All the Falcon’s started from Toddington, although there were a few notable no-shows. Alan Bellamy was marshalling at the start, along with John and Dot Parsons, David Alderson, Dave Nash and Lee Howells. JAZ wasn’t ready for the fray as it hadn’t recovered from the stresses and strains incurred when Murray took it Green Laning with the local Land Rover boys, so Hazel missed her drive and Mike Furse was another Falcon who marshalled rather than drove on the day.
We had a few new cars to see. Richard Tompkins was making his MCC debut in his smart turquoise Imp, but may have doubted the wisdom of this with his clubmate’s telling him hair raising stories about Bamford and Litton Slack! Stuart Cairney made the start, but only just, when he found that last minute welding prevented the bonnet opening to access the petrol filler cap! Fred Gregory had been studying the weather forecast and decided to treat Peter Stafford to a bit of luxury, forsaking his usual Dutton Melos for a Citroen BX, complete with suspension height adjustment. Last, but not least, Simon and Matt Robson were the centre of attention with their new Liege.
JP and his team showed no mercy to their clubmate’s, sending Michael Leete off to get his stoplights working and Mike Pearson to locate his MOT certificate. This was all soon sorted and it was off up the A5 on a fine October evening to the joys of eligibility scruitineering at the Elf service station, just south of Atherstone, where Alan Foster was conducting operations in the car wash bay, quite appropriate as it turned out. Tyres seemed the major concern of the day and Scrut Foster was soliciting opinions from other Skoda drivers about the acceptability of 14 inch rubber on the ex Simon Robson Czech wonder machine.
The rain had started by the time the field reached Agnes Meadow and this was to continue all day. This first section was not one to trouble the scorer as they say. But just up the road Wigber Low was to prove a bit tricky for one or two people, including Fred Gregory and Pete Stafford who couldn’t get their Citroen BX away from the start.
They has a roaring log fire going at The Bentley Brook Inn and bikers and the crews of open cars were already drying out their sodden gear. These included Mike Pearson who can’t get into his Dellow Rep with the hood on and Simon and Matt Robson who haven’t got one yet as the guy making it had left out the fasteners! Simon had been quite busy since the Testing Trial. Rather than fix the troublesome Reliant back axle he had replaced it with a modified “A” series component. This had to be narrowed by removing some of the axle tubes and re-welding and shortening the half shafts. RAC supremo John Quenby was another eschewing a roof, claiming he has never owned one for his TC ex-racer.
Fred Gregory was in further trouble at Clough Wood when the Citroen stalled and refused to re-start on the exit road. Neil Bray stopped to help but tinkering under the bonnet didn’t do any good and they decided to tow the fuel-injected machine to the nearest surfaced road. The Citroen took one look at the tow rope and started immediately!
Litton Slack soon beckoned, but first came that hairy descent down the muddy track that barely clings to the side of the hill. Peter Thompson scared himself, and those following, when he got his Opel sideways and was only inches from plunging to oblivion when he managed to regain control.
The old hill was in fine form in the rain and drizzle. The first challenge was of course actually getting to the start line. You certainly weren’t going to do it by following the instructions in the route card, which directed you to go around the telegraph pole and approach the start line from the direction of Litton Mill. With the grass an absolute quagmire the only way was to take a run down the approach track, aiming for the gateposts and backing down the section to the line if you were fortunate enough to reach them. Even then quite a few couldn’t get to the start and one really pitied the poor class ones. All credit then to Mike Relf, who not only got his Mitsubishi to the line, but got a fair way up the hill as well. A much better effort than Brian Partridge who made a right pigs ear of things, sliding down towards Litton Mill with spinning wheels in a crescendo of revs. Duncan Walsh made the first clean climb in his special and Steve Austin was the first saloon clear in his 1641 Baja, which unfortunately broke its diff later in the trial. There were only two Volvo’s in the trial and they both played football with large rocks. Rob Wells dislodged the boulder up by the bush at the top, creating a chicane for those following. Later Tony Branson got a bit out of shape coming down the escape route, dislodging bits from a stone wall in the process. Stuart Harrold was also in trouble coming down the escape road, scaring the life out of driver and passenger as the Troll slipped sideways (writers note – I can remember doing the same on the White Peaks once).
The field split after Litton. The Solo’s went through Stoney Middleton on the A623, turning left onto the B6001 before diving through the hedge and up a bank to Goatscliffe, a section known as Excelsior on the White Peaks, a name used for a hill near Hartington, many miles to the east, on the Edinburgh. Cars and Three Wheelers turned off in the village of Stony Middleton, to tackle Jacobs Ladder, amidst an organised protest against the trial, arranged by a woman in the village in the form of a “sponsored walk”. Fortunately the Clerk of the Course had the courage to run the hill, even though the competitive bit was barely twenty yards, so competitors could make their runs in between the bedraggled protestors. The section itself wasn’t too bad, but the bits before and after were a bit rough. Fred Gregory’s Citroen had to be towed out by a Land Rover when Fred thought his clutch had gone, although it turned out to be a flat with the wheel spinning inside the tyre.
