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Thursday morning saw us make our way up and over Julier Pass. The Julier Pass is a stunning road to drive and the scenery at times is almost overwhelming. The mountain passes are always a challenge and today's roads were no different, but if anything the route down towards St. Moritz is even more spectacular than usual.
Passing through the gorgeous town of Andermatt, we stopped for one of the day's clues – 'Where you see signs of scallops, what type of kit requires that you see that the seal is intact?' To solve this we needed to find a Shell garage (the signs of scallops), the type of kit required that you needed to see the seal was intact was in-fact a car cleaning kit hidden
under a hat in the shop window, which was only visible if you were on your knees, on which it said to check that the seal was intact before you open it..! The answer: 'Car cleaning kit'. It all seems so perfectly simple on reflection!
As we wove our way down from the highest mountains towards St. Moritz, we drove through some beautiful Swiss Alpine villages such as Silvaplana, which was the site of our very last picture clue on the tour – a life size painted Swizley cow!
We arrived at Badrutt's Palace in St. Moritz mid-afternoon giving everyone plenty of time to check in and admire the wonderful views before heading out to the array of exclusive shops in the town. Most of us enjoyed a few hours rest whilst looking forward to a long and fun-packed final evening. After enjoying a champagne reception whilst overlooking the azure blue lake below the hotel, it was time for the gala dinner and prize giving ceremony to begin.
We all enjoyed another exceptional meal complimented by a selection of fine wines. During the evening, Robert Foster addressed the gathering saying how much fun he thought everyone seemed to have had during the week, and re-emphasised how much pleasure it gives the Broughtons staff to bring customers together on an event like this and experience them becoming friends. Robert went on to announce the Broughtons GT:07 prize winners and presented the awards, in true traditional honour he began in reverse order; Brian and Aracelli Bird, returning for their 2nd Broughtons GT, came in 20th position receiving their prize of a beautiful Orrefors candlestick, kindly
donated by Beards of Cheltenham.
In 15th place came Derek Radcliffe who managed to complete the tour unaided by a co-driver and received an Aston Martin travel flask complete with 2 silver cups. Our only all female team of Rani Sharma and Amanda Wood (more Broughtons GT veterans) came in 10th position each receiving a pair of leather Bentley driving gloves.
In 3rd place came Graeme and Ceri Mitchell winning a case of Laurent-Perrier champagne. Graham and Ceri were followed closely by the runners-up for 2007 - Keith and Norah Ashworth who won an Aston Martin driving day for 2 at the Millbrook Proving Ground.
Finally it was time to announce the overall winners of the Broughtons GT trophy. Robert was joined for the presentation of the prizes and trophy by Alex Rose, a Director of Beards the Jewellers who are the title sponsor of the Broughtons GT event. Robert and Alex were very pleased to announce (amongst loud cheering and clapping) that Rupert and Lisa Channing driving their Mercedes McLaren SLR 722 had won the Broughtons GT:07. Robert presented Rupert and Lisa (also previous Broughtons GT entrants) with the Broughtons Steering Wheel Trophy, and they were also presented with a Breitling gentleman's watch and a Jaeger LeCoutre ladies watch from Alex Rose of Beards the Jewellers.
The ensuing party continued until the early hours of the morning with a great deal of re-living those mountain hairpins, the noisy tunnel exits and the super scenery enjoyed by everyone during the week.
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