GRAND(ISH) TOUR OF EUROPE - 1968

(or: What to do When Le Mans is Cancelled)

Plan A

It was 1968. The idea was that, in early June, Alastair Cuninghame and I would drive in my 1961 Mini Van to Le Mans, for the first time, to watch the 24 Hour race. After that, we would drive south for a camping holiday on the Cote d'Azur.

Unfortunately the student population of France had other ideas - they chose May/June '68 to mount a popular (huh!) revolution.That in itself wouldn't have been too bad. After all, there wasn't too much to bother us from a few revolting students! But their little pave-throwing initiative turned into a national strike. France! And the outcome of that was that France ground to a halt - and, among other things, fuel supplies ran out and the 24 Hour race was cancelled. (It was eventually run on 28-29th September 1968.)

With no fuel in the whole of France, it looked like that had put paid to our holiday in the South of France as well as our trip to Le Mans. But we had cross-Channel ferry tickets. Shame to waste them - so, enter Plan B.

Plan B

We decided that we could salvage a trip to the South of France by skirting round the outside of France and enter it at the Italy/France border on the Mediteranian. And a bonus was that, on the weekend we were setting off, the Festival of Minis was being held at Brands Hatch. So that was it: a visit to Brands followed by a trip to the South of France via Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, Switzerland and Italy.

Click on the small pictures below to whisk you off to more story and pictures ......

Colin Lourie, Edinburgh, 2003

La Croisette, Cannes, 1968

Preparation

Days 1 and 2 - Edinburgh to Brands Hatch

Days 3 to 5 - Brands Hatch to Tende (France)

Days 6 to 12 - Tende to the Cote d'Azur

Days 13 to 15 - Cote d'Azur to Edinburgh

The Facts and Figures