The Brighton Breeze VW show was founded in 1983 by the SSVC (Split Screen Van Club) and dedicated to the preservation, love, care and enjoyment of the pre-1967 VW van. The 'Breeze' is an autumn event, and normally held on the first weekend of October on Maderia Drive in Brighton in East Sussex. The show has grown in popularity over the years and now attracts VW's of all models and years, both air cooled and water cooled which almost completely fills the 1.5 mile length of Maderia Drive. This is one of the last shows of the year for us living in the South of England and even though it's a bit pricey for a one day show it's nice to go down and meet up with old friends who we'll probably not see until the spring when next years VW shows start up again. Brighton is a busy cosmopolitan town on the south coast and with the influx of hundreds upon hundreds of VW's, the town does get busy, so Stuart and I decided to leave Aylesbury quite early with the intention of getting their before the chaos starts.
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| Stuart and I headed around the M25 motorway that circles London, and as it was still early the traffic was not too bad so we made good time. Fuzzy picture can only mean I have hit 'warp speed' in my bay! |
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| Once I had caught up with Stuarts turbo bay we found both Stuart and Tim were in good spirits and happy to pose for the camera. |
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| We continued around the M25, and down the M23 to Brighton. At the end of the M23 we stopped at Pease Pottage Services for a comfort break and to get a coffee. This service station is a mecca for VW's travelling to the Breeze and the car park gets really packed, but as we left Aylesbury so early there wasn't many other VW's parked up. |
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| This incredibly bright yellow and white 1967 split screen certainly woke us up. Looking around this bus it was very nice indeed. |
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| Selection of bay windows also parked up at the services, another hour and this car park will be full of VW's of all descriptions. |
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| For some crazy reason Brighton Council will not allow the SSVC to let any VW's onto Maderia Drive until 09.00am, so until then it's a case of park wherever you can. We made good time and arrived in Brighton at 08.50 so we only had a ten minute wait. |
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| 08.57am and the onslaught of VW's head to the seafront and Maderia Drive. This was my view of the queue, quite pleasant really. |
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| The earlier you arrive on Maderia Drive the closer to the Pier / Café's you get to park, and as Maderia Drive is about 1.5 miles long, you don't want to be parked at the other end. Stu and I got a really good spot quite close to all the amenities. |
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| After getting breakfast we had a walk around to what we could find. These two are very similar colours, an early square back and a very low Karmann Ghia. |
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| Karmann Ghia is very low with a narrowed front beam. |
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| This bus is amazing, it's owned by a guy who paints cartoons & wording on your vehicle, and the amount of extras on this bus is incredible. I love this hammock that attaches to steel poles fixed to the roof rack. |
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| Inside the cab of the 'Cartooniez' bus, only one thing to remember here, you can never have enough accessories. |
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| Talking of places to sleep, in case you don't fancy the hammock how about this fold over 'tent', it's fixed to the roof rack. These are so the lions / tigers and other man eating animals can't get to you when your on safari... or on Brighton Seafront.! |
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| The Cool-Flo guys were trading at the show and amongst the numerous VW's they brought with them, they also brought this bay window caravan.. thing. Very nice whatever it's called and very low with a narrowed beam. |
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| This 1963 crew cab split screen pick up was very nice, a bit RAT looking but that just adds to it's charm. I did like the roof ladder and the twin spot lights above the cab doors. |
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| Darren and Leonie were their showing off their fantastic pop top thermal screens, black- out screen covers and awning skirts for the split screen / Bay / T25 / T4 & T5. They have a huge range of designs on numerous back- ground colours to match you bus. Check out their webiste for more info: http://rainbowthermalscreens.com/ |
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| This amazingly clean and straight split screen was trailered to the show and painted in the Porsche Service colour's. I didn't ask the price because as the saying goes, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.! |
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| Big T and ACH, local mates of our's passed us on the way down to the show in Big T's super clean, super straight Square back. If you remember, Big T won 'Best of Show' recently at the House of Dub show and shine, well he only went and won 'Best 10' today as well. Well done Big T, well deserved though... |
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| A very nice RAT looking early split screen, just needs some TLC. |
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| This must be RAT spilt screen corner, but I don't mind... I love the RAT look and this pair are just so nice. |
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| RAT look with narrowed front beam, and with the front safari screens open, it really doesn't get much better than this. |
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| Very similar again, but this one has the full length roof rack, with Bison horns and 'Roo' bars that were an Australian accessory to protect the front of the bus in case a kangaroo jumped out at you. |
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| Super low and super narrowed front end. Such a good looking ride. |
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| How nice is this single cab split screen pick up? it also has the cyclopes light on the cab, narrowed front beam and sitting very low. |
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| The rear of the pick up is just as nice. Accessory of the day award goes to the big red brake light on the rear of the cab, it just looked awesome, and I want one. |
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| I have seen this high top split screen on many occasions and I always take a photo, it really is so nice. I hope that wet patch is nothing serious. |
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| Early split screen in 'Ambulance' livery. This is how we should all be taken to hospital if we have an accident. |
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| Adrian and his family were at the Breeze trading all their VW related accessories. Adrian is a member of the Outcast VW club. |
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| This split oval beetle was gorgeous. So clean and such a nice colour, with those HUGE tail pipes out the rear. |
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| This early bug looked just as nice from the front. I do like the ariel up the centre of the screen and the pillar mounted spot light. |
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| Huge variety of VW's at the Breeze, so there's bound to be something there that you like. |
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| Slightly RAT looking bay window panel van. |
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| The convoy of vehicles entering Maderia Drive went on for hours and as far as the eye could see. |
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| This super clean 23 window early split screen was amazing. Great reflection in the bright purple paint. |
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| This early spilt screen was a bit different from all the other split screens. I did like the look of this, maybe it's those two small windows in the back, or maybe the colour... |
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| Another incredibly low early beetle with a narrowed front beam. I love the roof rack with all the accessories. |
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| This groovy late bay belonged to one of the many foreign visitors the show attracts. This one came from France, and I love those retro stripes. |
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| This 1968 Karmann Ghia finished in a silver blue looked absolutely lovely. Nothing flash or fancy just an honest Karmann Ghia. |
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| This must be one of the straightest split screens out there, the almost perfect reflection on the deep black gloss paint is amazing. This bus really is stunning. (The next part of the Breeze write up to follow soon). |
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