Classic Grand Touring is hosting a four-day motoring tour from the Brooklands Museum to the Lake District to coincide with the return of Bluebird K7 – the record-breaking hydroplane of Donald Campbell – to Coniston Water this summer.
Scheduled for 9-12 May, the Legacy of Bluebird Tour retraces the Campbell family’s record-breaking exploits with stops at historic venues, talks and lakeside viewing of Bluebird K7’s run on Coniston Water.
Bluebird’s return to the lake marks 70 years since Campbell’s first Coniston Water Speed Record (19 September 1956) and will be the hydroplane’s first run there since Campbell’s fatal crash on 4 January 1967.
Although the 20-car tour officially departs from the Brooklands Museum, participants will first visit Bluebird Chelsea in London for an informal supper. Originally a Bluebird Motor Company dealership, the Art Deco building once housed Sir Malcolm Campbell’s record-breaking machines.
The following morning, the tour begins at Brooklands Museum in Surrey, former home of the British Grand Prix and the place where the Bluebird name was first established. Here, participants will be briefed in the museum’s Bluebird Room and take a guided tour highlighting the venue’s role in the Campbell dynasty’s pursuit of speed.
From Brooklands, the tour heads north with an overnight stop in Buxton before continuing to the Lake District’s Windermere Manor Hotel, where participants will have access to the property and its facilities. The evening programme includes a talk from record-breaker Don Wales, grandson of Donald Campbell.
The four-day experience reaches its climax at Coniston Water, where participants will witness Bluebird K7 – along with its piston-powered predecessor, Bluebird K3 – complete runs across the lake.
Guests will watch from the lakeside Bluebird Café, with presentations on both record-breaking boats and opportunities to meet Australian record challenger Dave Warby and RAF pilot David-John Gibbs, who will be piloting them. A donation from each booking will support the maintenance and preservation of Bluebird K7, in partnership with Coniston’s Ruskin Museum.
Demonstrations of Bluebird K7 are subject to weather conditions and the reliability of the machinery.
To book a place on the tour, head to Classic Grand Touring’s website here.
