Category: Lands End

Lands End 2006

Tough Event for Class Eight

Good weather, big delays at Riverton, Hoskin very tough for class 8

2006_lands_end_resultsDownload

Dave Cooks Photos

Start – Falcons Ed Nikel didn’t make the Plusha start as the dynamo on his VW Buggy failed on the way down. Ted Holloway wasn’t a great deal luckier. Ted made it to the start OK but didn’t get very far as he had a hub collapse on his Mini Special only 50 yards up the road.

Felons Oak – This short little “hill” is all about the restart, which is reckoned to be getting trickier as it gets dug out. Although it claimed quite a few casualties, all the Falcon’s got away successfully.

Stoney Street – The section, which bypasses Porlock, was reckoned to be very rough this year. Peter Mountain would certainly agree. Peter retired when the rear axle-locating pivot broke on his Dellow Mk1. This was not a Dellow friendly hill as Richard Shirley also retired here with back axle problems.

Beggars Roost – Strangely there was no restart for Class 8. Simon Groves lost his triple here when he failed to get away. Keith Oakes is down in the results as stopping but as you will see from Claire’s report he didn’t. Tony Smith didn’t get this far in his first Land End in his Austin Big 7. The engine went bang crossing Exmoor and he needed a tow from Roger Teagle in his Beetle to reach civilisation at The Culbourne Inn. We also lost Mike Telford in the night when he had to retire the “Tucker Nipper Special”, built by former clerk-of-the-course H. W. Tucker-Peake for his daughters who won a triple with this famous old car.

Riverton – There were big problems for the bikes again this year. A number of riders hit the deck and it took a lot of time for them to remount and get going. Things didn’t improve much when the cars came along and some had to wait very nearly three hours in the queue, which came close to blocking the road. 

After the debacle with the bikes the field became split when Tony Divey got stuck and there were big problems in towing the Tiking three wheeler out of the section. The thinning Dellow ranks were further depleted when Mark Worsfeld broke a half shaft on the section. Then Neil Bray claimed a baulk when he was stuck behind a car with a puncture. It had to be fixed on the hill because the recovery vehicle was down stream of the incident. This took a lot of time as the car kept rolling off the jack.

While all this was going on the lady of the manor from nearby Riverton Mill decided to walk her dog up and down the section, dishing out a verbal assault on passing competitors as she did so, claiming they were hooligans damaging her back garden and that she know nothing about the trial. The delay at Riverton was good for one competitor. Ian Moss had been having problems with his Escort sliding all over the road ever since Stoney Street. The delay gave him time to get underneath, finding a broken U bolt, which he was able to replace with the help of some of his fellow competitors.

Cutliffe Lane – The hill was reasonably dry this year but it is pretty steep and defeated.Simon Robson’s Liege. Likewise most of the class one’s and five’s failed, including Peter Manning and Barrie Parker.

Sutcombe & Darracott – Neither of these wonderful old hills were to cause many problems this year.

Crackington – Not to difficult this year.  It was pretty dry and there had been little or no doctoring. The field was really spread out by now and after the bikes came there were only four cars in an hour, presumably because of the Riverton problems. Dudley Sterry recorded a fail when he over-ran the restart line. This was to cost him The Field Trophy as he was faster than Paul Bartleman on the special tests.

Ross Nuten cleaned the restart here but suffered from fuel feed problems thereafter and finished up failing four hills. Earlier Ross was one of many to get fed up waiting in the queue for Riverton and skipped the section. Andrew Brown had been suffering from engine problems during the night and his Marlin stuttered to a brief halt before Andrew gathered everything together and did a special class 7 restart to “clean” the hill.

Warleggan – Passed without incident.

Hoskin – This fearsome Camel Vale Hill was true to form. The blues and whites had a clear run but only the best built up sufficient momentum to carry themselves up the slippery higher reaches. The problem is in the area of the class 8 re-start. The groove in the ruts is extremely slippery and polished and a lot of momentum is required to get through this area.

