Last week was the setting for one of the highlights of my Ferrari orientated year: the Harpenden Classics on the Common. I had heard about it last year but too late to purchase tickets or even attend, so this time around I made sure that I bought tickets in good time. It was to be one of the biggest car shows I would attend, with over 1,000 cars, including several dozen Ferrari’s. I was looking forward to the idea of convoying in and arriving with other Ferrari owners.
We had agreed to meet at the White Horse, just on the edge of Harpenden at one o’clock—an hour before the gates opened to the common. We had a few drinks and waited for everyone to arrive; there was far from enough room in the pub carpark, but that’s because we weren’t the only ones waiting for 2pm. At which point we all attempted to leave in convoy but due to the already heavy traffic, we were separated both exiting the pub and then again as we joined the main road into Harpenden at the roundabout.
After an hour or so, we were finally lining up on the common although—much to the disapproval of one of the carpark attendants—us Ferrari Owners Club members were doing our best to actually line up together, instead of the random assortment and order they seemed to insist on. In my limited experience of attending car shows, usually the car owners are invited to arrive earlier than the general public so that there is enough time to arrange cars together by era or manufacturer; clearly nobody ever told the people of Harpenden.
Ah well, nevermind; here’s some of what we saw:
