OJOA Event – British Beauties, Back Roads and Bunkers Tour July 11th – 13th 2025 – Action Required
July 11 @ 9:00 am - July 13 @ 5:00 pm
British Beauties, Back Roads and Bunkers Tour July 11th – 13th 2025 – Action Required
This email is to invite you to register for a three day feature-packed tour focusing on “British Beauties” (The All British Car Day or ABCD Car Show, July 12th), “Back Roads” (several scenic drives and amazing roads including the full length of the three dimensional Opinicon Road, and a tour drive through the Lanark Highlands area) and “Bunkers” (specifically the Diefenbunker, Canada’s Cold War underground seat-of-government in case the Cold War went “hot”).
Multiple other attractions and events are included including a visit to Canada’s Aviation and Space Museum, visits to historic villages and sites such as Merrickville, Chaffey’s Locks and Pinhey’s Point, dropping in on a couple of wineries, one on Day 1 and the other on Day 3 as well as an art gallery, and more. There will be a joint dinner with the Ottawa club Saturday night.
We will be spending the nights of July 11th and 12th in the same hotel in western Ottawa and we have a block of rooms on hold there. Since the trip leaves from Cobourg early on Friday, July 11th a block of rooms has been reserved at a Cobourg hotel so that people from further afield can come join us for the evening of July 10th if they wish, rather than have to depart from home ultra-early on the 11th.
The drive route is almost entirely via good quality, largely empty, scenic country back roads and avoids any large towns other than Ottawa itself, which is necessary to reach the main attractions there.
The Event Chronology.
Those of us who want to can join us at our Cobourg hotel for the evening and night of the 10th – we will be dining in a co-located pub-restaurant.
The event formally starts at 9:00 am on July 11th in the parking lot of the Cobourg hotel. The drive from there takes us along the lakeshore and into/across Prince Edward County (PEC) with stops in PEC before taking the ferry to continue along the Loyalist Parkway to Bath, where we can stop for an informal lunch at one of three dining establishments.
After lunch we complete the drive along the Loyalist Parkway unto we approach Kingston, then head north to pick up the three dimensional twisty Opinicon Road which takes us to the Chaffey’s Lock beauty spot on the Rideau Canal. We then drive a short distance before an optional stop at Forfar Dairy, an outlet for vintage cheeses, but also a coffee stop/ice-dream stop.
We continue on to historic Merrickville, also on the Rideau Canal, for a late afternoon stop before the last leg to our hotel, arriving at the hotel around 6 pm.
Dinner is informal at any of several restaurants within about 4 km. A block booking at a restaurant Friday night has not been possible as of yet. We can congregate in the hotel bar after we return from dining.
On Saturday, 12th we will leave the hotel around 9:00 or so to drive together to the All British Car Day show in Clarke Fields Park, Barrhaven. The admission fee into this show is $10. Here is a link to a YouTube video of a past show in 2017 when it was held in Britannia park instead –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXoVGhIq8mo
This link is well worth viewing.
Lunch can be purchased at the show or alternatively there are various eateries including a Royal Oak pub/restaurant within 200 meters of the park. In mid-afternoon, likely around 2:15 pm, we will depart the show for a drive to the Aviation and Space Museum for a two hour visit. From the museum there will be a scenic riverside drive across Ottawa back to the hotel, where we can rest up momentarily before heading to a group dinner with OJC at a local restaurant around 7-7:30 pm.
On the last day we will depart our hotel at around 9 am for a short drive to Pinhey’s Point, a local out of town historic site and tranquil beauty spot, en route to our first major attraction of the day – a 2 hourish visit to the Cold War Diefenbunker. This will bring us up to lunch time and we will have a quick light lunch in Almonte, at the Tim Horton’s before taking an about 1 hour drive westwards on country back roads through the Lanark Highlands to pick up Highway 7 well to the west of Maberley.
We follow Highway 7 to Madoc and a coffee stop before heading south on to more country back roads to Campbellford and a brief stop at Ranney’s Falls/Gorge. From there we continue on country back roads to “The Rolling Grape” winery/restaurant/refreshment stop for a late afternoon break. After this stop it is just a 45 minute drive to Port Perry and the end of the tour somewhere between 5 and 6 pm.
A more detailed description of the event, along with some illustrations, is given in the attached PDF guide to the event.
Costs
The approximate costs are:-
1) Hotel in Cobourg July 10th (if needed) $186 – 191 per room depending on bed size
2) Hotel in Ottawa July 11th and July 12th -$219 per night
ABCD entry cost – $10
Aviation Museum entry cost – $16.75 (adult), $14.50 (senior)
Diefenbunker entry cost – $19.50 (adult), $17.50 (senior), guided tour $25.00 (adult), $23.00 (senior)
Other stops and attractions are complimentary.
All meals and refreshments at members’ cost.
What You Need To Do Now If You Are Interested……
You need to register with the tour organizers (Alan and Barry) as soon as possible, preferably well before April 30th, since we have to refine the sizing on the reservations. Our contact information for all inquiries or to register and provide your information is jaguardrives@rogers.com
You can register to be on our mailing list by sending us an e-mail to jaguardrives@rogers.com , stating:-
Your name ____________________________________
Your phone numbers (landline and cellular) _________________/___________________
Your e-mail addresses for correspondence.___________________________________________
The number of people in your party ____________________________________
Your hotel needs (number of rooms, size of bed) for each of the three nights:-
July 10th (Cobourg) 0/1/2 (select one), Q/K (select one)
July 11th (Ottawa) 1/2 (select one), Q/K (select one)
July 12th (Ottawa) 1/2 (select one), Q/K (select one)
Number to attend the Saturday dinner _____________
The information we collect here will allow us to confirm we have negotiated large enough hotel room booking block and the mix of bed sizes in those blocks as well as confirming likely restaurant numbers at the Saturday dinner, etc.
In early May at the latest we will release the room booking information to the mailing list so it is important to get your name on the list now even if you are just considering coming. The hotels have to be booked before the block bookings start to expire on May 29th – hence the urgency. You will be responsible for booking your own rooms following the information that will be provided at the beginning of May at the latest. Once booked the hotel rooms, can be cancelled should circumstances dictate or you change your mind about coming. Do not try to book the hotels without putting your name on our mailing list and receiving the hotel booking information which will include the room booking codes and block booking rates.
We are looking forward to seeing you on this event which we hope will be the best yet.
Don’t forget to download and read the attached PDF. CLICK HERE
Alan and Barry,
Co-organizers of the B4 Tour
