoo, a great visitor attraction in itself, and at the junction of a couple of Hollands many canals near the village of Alphen aan de Rijn.

Around 22 cars and 50 participants enjoyed on the first evening a 4 hour boat trip along the canal system passing through local villages and towns on a warm summer evening where we were able to see how the Dutch people enjoyed their leisure time in hundreds of small boats and swimming in the canals. On the following 2 days we followed well documented daily road runs to visit firstly the World Heritage Site of the “Kinderdijk Windmills” and trace the work of the pioneers who used wind power to drain the low lying lands from the 16th century and by building canals to create the viable and fertile lands of the present time.

Villa Westend, Holland

Villa Westend, Holland

That evening the Register held its AGM followed by the formal dinner and awards.

On day two we drove first to the city of Haarlem where we visited a very fine private collection of cars and automobilia, then passing the historic race circuit at Zandvoort, now undergoing major renovation for a Dutch Grand Prix in the 2020 season, the first for 20 years, and on to our lunch stop at the coastal resort of “Villa Westend”.

Some of our number departed for home after lunch at the Villa Westend, others returned to the hotel to depart the following day.

Thanks go to Rene and Peter for organising the event and making it so informative and memorable.

SVW Event 2018 – South of the Cotswolds

The 2018 Jane Austen, Bristol & Bath Brunel Tour

This was the grand title for the 2018 SVW Register Annual Event held in the south of the Cotswolds area of southern England, overlooking the River Severn valley.

Tortworth Court

Tortworth Court

Skilfully organised by Charlie and Jeanine Plain-Jones, the event was based at Tortworth Court, the rather magnificent Victorian mansion built in the mid 19th century, now converted into a hotel and conference venue. Set in magnificent grounds, the whole property having been restored following a disastrous fire at a cost exceeding 20 million pounds.

SVW enthusiasts from all over the UK plus a welcome contingent of 3 cars from the Netherlands made their way to the event. During the afternoon the hotel courtyard slowly filled with SA’s, VA’s and WA’s, although sadly Jim Bouldry’s SA arrived in the dusk on the back of a recovery truck following a water pump failure.

The following day the party set off for the City of Bristol and a day of activities focussed on the famous 19th century engineer, Brunel. Firstly a boat trip around his “floating dockyard” a fine way to view the historic city centre, followed by a Tour of the SS Great Britain and back home via the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The SS Great Britain tour highlighted how difficult conditions were on a boat that was originally developed to take a hundred or so first class passengers to New York in opulent surroundings. However this soon changed to 10 week trips for 700 to Australia, and included the first visiting English cricket team. We saw the bunks used to accommodate this number of passengers, and it was difficult to imagine any of us fitting in them, let alone having a night’s sleep. Not only did this 1850’s boat have to carry enough coal to power its steam engines over that journey, but it also had a full contingent of animals to feed all those on board for that long trip.

Donald Trump!

Donald Trump! Picture by Pauline Greasby

During the evening’s Gala Dinner in the spectacular Orangery our Belgian and Dutch friends entered in to true EU spirit and brought Donald Trump to us, and he was still there in the morning!

The following day was spent touring the scenic Cotswold villages of Badminton, Biddestone, Castle Combe and Lacock with a delightful pub halt for coffee in Colerne, with a buffet lunch and an opportunity to visit Bath later.

There was much cameradie in keeping the cars mobile. An appeal on the first evening led to an immediate offer of a VA water pump and a team of volunteers early the next morning to get the SA mobile again, and plenty of cardboard sheets to protect the local car parks from the inevitable dripping engine oil.

Many hands! Picture by C Plain-Jones

Many hands! Picture by C Plain-Jones

Mike Greasby’s VA Tourer developed a power loss during the second day and on arrival back at the hotel an enthusiastic multi (un)disciplined diagnostics session concluded that the head gasket was blown. Again an urgent appeal went out resulting in complete head gasket sets, gasket goo and tools including a torque wrench appearing from various sources which, together with numerous pairs of willing hands mucking in to ensure the job was done before dinner, in readiness for the drive home the following day.

For a short relaxing break in your MG this area of the Cotswolds proved ideal, – despite being held during one of the hottest weeks of the year and being in cars notorious for over-heating we all negotiated Bristol City Centre without any problems (other than navigation!!).

SVW Event 2017 – Colchester, Essex

The Annual “MG Car Club SWV Register” 2017 Event was held in mostly fine weather from Tuesday 4th July until Thursday 6th July 2017 based in Colchester, Essex.

Colchester Castle

Colchester Castle

The Rally HQ was based at the Stoke by Nayland Golf and Country Club.

