Story added: 26th September 2025

Coverage from Canaryball Rally 3

Catch up on the incredible story of this year’s Canaryball Rally – an epic adventure that saw a dedicated team of fundraisers from Norfolk explore Europe’s most scenic landscapes on a once-in-a-lifetime journey.

Departing from The Nest at 7am on Monday, 29th September, the team of drivers travelled 1,872 miles across five countries – including Switzerland and Belgium – before returning home on Friday 3rd October.

Sponsored by DMD Installations and Ovamill , this third edition of the rally once again delivered unforgettable memories and, most importantly, raised an outstanding £42,000 to support the Foundation’s life-changing work across Norfolk.

Read on for the full Canaryball Rally 3 diary, documenting every highlight and heartwarming moment from an unforgettable week on the road👇 .

Keen to take part in the next rally? Register your interest today and help us shape Canaryball Rally 4.

Day Four Recap | Thursday | Gateaux, Gear Shifts & Glory

Zurich, Switzerland > Spa, Begium

The final day of Canaryball Rally 3 began as all great days should: with a lovely breakfast and a heated debate about which way to travel to our last stop, Spa in Belgium. Some studied maps like seasoned navigators, others just pressed “avoid tolls” on Google Maps and hoped for the best.

Many of us headed into the Black Forest, where one lucky group discovered and devoured a real Black Forest gâteau. They reported back that it was delicious, but we suspect they just didn’t want to share. Meanwhile, another group stumbled across a derelict castle straight out of a fairytale and, naturally, a playground, where grown adults reverted to their inner children on the swings and slides. Thankfully no reports of injuries!

Eventually, the convoy regrouped and made its way towards Spa for a private tour of the famous race track. The plan was to arrive by 3pm… which, in true Canaryball fashion, became 4pm thanks to “creative route planning” and “selective timekeeping.” Still, the wait was worth it. Our guide gave us behind-the-scenes access to areas normally off-limits and shared stories from the circuit’s rich history. For motorsport fans, it was a real treat.

After the tour, it was time to check into our final hotel, swap rally T-shirts for something slightly less petrol-scented, and head out for the celebration dinner. The racing-themed restaurant was the perfect venue, complete with memorabilia, friendly staff, and an atmosphere buzzing with anticipation.

Dinner was followed by speeches, heartfelt thanks, and a massive cheer when the fundraising total was announced: £42,000 raised for the Community Sports Foundation. Not bad for four days of croissants, convoys, and cow selfies!

Finally, it was time to crown the Canaryball Rally 3 winners: Ian Howes from Nu Image and Stuart from Rockthorn. Their scavenger hunt finds had kept everyone laughing all week from cows to questionable road signs, so they were fitting and very deserving champions. The trophy was theirs, along with eternal bragging rights until the next rally.

And with that, Canaryball Rally 3 crossed the finish line. Four days, 14 cars, countless wrong turns, and thousands of memories later, the adventure came to a close. But judging by the feedback already pouring in, this isn’t the end. Far from it.

Or not quite the finish as the cars and their drivers still need to make the short trip back to the UK! One last final push and maybe a stop off at Dunkirk beach on the way.

Canaryball Rally 4, 2027 — Register your interest here!

Canaryball Rally – Day Three: Sausages, Switchbacks & Surprises

St. Mortiz, Switzerland > Zurich, Switzerland (via the Stelvio Pass)

Day Three began with another hearty breakfast in St. Moritz. Most of us had arrived in the dark the night before, so waking up to blue skies, sunshine, and a helicopter casually airlifting logs was a bit surreal. The tourists were already drifting about in designer sunglasses, looking very at home, whereas we Canaryballers were frantically trying to work out if croissants counted as one of our five-a-day.

We thought this was going to be the wow moment of the day. We were so wrong.

Within minutes of leaving, the convoy was greeted with yet another horizon of snow-capped peaks and rolling green valleys, the kind of view that makes you simultaneously want to cry and invest in a drone (good job we had one!) Every corner revealed another picture-perfect scene, and with the weather being spot on, we wondered if the scenery might get boring. Spoiler: it didn’t.

Then came the day’s headline act: the legendary Stelvio Pass. Immortalised by Top Gear and feared by satnavs everywhere, it’s a dizzying collection of hairpins, switchbacks, and “are we nearly there yet?” corners. By the time we reached the top, it felt like we’d climbed the Stelvio three times already.

Of course, no Canaryball day would be complete without at least one unforgettable moment. Enter the team who managed to perform a U-turn on the Stelvio Pass. Yes, really. A manoeuvre so bold (or bewildering) that we’re fairly sure it’s never been attempted before, and if it has, the driver probably still hasn’t lived it down.

At the summit, it was a bracing minus 2 degrees, and bizarrely, a bustling mini-market in the clouds. Souvenir stalls, bratwurst vendors, tourists from all over the world… and a very territorial sausage seller who scolded one of our team for daring to use his bin without buying his wurst. “No sausage, no rubbish!” might be the new rally motto.

The entertainment didn’t stop there. We spotted the Slovenian ski team practicing on skates, and a slightly unnerving “Do Not Feed the Bears” sign. (To clarify: there were no bears spotted, but several Canaryballers did start eyeing each other suspiciously over bratwurst).

Driving down the Stelvio was just as spectacular as going up, and the general verdict was unanimous, absolutely breathtaking. After that high point (literally), the road to Zurich brought us back to earth with yet more stunning scenery… until Zurich rush hour traffic smacked us with a dose of reality. Nothing says “welcome back” quite like sitting bumper-to-bumper after conquering the Alps.

