Driving 1,200 miles in a week in a British car that rolled off the production line ~49 years ago may seem like a crazy thing to do. But it’s not considering the car – a 1966 Bentley T1 – and the event, which was the Fall Tour of the Rolls-Royce Owner’s club – held throughout British Columbia in late September 2015.

Meet SBX2479, a 1966 Bentley T1 I purchased in spring of 2013 while rejoining the ranks of classic Rolls-Royce/Bentley owners after a hiatus of several years. I’ve been an enthusiast of these cars since the mid-1990s. After a disastrous flirtation with a 1967 Jaguar S-Type, I ended up with a 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II, which provided tens-of-thousands of miles of trouble-free enjoyment (after having rejected the first 16 examples I looked at, the first of which was coincidentally another 1967 Bentley T1.

Representing less than 1% of Silver Shadows produced, a proper North American-specification Left Hand Drive (LHD) T1 is a very rare car. My own estimates suggest there may be only a dozen LHD original series 1965-67 examples around the continent. These early cars, although quirkier in some ways than later examples, feature the beautiful wood-trimmed interior and full engine power output that was missing on later emission gear equipped cars.

Now, for the event itself. The Rolls-Royce Owners Club is a wonderful organization. Some of their national events are driving tours, which combine great company, interesting sightseeing, and some good exercise for one’s motorcars. This event, hosted by the BC Region, was no exception.

I drove up early to join the Fall Meet between the BC and Pacific Northwest regions of the club, which was held the day before the national tour. The meet consists of several contests of absurd driving skills coupled with other fun and games (such as faux sword fighting).

Although the event was wrapped early due to persistent rain, the Northwest Region was this year’s victor, resulting in next year’s meet being hosted in Washington state versus British Columbia. Participants moving onto the national tour then spent the next day getting from Abbotsford to North Vancouver for check-in and the opening reception.

For the RROC Tour itself, each day started with a briefing and was followed by an alternating course of driving and sightseeing. Most (though not all) days also had an evening event.

On the first day, the initial stop was the British Columbia Museum of Anthropology. Here we had a chance to get a local immersion in the history of the indigenous peoples of British Columbia and see many amazing First Nations and Chinese artifacts.

For lunch, we stopped at the Salmon House in North Vancouver, which was opened especially for the RROC tour participants. The weather cooperated and we were treated to a magnificent panorama of the Vancouver area – along with some extremely delicious Northwest cuisine.

After lunch, we headed up to the Capilano suspension bridge and requisite nature park. The bridge is definitely not for those afraid of heights – and several participants took a pass. After that, several of us headed to the optional waypoint of Cleveland Dam to see it prior to heading to a Chinese dinner nearby.

The second day of touring started with a drive up to Whistler. En-route, the group stopped at the Britannia Mine, which at the peak of production was one of the world’s largest volume producers of copper. Once arriving in Whistler, everyone had a few hours to spend on their own until an evening dinner event.

Day three began with a trip to Shannon Falls on the way to Fort Langley in Surrey, British Columbia.

Once at Fort Langley, the group got to learn about the history of the first major Hudson Bay Company trading post in the British Columbia region as well as see re-creations of life from several hundred years ago.

The evening wrapped with a lovely time at the Vancouver Club, after a quick shot across the water from North Vancouver to downtown Vancouver on the Seabus.

Day 4 saw the group off to Vancouver Island. Our first stop was the Cowichan Cultural Center, just south of Nanimo, British Columbia. Here the group was treated to a guided tour of local tribal legends, a delicious salmon lunch, and an amazing performance of tribal dancing. They day concluded with some time to see Victoria and a reception at a club members home, featuring the guest appearance of John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V.

Day 5 began with a trip to the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. The featured exhibit was “Gold Rush – El Dorado in BC” which offered many unique insights into the history of gold mining within the province. The afternoon saw the group end up at Hatley House, which is probably best known for its appearances in the X-Men movies. Besides being a popular film venue, Hatley House is also the home of Royal Roads University. Prior to that, it served as a military training facility after being purchased by the government from the Hatley family. The day concluded with a lovely BBQ at another member’s home just outside of Victoria.

Day 6 – the final day – saw the longest day of driving yet. We took a long, circular route spanning Cowichan Bay, Lake Cowichan, converted logging roads down to Port Renfrew, then up to Sooke, and finally back to Victoria. Day 6 also included a Trivia challenge, where tour participants were supposed to find highly obscure facts at the various destinations along the way. The tour concluded with a closing dinner at the club of the University of Victoria.

Cars on the tour ranged in age from a 1926 Bentley 3-liter (whose top was last seen in the 1950s) to 2010-era Bentley Continental GTCs, Azures, and Brooklands models. And just about everything in between was represented. Thanks to excellent logistics, mechanical support was available for the handful of issues that arose. People came from as far away as Pennsylvania, with several participants bringing their cars from as far away as Missouri and San Diego.

The social activities are fantastic; I know I made several new friends as well as reconnected with people i have not seen since the late 1990s when I was far more heavily engaged in enthusiast events. For those that have not done an event such as this, it’s absolutely worth it on all fronts – socially, driving, and sightseeing. And my hat is off to the RROC and our BC Region hosts in particular for absolutely flawless logistics and support. I can’t wait until the next event…