London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 2026: Sunday 1 November Start Time, Route and Finish

The RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run sets off from Hyde Park at 6.53am on Sunday 1 November 2026, with the first cars leaving at sunrise, and more than 400 pre-1905 cars are expected on the 60-mile run to Madeira Drive in Brighton, the Royal Automobile Club says. All times here are Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the UK time since clocks went back on 25 October 2026.

The organisers’ site says entries are now closed for this year’s staging of the event, which commemorates the Emancipation Run of November 1896. This story puts the Saturday and Sunday programme into one table, lists where to watch, and offers a one-page timetable to print.

What is the weekend timetable?

The Royal Automobile Club’s event timetable for 2026 gives these times.

Day	Time	What	Where
Saturday 31 October	09:30 to 10:00	Drivers’ briefing	89 Pall Mall
Saturday 31 October	10:00 to 15:00	St James’s Motoring Spectacle	Pall Mall
Saturday 31 October	10:00 to 17:00	Art of Motoring exhibition	Waterloo Place
Saturday 31 October	Not given	RM Sotheby’s London Sale	The Peninsula London
Sunday 1 November	07:00 to 08:30	Official Start	Serpentine Road, Hyde Park
Sunday 1 November	10:00 to 16:30	Official Finish	Madeira Drive, Brighton

The Official Start window opens at 07:00, but the 23 October news release says the field will set off at 6.53am “as the sun rises.” The timetable itself says the first cars leave at sunrise, which it gives as 06:56.

What time is sunrise on 1 November 2026?

The U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) data for central London puts sunrise at 06:54 on 1 November 2026, with sunset at 16:34. The organisers’ timetable says 06:56. The two sources differ by two minutes, and both are close to the 6.53am start.

What is the route and when do cars reach Brighton?

The spectators page gives the route as 60 miles (97km). It starts in Hyde Park, winds through the lanes of Surrey and Sussex, and finishes on Madeira Drive in Brighton. It also describes a newer easterly section that runs from Horley past Gatwick Airport.

The official halfway break is at The Hawth Theatre in Crawley, according to the 23 October news release. The release also says Hyde Park has been the traditional starting point since 1936.

At the finish, the timetable says cars begin arriving from 10.00am, with slower vehicles arriving as late as 4.30pm. The spectators page says the finish paddock opens from just before 10:00am and closes at 4:30pm.

Where can you watch the run?

Place	Time (GMT)	Source detail
Hyde Park, Serpentine Road (start)	06:53 first departure; Official Start 07:00 to 08:30	Timetable and 23 October news release
Crawley, The Hawth Theatre (halfway break)	Time not given	23 October news release
Madeira Drive, Brighton (finish)	10:00 to 16:30	Timetable and spectators page
Pall Mall, London (Saturday 31 October)	10:00 to 15:00	22 October news release

The official pages we read do not say whether there is any charge to watch from the roadside. They also do not list other towns on the route, so check the organisers’ spectators page before you pick a spot. Road closure times for 2026 were not in the sources we read. For those, contact the local council along the route and Transport for London (TfL) for central London.

What happens on Pall Mall the day before?

The St James’s Motoring Spectacle returns to Pall Mall on Saturday 31 October from 10am to 3pm. The organisers describe it as completely free for everyone to enjoy, and say no tickets are required, in their 22 October news release.

The Royal Automobile Club said on 16 September 2026 that chassis 20154, built in November 1904 and described as the oldest known surviving Rolls-Royce, will be shown at the Spectacle.

Which are the oldest cars on the run?

The 23 October release names the oldest entries as a pair of Peugeots from 1895 and an even earlier Benz Velo from 1894. It says more than 400 pioneering pre-1905 cars are expected. The event marks the 130th anniversary of the 1896 Emancipation Run, according to a Royal Automobile Club news headline of 25 March 2026.

What is the time for readers in the United States?

The run starts on the same morning U.S. clocks fall back, Sunday 1 November at 2 a.m. local time. By our calculation, 6.53am GMT is 1:53 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), after the change. Our daylight saving time ends story has the U.S. details.

How does it fit with other UK dates?

The clock change that gives the early light is covered in our UK and Europe clocks go back story. Later in November, see the Bonfire Night 2026 story and the Lord Mayor’s Show 2026 story. Mark 31 October and 1 November on the October 2026 printable calendar and the November 2026 printable calendar.