The TVR Car Club Ltd

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Travel has changed.

There was a time when travel meant glamour. It meant proud ocean liners plying the oceans from Ceylon to Constantinople, and elegant railways sweeping overland to the Orient. It was the rarefied domain of well heeled clientèle, swathed in the latest London fashions as they set off on their grand tour. It meant Brunel, Stevenson, Younghusband and Livingstone. And it meant achieving the impossible against the odds, while never letting one’s style or dignity waver even for a moment.

But not any more. The very word ‘traveller’ has been lost to the masses, diluted by a thousand grimy hostels and dreadlocked wanderers. Once, there was the majestic audacity of the journey; now a thousand anodyne Boeings sweep their cargoes blandly across the globe. The infinite allure of the unknown has been banished by tick-list tourism and off-the-shelf adventures. Bespoke has given way to budget. Elegance to blandness. Panache has been swept away by humdrum.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. There is still a place in this world for the lost art of travel. Because while the golden age of travel may have passed, its spirit still exists. A spirit of conviction that travel goes far beyond simply visiting a place; it should be a stylish expression of how life should be lived – bold, daring, elegant and stylish; and with just a hint of glorious madness.

This is the rationale behind 80breakdown’s latest project, the forthcoming pub2pub expedition – a very British blend of elegance and eccentricity. A 24,000 mile overland journey from the northernmost bar on the planet, to the southernmost. From the Arctic to the Antarctic, across oceans, continents and cultures; travelling by grand touring car, kayak, yacht and ocean liner. All undertaken with a style and panache which harks back to that glorious age when travel was an art form.