Waldviertel – Mühlviertel – Wachau

On Saturday, 18 July 2026, at 9.00 am, 13 teams gathered with their beloved cars – mostly Jaguars, along with two other British classics: an Austin A35, an Austin Healey 3000 and a Mercedes convertible standing in for a ‘Cat’ that was off the road due to illness – at the Süddeck lakeside restaurant in Tulln for a quick pre-breakfast coffee in glorious sunshine.

At 9.30 sharp, we set off on the first leg of the journey to Stiefern and the Kamptalwirt, where we were able to enjoy some light refreshments under the cool shade of the trees and were joined by our friend Bernhard Wagner in his TVR. This is where the first breakdown occurred: Renee’s Healey had a flat on the front right tyre. With Wolfgang’s help and thanks to a spare tyre in good condition, we were able to continue our journey, and by the time we had lunch at the Demutsgraben near Zwettl, the whole group was back together. Gabi and Matthias’s Rover P5 had now joined us too. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and the apricot dumplings – it was well worth the wait.

The next stop was reached quickly, after about 20 km – Rosenau Castle, with an interesting guided tour of the Masonic Museum.

The final leg of the day took us to the old town of Freistadt and the Hotel Goldener Hirsch, where we checked into our rooms for the night.

We strolled to the Ratsherrenstube on the main square, where we enjoyed dinner al fresco under parasols, accompanied by brass band music and in a convivial atmosphere. Dessert: apricot dumplings. Around 10.00 pm, it started to rain and we hurried back to the hotel to avoid getting wet.

Sunday, 19 July: 7.30 am – breakfast in glorious sunshine. At 9.00 am, we set off on time through the hilly Mühlviertel region, with its winding roads and beautiful views, heading for Clam Castle, near the Danube. Unfortunately, Peter’s Jaguar also broke down early in the morning with a flat tyre, but thank goodness his lovely red Bentley convertible was ready to go, so his day was saved. The guided tour of the well-preserved castle, which has been privately owned since the 15th century, was very interesting. Afterwards, we sampled the Count Clam’s Burgbräu beer. Fortunately, the weather held out, much to the delight of the convertible owners amongst us; so far, we’ve driven everywhere with the top down.

We carried on to Gasthof Ziseritsch for lunch, right by the Danube near Freyenstein. Many of us also enjoyed apricot dumplings for dessert here.

We set off at 2.15 pm for ice cream in Obergrafendorf.

The final stop on the trip was the Landgasthaus Murtinger in Breitenfurt. The remaining six teams enjoyed their dinner and, unsurprisingly, dessert – apricot dumplings. The clear winner: the apricot dumplings at Demutsgraben!

We’d like to thank the organising team, Brigitte and Michael, for the superb route, the interesting sightseeing stops and the culinary highlights. It was a lovely weekend in good company, and we’re already looking forward to our next ride together.