The scavenger hunt kept spirits high throughout the day. Highlights included:

An attempt of yodelling (We have the video)
Yet more pictures of cows, because what’s Switzerland without cows?
A triumphant selfie with a cyclist at the top of Stelvio.
Proof of a team enjoying a proper Italian espresso (because points taste better with caffeine).

As the day closed, there was just one thought on everyone’s mind: only one more day to get those points on the board before the Canaryball Rally winner is crowned tomorrow night. No pressure then.

Miles done so far: 1,137

Day Two Recap | Tuesday | From croissants to cowbells

Troyes, France > St. Mortiz, Switzerland

Day Two began in Troyes with a breakfast that can only be described as glorious. Croissants, coffee, and the vague hope that the caffeine would erase the memories of last night’s “just one more” at the hotel bar. At an unholy 7:30am, the convoy of Canaryball cars rolled out into a blanket of French fog, one team even left earlier to get a head start.

Before leaving France, we discovered the greatest invention since sliced baguette: petrol stations that pump out music as well as fuel. There’s nothing quite like filling your tank to the sound of Europop at full blast. Spirits soared, tanks were full, and hips may or may not have wiggled at the pumps.

The scavenger hunt continued to provide entertainment throughout the day. One challenge was to find a cow with a cowbell in Switzerland. Easier said than done. Eventually, a creative team member decided that a fairly large papier-mâché cow by the roadside was good enough. Points for initiative, if not for accuracy!

Another task was to snap “rude” road signs, with “Ausfahrt” (exit) proving to be the clear fan favourite. Rally humour at its finest.

We wound our way into Switzerland and stopped in Weggis, a picture-perfect town on Lake Lucerne. Tranquil. Serene. Peaceful. Until, of course, the Canaryball cars rolled in one after the other, shattering the calm with revving engines and sat-nav arguments. The locals, however, didn’t seem to mind and were soon lining up for photos with the cars, proving that Norwich yellow is universally photogenic.

Meanwhile, Team OvaMill decided that Switzerland wasn’t quite enough and managed to nip into Germany. Twice. In ten minutes. For the record, Germany wasn’t on the itinerary, but they assured us it was all part of their “alternative route.”

The real showstopper of the day was the drive over the Oberalp Pass. It was nothing short of spectacular with snow-dusted peaks above, lush green valleys below, the kind of view that makes you want to pull over and start narrating in a David Attenborough voice.

The only problem? We’d left Weggis in 20-degree heat, and an hour later, the temperature had nose-dived to 5 degrees. Leaping out of the cars in T-shirts was a rookie error swiftly corrected with a frantic scramble for hats, coats, and dignity.

Finally, after hours of twists, turns, and jaw-dropping scenery, we rolled into St. Moritz. A long day, yes, but an unforgettable one.

Miles done so far: 812 (for those who didn’t take the alternative route!)

Tomorrow brings the legendary Stelvio Pass, where we’re hoping for epic photos, dramatic hairpins, and ideally, no accidental trips into Germany.

Day One Recap | Monday | Coats, Chaos & Channel Tunnels

Norwich, UK > Troyes, France

They say all great adventures start with a bang and ours started with 14 brightly coloured cars, a surprising amount of multi coloured clothing, and a man called Dom forgetting his coat.

7:30am. The Nest.

A slightly foggy Norfolk morning greeted the brave souls of Canaryball Rally 3, but spirits were high (and tyres were freshly pumped). With 14 rally cars lined up like something out of a budget Fast & Furious: Norfolk Drift, we hit the road, fuelled by coffee, adrenaline, and the collective hope that no one’s sat nav would send them to Norwich instead of Northern France.

And we were off!

Sort of.

About 20 minutes in, the live tracking app pinged with the first hiccup of the day, a car had mysteriously vanished from the radar. Had someone taken a wrong turn? Engine failure? Alien abduction?

Nope.

Dom had forgotten his coat.

In a rally spanning four countries, involving over 1,800 miles of motoring mayhem, Dom decided the most strategic moment to realise this was… after setting off. Cue an emergency detour and what we assume was a world record for the fastest coat retrieval in Norfolk history. One hero, one jacket, and a mild telling-off later, we were back on track.

Meanwhile, our support crew were proving they have the easiest job and the best Instagram game with snapping glorious photos of the cars as they went by.

The Canaryball Scavenger Hunt was also launched, a chaotic blend of dares, tasks, and point-scoring madness. Want to win? You’d better be ready to hug a stranger, sing karaoke in various languages, take a photo of a French man with a very large baguette, or convince a passing lorry driver to honk in the name of charity.

By some miracle (and a lot of cruise control), we all made it to the Channel Tunnel early. Yes, early. A rally first. Either we were super organised or all very excited about French pastries, probably both.

Once in France, the real challenge began: 250 more miles to Troyes, navigating unfamiliar roads, unfamiliar road signs, and very familiar arguments over the pronunciation of “Troyes”. (Is it “Twa”? “Troys”? “Troy-ez”? No one knows. We went with all of them.)

After a long day, everyone rolled triumphantly into our first hotel. The evening drinks were flowing, the laughs were plentiful, and the leaderboard? Still wide open.

Tomorrow, it’s on to Day Two. More miles, more mayhem, and hopefully no more forgotten clothing.

Miles done so far: 453

P.S. Dom has now got his coat. It’s become a sort of mascot.