Drivers of classic cars navigated their way across Wiltshire's battlefields in a military history themed road run on Saturday.

More than 60 cars gathered at Bowood House for the two-day Great Western Rally, before embarking on the 80-mile tour, which passed the English Civil-war battlefield of Roundway Down, near Devizes, and Effingdon, near Westbury, where Alfred the Great defeated an army of Danes.

They cruised past the old Spitfire factory in Trowbridge and RAF Keevil.

In the evening the rally enthusiasts converged on Calne's Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum, which sponsors the event, where they looked round the exhibits before tucking into a barbecue.

Chairman of the Great Western Rally Steve Neathey said he thought it was probably the most successful weekend in the rally's 18-year history.

Mr Neathey, who is a founding member of the event, said: "I'm very pleased with the way event went. It was very successful.

"The atmosphere was good and people really participated and got into the spirit of things.

"It's not just about numbers, there are lots of team and individual events and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. There were lots of toots and waves when everyone left."

On Sunday there were a number of time driving events in the grounds of Bowood House, at Derry Hill.

There was a motor vehicle version of a horse gymkhana, where competitors had to drive around a marked course picking up coloured cones and moving them, while racing against the clock.

In the blindfold-driving test the navigator had to direct the driver around a course with a chicane and then back into a garage, which was marked out with cones.

Teams of four stripped a wheel from their car and then took it in turns to roll it up and down a course before racing back and putting the wheel back onto the car.

Roger Chittock, 42, drove his 1978 MG Midget 200 miles to Bowood from Caerphilly, in South Wales to attend the event.

He said: "It's been a very good weekend. It's very informal and there are a large variety of different cars. People are very approachable."

Coach driver Nick Holloway, 22, came to the event for the first time with five other members of the Bristol Mini Cooper Club.

He said: "I'll definitely be coming back next year. It's a great chance to show your car off to people who know about it. The grounds are spectacular and the whole event is really well organised."

The oldest car at the event was a 1922 Model-T Ford, but there were also Triumph Stags, Mazda MX5s, MG Midgets, Audi A35s and A40s and an American Pontiac Transam, as favoured by Burt Reynolds in the cult-film Smokey And The Bandit.

The Great Western Rally was founded in 1986 and was originally held at Longleat before moving to Bowood House, where it has been held for the past eight years.