As an extraordinary and magical event, the annual Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run has always been a magnet for people from all walks of life.
 
Taking part each year are families who have participated in their cherished automotive heirlooms for generations, but the enchanting lure of the world’s longest-running motoring event also has a history of captivating numerous well-known personalities too. In recent years, famous faces driving on the annual pilgrimage from capital to coast have included the 1996 Formula One World Champion, Damon Hill, broadcaster Chris Evans, and supermodel Yasmin Le Bon.
 
Come Sunday 3 November 2019 another familiar tv broadcaster – Alan Titchmarsh MBE – will be motoring to Brighton in one of the pioneering pre-1905 veteran cars.
 
As well as his well-known work on TV and as a professional gardener and novelist, Titchmarsh is also a huge classic car enthusiast… his first such acquisition was a 1928 Morris Cowley and, today, he owns a 1929 Bentley Le Mans 4.5-litre and a fully restored 1963 Jaguar E-type. On the day of the Run he’ll be behind the wheel of a stunning 1902 Mors (photo below) as he leaves Hyde Park at sunrise on the first Sunday in November all bound for Brighton.
 
He knows the Run well, having jumped aboard with others on the route to Brighton last year. But he has never driven on the Run before… until now; a prospect he is really relishing.
 
"The Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is an event like no other,” says Titchmarsh. “You can keep your Formula 1 – for me this is the real thing. I know of no other experience which can match it: the wind in your hair, a vehicle more than a hundred years old throbbing beneath you and a heart-stopping journey to the seaside on a mechanical work of art. Pure magic! I've enjoyed it as a passenger and this year I get to drive. Beam me up Scottie!"