A West Cumbrian car cruising club has returned after a 10-year hiatus.
Cruise West Cumbria, which last met in 2016, is being revived by its original organisers, who are keen to bring the modified car community back to life in the area.
The club previously ran car cruises for 13 years before it made the decision to call it a day in 2016 after 32 cruises – its final of which had 500 cars turn up.
Over the years, it brought members together to make new friends, worked with emergency services, raised money for charity and some members even got married and had children of their own.
The club is also now welcoming multiple generations of car enthusiasts, as some members now have children of driving age attending the club’s new mini meets and cruises, while others have younger children that they are bringing along.
A car cruise is an organised event where owners of modified cars meet at a location, usually announced shortly before it begins, to showcase their cars and socialise with fellow enthusiasts.
Jayne Thompson, who is the main organiser, has been involved with the group since day one.
She first got into modified cars after being inspired by her brother-in-law who attended meets in the South with his Subaru Impreza.
Jayne said: “In 2003 after living in the South of England and going to a few car meets there, we moved to Cumbria.
“There was nothing like that here, people were in their own groups scattered everywhere and I just thought, I can get these guys together, so I did.
“Using email was limited then, so we just went around using word of mouth and said ‘there’s a meet on this date, be there’. We then set up the website and forum and it grew from there.
“We kept going until 2016, when I was due my second child and I felt it was time for a break. We didn’t know if it would be our last ever cruise, we kept everything, all the emails and posters just in case.”
Jayne said it was an idea from a friend that became the catalyst for her decision to revive the club.
She added: “In 2023, a friend who I’ve worked with in the past got in touch and said he wanted me to help him bring drag racing back to Cumbria by setting up a club.
“I thought wow, okay! I said yes and then about eight months ago I thought, I’m going to have to bring Cruise West Cumbria back, there’s nothing happening here car related for cruises or meets at a substantial level.
“Watching it grow again so quickly has been amazing. We had no idea we’d achieve so much over the last eight months.
“We’ve got a bank account again, we’ve brought our stickers back, we’re building bridges with emergency services and we have five business sponsors.
“It’s just gone massive and the plan is to build on that from here and get back to where we were in 2016, if not even bigger and better.”
The club has so far held three mini meets in Workington, Carlisle and Barrow and its first cruise back, which took place in Workington on Saturday, July 11.
Jayne said: “It was brilliant, it could not have gone any better, we had about 200 cars turn up and we had some shoppers join us to come and have a look around.
“We tied with the football, so we weren’t sure how that was going to go, but some watched football on their phones.
“The atmosphere really picked up, we had Base Box Install put music on until 11 o’clock, the whole night was a massive success.
“It’s nice because from 2003 onwards it’s been about 22 years now, so we’ve got a lot of friends, who now have children and partners.
“Some of the people who came back in the day their children are now driving and coming to the cruise.
“I saw someone who I haven’t seen for 15 years at the cruise and it’s been like that for a lot of us.
“It’s bringing us all back together, it is a big community and a family really.”
Graeme Lowrey, an organiser who has worked alongside Jayne for years supporting the club, first started out as an 18-year-old member.
He said he was excited to see the club make its return.
He added: “I think it has been missing from a lot of people’s lives, it is exciting to be back.
“When you go and see people happy and showing off their cars, that’s when you sit back you think, you know what, we’ve done quite well here.
“Some of the little mini meets have been getting 100 to 150 plus cars turn up and back in the day we were maybe getting 30 to 50 at mini meets.
“But when we spoke about ending things 10 years ago, in my head I knew fine well it wasn’t going to finish then. I knew it would come back and Jayne is our driving force, she needs more credit for that.”
Graeme added that modified cars have also changed a lot over the years.
He said: “You still get your old ones, but we’ve got a lot of newer ones too and a few supercar types, but cars have changed a lot.
“It’s a lot of computing based stuff now compared to what it was where you used to get a spanner out, smack it and get dirty.
“I think there’s only one car that’s made it to all the cruises from the start to the finish and to the last cruise we had.”
Thousands of people have attended the events held by Cruise West Cumbria over the years and events have taken place across the county after starting out in Workington.
Paul Robinson, known best as Chucky, has been a member since the club’s early days, and is now bringing his children to the meets and cruises.
He said: “I’ve talked to Jayne over the years about getting it all back out there, and now it is, and I’m really glad it’s happening. It puts a smile on your face. It is exciting.
“My heart and soul is my kids and cars. My eldest kid, he’s 11, and he’s more or less the same as me.
“He’s built his own go kart and put a motorbike engine on it and my youngest he’s nearly two and he loves cars as well.
“Most kids don’t like loud sounds but he loves cars popping and banging, when all the grown ups are just cringing, he’s loving it.
“I took my eldest to the first cruise back because it was a bit past the little ones bed time, but I do take my little one drag racing and he loves that.
“But my eldest I took him to the cruise and one of his mates to have a wander and both of them were making TikTok videos.
“He kept going on about it for two days afterwards saying ‘this was cool dad’ and ‘look at the wheels on this’ and it’s what I used to be like.
“The car community is hopefully going to start kicking back off again and that makes it more special for my kids, because I know they’re into it.”
The club has also supported charities over the years, including raising money for the Great North Air Ambulance – a charity close to members’ hearts due to the emergency support it provides for road traffic collisions.
It also supported and raised money for families affected by the 2005 floods.
Jayne said that the club has also worked closely with Cumbria police and in 2007 it helped organise a road safety day at Carlisle Racecourse.
She added that the club is hoping to work more with Cumbria police and Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service in the future.
Jayne said: “I get a great deal of excitement and a massive buzz out of organising these events where people who have the same interest as me can turn up and enjoy it.
“Whether there’s 50 or 500 cars, which we have had before, because I can do it, I just want to do it more.
“We are very passionate about our vehicles, a lot of money is spent, people spend thousands, they’re people’s pride and joys.
“When I first set things up again, we contacted Cumbria police and Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service and told them what I wanted to do and that it would be great to work with them to build on the road safety side of things.
“Any education we can provide for young drivers who come to our event while also providing hopefully a massive cruise they can enjoy, is what we want.
“But without our team, members and supporters, none of this would be possible.”
People interested in getting involved with Cruise West Cumbria can find out more via Facebook.
The club also has a Discord server and website for people to get involved. Children and families are welcome at events.
Landowners interested in providing the club with space to host one of their events are encouraged to get in touch via Facebook.
