Up at six because the London to Brighton car rally begins at dawn, shortly after seven. Luckily the starting point is Hyde Park and we're within easy walking distance. As we walk down Bayswater a number of the antique cars pass us on their way to the park. We can hear the rattle as they come up behind us, as they're pretty old. This year's cars have to be built before 1905 to enter. Brave of the drivers, as few of the vehicles have head lamps and it's not still before sunup. Only the owners staying nearby drive to the park. The others, and there are some four hundred of them, trailer their cars in. It's colder than other years - breath visible at times - but we're well layered. I'm wearing my black cashmere pashmina between my wool cardigan and jacket and have gloves as well, although they're impossible to combine with taking photographs.
There's a huge variety of cars - a few with names still familiar, like Renault, Daimler and Oldsmobile, but many long since buried in automotive archives. Many have been beautifully restored and brightly painted, polished until they gleam, but there are also purists, and an award for the best unrestored car. Some period costumes in evidence, despite the chill air, often contrasting oddly with the mobile phones their passengers are using to record the trip. It will be cold on the road, particularly for those with no windshield, although they are not permitted to go more than 20 mph (and some would have trouble reaching that speed). A few are steam powered, leaving their own trail of white breath in the air, and none have modern emission standards of course - we're definitely breathing intoxicating pollution!
There are some quite sophisticated cars and others so basic that they appear to consist of little more than a wooden base with a seat and a steering stick. And one or two cars raise the question of the basic definition of automobile - when does a motorcycle become a car? Above all the rally is fun. Every one of the watchers has turned up in a cold pre-dawn to watch the world's largest and oldest antique car rally - most years since 1896. And every car is a unique personality, highly individual and preserved with love.
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