SVW Event 2016 – Ardennes, Belgium

Ardennes, Belgium

Ardennes, Belgium

The “MG Car Club SVW Register” 2016 Event was held 14th-16th June near Liege in the beautiful Ardennes Region of SE Belgium.

Event briefing, Le Chateau Bleu, Trooz, Belgium

Event briefing, Le Chateau Bleu, Trooz

SVW cars at the dam

SVW cars at the dam

SVW Event 2015 – Chichester, West Sussex

The 2015 SVW Weekend took place in glorious sunshine based on Chichester, West Sussex, 7-9 August.

Some 18 SVW cars and around 60 people turned out to enjoy a weekend of activities, visiting places of interest around this historic town.

Goodwood Motor Circuit, West Sussex

Goodwood Motor Circuit, West Sussex

A highlight for many on the Sunday morning was lining up on starting grid of the famous Godwood motor circuit which is a short drive from Chichester, and going on to complete five laps in convoy, following the course/pace car, a current model Rolls Royce from the nearby factory.

Ready at the starting grid

Ready at the starting grid

A lap around the Goodwood Circuit

A lap around the Goodwood Circuit

Cecil Kimber's last VA, CBL 192

Cecil Kimber’s last VA, CBL 192

Prior to that, on the Saturday visit to the nearby Tangmere Aviation Museum we were unexpectedly joined by Cecil Kimbers last VA, CBL 192 kindly transported in by its present owner.

The car is in unrestored condition and presented a unique opportunity to “touch the steering wheel once held by the great man himself”.

SVW Event 2014 – Abingdon and Chiltern Hills

“We are taking the cars home!”

We did indeed take the cars home to Abingdon for the 2014 SVW Weekend – Friday 29th August to Sunday 31st August.

MG Car Club HQ, Kimber House

MG Car Club HQ, Kimber House

Chiltern Hills, Oxfordshire

Chiltern Hills, Oxfordshire

The Oxfordshire Hotel & Golf Club Milton Common, nr Thame, Oxfordshire was the base for the weekend which was organised by Jeff Gibson assisted by wife Ann, Richard Colston and Mike Greasby. It was a great event, superb Hotel and excellent weather, with just under 70 members attending. A total entry of 29 SVW cars split into 19 VA, 7 SA and 3 WA. Our total entry would have been 30 but unfortunately Rene Pas’s VA Saloon broke down on route in Holland.

The silver and blue WA Saloon of Martin and Frankie Gratte won the Ratcliffe Cup. Road Runs were organised for both days. On Saturday the cars climbing up into the Chiltern Hills, travelling along the escarpment, some struggling up the famous Kop Hill but later coasted down Aston Hill (the Aston in Aston Martin). Then out onto the flat of the Vale of Aylesbury to visit Waddesdon Manor home to the Rothschild’s. On Sunday we visited Abingdon, driving the MG pre-war test route and visiting the MG Car Club HQ at Kimber House. After exploring the MG connections in the Abingdon area we travelled down the Thames Valley crossing the river seven times to finish our event at the lovely “lived in” Nuffield Place the home of William Morris later Lord Nuffield.

SVW Event 2013 – Normandie, France

What a great event! The weather was kind-the countryside was beautiful-the food and drink were superb!

Normandie, France

Normandie, France

Alan Richards really did us proud. In all, about 30 cars took part, though a few didn’t make it and were replaced with moderns or other MG cars. There was only one SA, Hennie Borgesius’ Keller bodied one, but VA’s of all types were well represented and there were even two WAs.

The road runs on Saturday and Sunday were in very pretty parts of the district, and most people found their way with the tulip maps – though as usual some thought following the car in front was easier. Not a good idea!

We ate in four different restaurants, all offering great food and wine, as well as visiting a Calvados distillery (hic!). We also had a boat trip on the Seine estuary and a tour of a windmill.

Ratcliffe Cup winner Jose Crepin

Ratcliffe Cup winner Jose Crepin

Jose Crepin from Belgium won the coveted Ratcliffe cup for his VA dhc – a great car on a SVW weekend for the first time. Here he is with his wife and the car in the photo.

SVW Event 2012 – Yorkshire Moors & Dales

Under the white horse

Under the white horse

The Register had its annual weekend event in Boroughbridge, Yorkshire over 14-16 September 2012.

The event was very well attended, with owners from Holland, Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia (the last two without their SVW cars!) as well as from all over the UK.

Tony Margel and Alan Dakeyne organised the weekend at the Crown Hotel and made an excellent job of it. They had organised runs for both days over the glorious Yorkshire countryside. On Saturday, they concentrated on the moors and on Sunday, the dales.

