Vintage cars take on Honister's muddy slopes in Lakeland trial
Vintage cars climbed the rough, muddy hills of Honister slate mine near Keswick on Saturday, as the Vintage Sports-Car Club held its annual Lakeland trial. The Guardian has published a photo gallery of the day.
The mine sits in the Borrowdale Valley, in the Lake District. It is a fitting setting for a sport built on steep ground and difficult surfaces.
Car trials are a little different from most motor sport. They are untimed, so nobody is racing a clock. Competitors drive set routes up steep, rough and muddy hills, and the challenge is getting up the slope cleanly rather than getting there first. The VSCC's spectator guide describes the format in those terms.
The Lakeland trial has run since 1969. The club also holds a number of car trials each year across the UK, so the Honister event is one part of a wider season.
The club has also been recognised off the hillside. The Vintage Sports-Car Club has been shortlisted for Club of the Year at the 2026 International Historic Motoring Awards. Its Pomeroy Trophy is in contention for Motorsport Event of the Year at the same awards, according to the club's website.
Looking ahead, the club is planning a new three-day motoring event in North Wales for June 2027. Its 2027 events calendar is now live, so anyone wanting to plan a season of trials and events can start checking dates.
For spectators, a trial is about watching a single car pick its way up a slope, engine working hard, while the crowd waits on wet ground. It is a quieter kind of motor sport than most, and the Lakeland trial has kept that character for more than half a century.