The bikes went directly to Great Hucklow, a mere two miles away, missing out a twelve mile loop tackled by the three and four wheelers. This traversed the old road across Houndkirk Moor and then went almost into the suburbs of Sheffield before going up what I believe was the Bassett section on a recent Edinburgh, looping back to Gridleford to bring competitors a few hundred yards from whence they had come! It appears the organisers were trying out this route in the hope that some of it could be used as sections in the future. However, without any form of route check it was a little galling to some drivers of open cars who got wet and cold when they could have short cut the loop without any penalty!
All classes had to restart on Great Hucklow before diverting up the bank to the left. In the past this has been very tricky, muddy with a terrible camber dropping away to the right. However, it seems the MCC road gang had been at work as the surface was pretty solid, with little or no adverse camber. It was rough though, catching out quite a few people, including Richard Tompkins who didn’t give his Imp enough welly. The trial saw the end of Fred Gregory here, when he and Pete Stafford gave up the struggle to keep the fuel injected motor on the Citroen running properly. Jim Scott was another one to experience problems, but continued with funny noises coming from the back of his Imp.
Then it was past the Gliding Club, before some more green laning, up and over Bradwell Edge to a cold and desolate holding control for Bamford. This was manned by a guy whose name I can’t remember, but he was the one who incurred the wrath of the MCC committee by painting a funny face on the front of his Beetle when he was told off for having a scruffy car!
There were no loose stones on Bamford itself which was not too difficult this year, if you had the engine characteristics and good sense to trickle, or the courage to give it some gun. If you took the middle course you were in trouble and it certainly wasn’t an Imp hill. Richard Tompkins was surprised by the roughness, backed off and lost too much momentum. Old campaigner Stuart Cairney ran out of puff on the last step with his PCT spec engine and Jim Scott’s Stiletto finally broke the diff that had been growling away for some time. The Haggside re-start was OK if you stopped in the right place, which was either just in or almost out. You were in trouble though if you stopped in the middle!
Recrossing the Ladybower reservoir, which is pretty full these days, there was a well organised half hour meal break at The Marquis of Granby. A special test at Pindale was next on the agenda. It was another of those stop on line B and restart in your own time jobs. The problem was that line B was on a horrible greasy bit of raw cement and a lot of people couldn’t get away. The route card was very clear about this. Rolling back on the restart constitutes a fail. Lets hope this doesn’t cost too many triples!
Dirtlow Rake was scheduled to immediately follow the special test, but the deviation was in very bad condition so it was cancelled making Putwell next on the agenda. There was only one section again this year. The long one with the re-start on the rock slab at the top. John Beaumont was in trouble on the lower slopes when his Reliant, which has a Mini engine in the back, punctured. The marshals wouldn’t let John change a wheel on the section and insisted on dragging the three-wheeler to the top behind a Land Rover which ripped one side off the rear suspension. Keith Pettit blew his clean sheet here when he couldn’t get the venerable Frogeye away on the re-sart.
Calton is coming back into condition, with a nice deep hole developing on the re-start. John Parsons, who was leading the Falcon marshalling team, explained that the ploy for the early numbers was to just put the front wheels into the box. However, as the day went on a big hole developed and the trick was to drive further in. Mike Furse was watching here and said Dave Turner was the only driver to park his rear wheels in the hole and drive out. For the yellows and reds the holes on Calton were a mere warm up for the monsters on Corkscrew, which was rated mega-rough by most competitors. It was easily on though, provided you got the re-start right. You had to keep your rear wheels on the hard stuff. Go a bit to one side and get a bit on the grass and you were in trouble, as Simon Robson, making his Corkscrew début in the pretty Liege, discovered!
John Beaumont had limped to a garage and fixed the suspension on his Reliant by the time he got to Old Long Hill. John was now running with the cars, well down the field, and showed the four wheelers how to do the tricky re-start on slippery grass. There was only Haydale left now. The muddy approach is quite tricky and fools you into using very low pressures on what turns out to be a very rocky climb. No problems for Ross Neuten or Mike Perason here though and they both reported clean sheets for the trail, and a toolbox fill of water in Mike’s case.
So it was back to Buxton to dry out and chew things over. Rain aside it was reckoned a pretty good event by most people. Shame about Litton but at least most people had the chance to pit their skill against the old hill ,even if it didn’t figure in the results. Wonder who got a triple?
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