Classic Car Experiences

In this blog I wanted to write about classjc car experiences and in particular, one that we had the pleasure of trying over the Christmas holidays in London. We have various experiences that we offer ourselves here in Sotogrande, in the south of Spain, with our beautiful fleet of classic Austin Mini Mokes, that last for around 5 hours, and consist of a route from Sotogrande into the countryside of Cádiz or Málaga.

A few of our experiences visit some of the stunning ‘pueblo blancos’, or ‘white villages’ that dot the Andalusian countryside, such as Castellar de la Frontera (called the Mokastellar experience) or Casares (Mokasares experience). Along with the experience of driving a classic car, you might visit one of the pueblos blancos, taking in some history and culture too. You will explore some of the lesser known areas off the beaten tourist track, see some of the beautiful inner countryside, away from the typical sights of the Costa del Sol, and have a luxurious lunch in a hidden finca, a traditional village townhouse, or even in an exclusive polo resort. Our experiences are so much more than just driving a classic car. If you want to discover more, you can find more information on our website page www.thejollymile.com/experiences.

For now though, I would like to talk about a splendid experience we had in London during the Christmas holidays. SmallcarBIGCITY are a company based in London that offer similar services to ourselves, such as self hire rentals, tours, and experiences, but all with the classic Mini! They have a large fleet of classic Minis, some of which are Coopers (which are more powerful than the standard Mini with a larger 1.3 litre engine), all in impeccable condition. We were picked up in Lulu, a beautiful turquoise, convertible Cooper (https://smallcarbigcity.com/minis/classic-mini-hire-lulu/) outside our front door by Robert, who was our guide for the day. He was dressed smartly, and was polite, charming, courteous, very articulate and extremely knowledgeable! A true English gentleman! We had The Beatles playing along Lulu’s stereo whilst Robert gave us the tour.

I am from London originally, born in Greenwich, and still visit frequently despite living in Spain. So I thought that my knowledge of London was fairly substantial, but Robert really put me to shame! The tour lasted for 2 hours and was absolutely fascinating. The more famous landmarks that we stopped at I obviously knew about (Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Tower Bridge, and Tower of London for example), but I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the in-depth knowledge and interesting stories that Robert told us about these tourist hotspots. Furthermore, there were many little hidden streets, which only a car as small as a classic Mini can fit down, where he took us which I had no idea about! These tiny streets would lead us to some lesser known gems of London, of which you would not see on the London tourist bus. And of course, each of these places had an amusing, interesting, or curious story behind it that Robert would articulately tell us, either whilst skillfully navigating the London streets, or when we occasionally stopped to get out of the Mini to stretch our legs a little.

Doing a tour with smallcarBIGCITY in my own home town reaffirmed my belief that classic car tours or experiences are by far the most interesting, different, exciting, unique, and definitely COOL way of visiting a region or town, even if you think you know it well! I would highly recommend doing these type of experiences wherever you go in the world, whether it be a Cadillac or Mustang along Route 66, a Citroen 2cv or Mehari in Provence or St. Tropez, a classic Mini in London, an Aston Martin DB6 through the Cotswolds, a classic Fiat 500 in Rome, a Porsche 911 or Mercedes 190SL in Bavaria, or of course a Mini Moke in Sotogrande!

If you do ever go to London, I highly recommend doing one of the tours with smallcarBIGCITY. You can find out more information on their website www.smallcarbigcity.com.

We have exciting plans and ideas to expand our own experiences, to include longer distances with luxury accommodation and dining, with routes around Andalucía that last for a few days and include extra activities other than driving, such as wine tasting, olive oil tasting, and other gastronomic experiences. Watch this space!