The Borders Vintage Automobile Club came into being after an adventurous journey north by members of the North East Restoration Club in May 1972. Thirty cars, most of them vintage, gathered at Newcastle Civic Centre and headed for the Border, joined along the way by fifteen Scottish enthusiasts.
The convoy was given a civic welcome in Kelso, a Concours d’Elegance was held the next day at Mellerstain House, and the Provost and Jedburgh Pipe Band saw them off on the journey home. It was a splendid occasion, and it inspired the Scots to form a club of their own.
The following year Lord Binning welcomed enthusiasts to Mellerstain for the first BVAC gathering. He became the club’s President, a role he held until 2009, inheriting the title of Earl of Haddington along the way.
The first gatherings at Mellerstain were held in a hastily erected compound, with the public invited in for a small fee. Interest was so great that the event soon opened up to the whole estate, and the annual Historic Motoring Extravaganza was born.
Disaster struck in 2001, when the foot and mouth epidemic forced the show’s cancellation. Together with a washed-out event the following year, it was almost a devastating blow, but the club survived and grew stronger.
By 2005 the show had outgrown Mellerstain and moved to the spacious parkland of Thirlestane Castle, Lauder. The club’s President today is Capt. The Hon. Gerald Maitland-Carew of Thirlestane Castle.
Thirty cars set off from Newcastle Civic Centre on 20 May, joined by fifteen Scottish enthusiasts, for civic welcomes in Kelso and Jedburgh and a Concours d’Elegance at Mellerstain House. The day inspires local enthusiasts to form the Borders Vintage Automobile Club.
Lord Binning hosts a gathering of enthusiasts from the north of England and the south of Scotland at Mellerstain, and becomes the club’s first President.
The first gatherings are held in a fenced compound, but public interest is so great that the event opens up to the whole estate, becoming the annual Historic Motoring Extravaganza.
The foot and mouth outbreak forces the cancellation of the show, a heavy blow followed by a washed-out event the next year. The club survives and grows stronger.
Having outgrown Mellerstain, the show moves to the spacious parkland of Thirlestane Castle, Lauder.
With more than 200 members, the club’s annual show has become the BVAC Classic Festival, attracting over 1,000 entrants from across the UK.
Membership is open to anyone with an interest in our motoring past.
