The miles of flat sands at Saltburn have provided the visitor with a number of different pastimes - cricket, sand sculptures and donkey riding have all played their part. In the early 1900's the more adventurous looked upon the beach with a different perspective with the pursuit of excitement and speed as their goal.
At 10:30 on the morning of Saturday 17th September councillors and members of the public met at the top of Saltburn's Cliff Lift, near the Fossil garden, to unveil a plaque celebrating those early car and motor-cycle speed races and the records they set on Saltburn’s sands in the early 20th century.
Read more about Saltburn's Speed Trials.
On the following day an assortment of classic vehicles - some more than 100 years old - vintage cars and motorcycles dating from 1903 up until 1975 turned out in force to participate in the Saltburn Historic Gathering.
And those who thought their vehicles were up to the challenge went on to climb Saltburn Lane.
The event, which was organised by the Middlesbrough and District Motor Club, had been run as a speed event for 12 years but this was stopped in 2004 due to legal issues concerning the Road Traffic Act.
Currently the club, along with Tom Blenkinsop MP and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council are trying to get the law changed to allow motorsports on closed roads.
Despite the legal wranglings, the club has been determined to “retain” the event and so organised the historical gathering.
As well as a number of cars and bikes climbing the hill one by one, there were also a variety of classic vehicles on display in the car park at the bottom of Saltburn Bank.
Ernie Crust, secretary for the hill climb, said: “It’s a social gathering and it keeps our presence known in Saltburn. The support has been fantastic with 50 cars and 50 bikes taking part. It’s still very popular and we’ve been over-subscribed with entries.”
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