Saturday was a superb day, bright sunshine and clear air giving us panoramic views; Sunday was wet and misty, though this did not stop all the cars from climbing to the highest point in the county. As well as the superb countryside, we were able to visit some of the many ruined Cistercian Abbeys which abound in Yorkshire.

Bonnet up!

Bonnet up!

The event did not pass without some mishaps to the cars – Roger Keene had to come in his MGB when his VA failed to start (when he got home he located the trouble-a duff rotor arm); Chris Cox in his newly restored SA couldn’t cure a slipping clutch; and some of us never got our cars sufficiently ready and reliable, including John Bannister and myself. We couldn’t miss the event, so came anyway.

Peter Zernial, who had damaged his SA saloon coming to the Isle of White in 2011, had had it repaired in time to come, bringing the Ratcliffe Cup with him that he won at that event. Chris & Jane Cox won the Ratcliffe Cup for their superb SA Tickford.

SVW Event 2011 – Isle of Wight, Hampshire

No less than 31 cars and 70 owners and friends turned up for this splendid event held in the Isle of Wight on 13-15 June 2011.

Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight, Hampshire

John and Gail Bannister’s herculean efforts organising the weekend paid off handsomely and we have never seen quite this many cars at a UK event to date. Great fun was had by all!

Isle of Wight, Hampshire

30 of the 31 cars parked whilst waiting for a ride on a steam train

SVW Event 2010 – Munchengladbach, Germany

SVW cars in Munchengladbach, Germany

SVW cars in Munchengladbach, Germany

The weekend was a great success. There were more than 40 SVW cars at the event, which is a record.The weekend was organised by Guenther Pilz and other members of the MGCC Germany, who deserve our hearty thanks.

Henne Borgesius & his SA Keller-bodied replica

Henne Borgesius & his SA Keller-bodied replica

The Ratcliffe Cup was won by Henne Borgesius for his superb SA Keller-bodied replica.

Many pictures of the event and of the cars and people taking part can be seen on John Bannister’s Flickr page:

Flickr – SVW 2010, Germany, by John Bannister

SVW Event 2009 – Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Wimpole Hall. Cambridge

Wimpole Hall. Cambridge

The 2009 SVW weekend was held on 22nd-24th August in Cambridgeshire in the UK.

On Saturday evening, the SVW Register AGM was held, and the new committee elected. Details are on the Contact Us page. The Frances Adam award was given by Jim Andrews, the Register Chairman, to David & Rosemary Washbourne in recognition of their undying support for the register over many years.

Ratcliffe Cup winner Tom Pasteur

Ratcliffe Cup winner Tom Pasteur

Outside the imposing Wimpole Hall, the Ratcliffe cup was awarded to Tom Pasteur’s magnificent SA Tickford at its debut weekend.

A great event, blessed with superb weather and very ably organised by Jeff & Ann Gibson.

SVW Event 2008 – Naarden, Holland

For our 2008 event (31st May – 1st June), we had cars from three countries. 6 came from Germany, 13 from the UK and 10 from the Netherlands. Our venue was Naarden, a fortified coastal town east of Amsterdam.

Naarden, Holland

Naarden, Holland

On Saturday we had rides through the pretty Dutch villages and countryside, over bridges and under blue skies, with lunch at a bistro. Another ride in the afternoon finished at the old barracks in Naarden for the photoshoot. Most then went for a boat ride around the fortifications-very peaceful after a day in traffic.

At the end of the day, the SVW Register AGM was held, and the new committee elected. Details are on our Contact Us page.

After the AGM we had the Gala dinner in the evening, and thanks and prizes were given to the organising team. Also, the SVW Register committee awarded a picture of an SA saloon to Gary Perry as thanks for his 5 great years as Chairman.

On Sunday the weather was a little foggy and damp, and we saw the steam pump at Stoomgemaal, then on to the Expo museum of old crafts and toys for lunch.

This was followed by the presentation of the Ratcliffe cup to John Dutton’s WA Tickford, the car “I most would like to go home in”; and then some went home, and some stayed to get the ferry back to England on Monday.

A great weekend, and our hearty thanks go to the organising team of Rene Pas, Bert & Els v.d. Linden, Susan Bellis & Theo Groot.

More information is available on the official website for the event > 2008 SVW Event.

SVW Event 2007 – Ironbridge Shropshire

Ironbridge, Shropshire

Ironbridge, Shropshire

Wet, wet, wet!

Great hotel and a great location, but the weather was at its worst for our 2007 SVW event (29th June – 1st July 2007).

We had the usual good turnout, reduced because John Dutton had sold his SA (which was there) in order to buy a WA Tickford (which wasn’t). We even had a unique SA all the way from Oz, the Airy saloon owned now by Malcolm Robertson.

Saturday saw a wet trip to the local iron museum where we paraded the cars for the photoshoot, followed by a wet drive on the A5 to Pontypridd on the Llangollen canal. We boarded a narrow narrow boat for beer, sandwiches and a trip across the famous viaduct-awesome. The rain stopped long enough to change Peter Pimm’s deflated wheel.

Then a wet drive back for the Gala dinner with guest of honour, Richard Jones, General Manager of the MGCC, giving a welcome speech. The Francis Adam award (in replica) went to Malcom Robertson, and Gary Perry asked Malcolm to award it each year to the most deserving SVW owner from the antipodes.

Sunday and the rain had stopped. The Mayor of Ironbridge gave a rousing speech then waved us off for the day’s run. The sun actually shone when we visited the glorious Stokesay Castle in Shropshire, then on to Ludlow to park amongst the town market stalls for the presentation of the Ratcliffe Cup for the car “I would most like to go home in.” This went to Malcolm Robertson, making it a clean sweep for the weekend. It could be that we all wanted to go home to Oz. Our thanks to him for bringing such a great car so far. Our thanks, also, to John Bates and Charlie Plain Jones for organising such a successful event. Once again, a DVD is available at £10 including P&P for UK, at cost overseas.

SVW Event 2006 – Sherborne, Dorset

For the once the weather blessed us for our SVW Weekend (7 – 9 July 2006) in Dorset. The turnout was one of the best in recent years, and Gary Wall managed to organise the event from his home in New Zealand. He was there in his WA Tickford.

We had two other WA cars, the usual gaggle of VA’s in all three variants and a fine selection of SA saloons and DHCs. John Bates arrived sans windscreen and there was the usual selection of failed water pumps and punctures. Peter Ratcliffe always arrives fairly late to these events, as he hangs on to wait for calls for spares before he leaves from Hull.

The hotel was fine, modern and efficient and the town of Sherborne is worth a visit on its own.

Wells Cathedral, Somerset

Wells Cathedral, Somerset

Day one started with a run to Glastonbury, where we took over the town car park. From there, some went to see the local steam railway, some to the airshow at Yeovil and some went riding through the lovely local coutryside to Wells.

At the Gala dinner in the evening, we were joined by the MGCC President Bill Wallis and his wife. Gary Perry gave the speeches, and awarded the Francis Adam award to Peter van den Heuvel for his outstanding work for the register. Later in the year, Ann & Keith Bush were able to take the award over to him in Holland.

On Sunday, we had a long and glorious ride through the local by-ways, including Cheddar Gorge, ending at Forde Abbey, where we had a relaxing stroll in the sun, some of us even dozing in the heat. Eventually, it was time for the Ratcliffe Cup, which was presented to Jeff Gibson for his glorious WA saloon (a second time winner) as the car we most wanted to go home in.

Our thanks to Gary Wall for his very hard work in setting things up-and once again, there is a DVD for sale at £10, including P&P.

SVW Event 2005 – Norfolk

We were hardly blessed with perfect weather. It rained hard for many on their way to the hotel on the Friday, and it was still raining fleetingly on the Saturday morning. After that it dried up, though the sun never really got going till the Monday. Despite the weather, everyone enjoyed themselves immensely.

SVW Weekend Norfolk 2005

SVW Weekend Norfolk 2005

By common consent, the Links Hotel was a perfect venue. The rooms were excellent, as was the food, and from those able to take advantage of the swimming and golf facilities, there was also much praise.

We had a very good turnout for a UK event. 24 SVW cars, 3 other MGs, a couple of modern cars and 65 people in all. We also had a high proportion of members coming from outside the UK, especially from Holland. This is heartening and shows the camaraderie of the Register at its best.

The programme included a ride on a steam train, a visit to two stately homes and their gardens, tours of the Norfolk countryside with stops to view glass blowing, windmills and WW2 weaponry and finally, to round things off, a boat ride on the Broads in our own paddle-steamer.

The Gala dinner was held on Saturday evening at which our Chairman, Gary Perry, awarded the Francis Adam Award to John Dutton for his services to the Register. At Blickling Hall on Sunday, the Ratcliffe Cup was presented for “The Car of the Event” to Heinrich & Petra Borgesius for their splendid VA Tourer.

We have made a DVD of the Norfolk event from footage taken by John Bannister, Gary Perry and John Dutton. It shows all the cars and all the passengers and is one hour long. It is available at £10 including P&P. The DVD is on DVD+R discs, so make sure your player can handle these. We can produce the DVD in either PAL (Europe) or NTSC (USA) format, so let us know when ordering.