The poor old class 8’s really struggled and only the supermen succeeded. I witnessed both Paul Bartleman and Dudley Sterry clean the hill. They stopped way over to the left, one wheel between the ruts and the other up the bank. Some people tried the same technique the other side but the camber drew them back into the ruts and wheel spinning failure. Eric Wall got the technique right but even he slipped back into the groove and spun to a halt. The results also show that Robert Williams (Buggy) and Geoff May (Dellow) also succeeded. Falcons Neil Bray incurred his only fail of the day here and the results show Neil as winning class 8. However, this is a mistake as Dudley was faster on the special tests.

The yellows had a restart lower down. It was easier to get away, but even if you did get going it was necessary to build a lot of speed to get through the difficult area higher up. Few succeeded but some did and Roger Bricknell and Andrew Martin made it look positively easy! Mark Tooth (Beetle) and Mal Allen (Marlin) both trickled away beautifully from the yellow restart, building speed without any wheel spin. Unfortunately, both of them decided to boot it just when they reached the slippery bit, they didn’t have enough momentum to get away with it and spun to a halt.

The Front Wheel Drive Cars didn’t have a restart but this was nerveless a tough hill for them. The amazing David Haizelden just flew up, no wheel spin and the car just floating over the bumps. Paul Allaway made it as well, not so elegant and the poor little Astra was on the rev limiter but still a clean. Mike Collins tried the same but lost traction and failed just after the class 8 restart. Unluckiest crew were Alan and Ian Cundy who got almost, but not quite to the top in their Golf and failed just inches from the section ends board.

Bishops Wood

Again, this had the nasty restart where the section crosses the track. Good positioning was required. Neil Bray was delighted to get away in Primrose after his passenger, daughter Jade, shouted to him to stop high in the box. Following instructions Neil got as far forward as possible. His back wheels were almost on the line but most importantly the front ones were on the flat bit and he pulled away without any problems. Simon passenger son Matt shouted a similar instruction but Dad knew best, Simon stopped low and failed.

Blue Hills 1

There was a restart on the cobbles for all classes except 1, 2 and 5. This caused a lot of problems and even those who succeeded had a struggle. Frankly, the results are a bit doubtful here. Most people really struggled and there appears to be different interpretations of who was clean and who wasn’t. Both Neil Bray and Simon Groves were credited with success, even though its doubtful they maintained forward motion as they climbed over a huge rock! While Simon Robson had a fail when he appeared to be clean.

Blue Hills 2

The section is very short now and it’s all about the artificial bit through the cutting. Unfortunately, the bank on the outside proved to be a launching ramp and a couple of people turned over. These included Anne Whellock (Austin 7), Mark Hayward (Dellow Mk2) and a couple of chairs. Fortunately, there was no serious injury to the crews concerned but the motorcars may take a bit longer to repair. Although Anne’s Austin 7 was quite badly knocked about, she set out to drive it home on the Sunday but was defeated when it started to overheat quite badly and had to summon the recovery truck. Sadly, the preliminary results for the hill looked very strange and the MCC have gone back to the drawing board to re-look at them, which will affect the awards.

Wrap Up

On balance a good Lands End. Yes, there were the problems at Riverton and criticisms of “Mickey Mouse” restarts at Bishops Wood and Blue Hills 1. It was also a shame about the results. However, the Lands End is not an event for pot hunters, its about the experience, the emotional ups and downs as you ride or drive through the night. The children waving as you go through the villages. The satisfaction the next day when you realise what you accomplished. The organisers did a good job and we should all be grateful for their work.

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Lands End Class 0

Chris Clarke competed in Class 0 on the Lands End in his Golf. Here is his report.

When we first discussed the Lands End with experienced competitors; for some reason the impression we gained was one of a series of off and on road driving sections interspersed with meal stops – or was it the other way round? We like our food (the VW suspension is up-rated for good reasons) so it seemed a good idea to give it a go. Unfortunately at our first attempt the car ran out of energy (alternator failure) after only the third refreshment stop, so that was the end of it for 2004. 

For 2005 we set off in good time for the start to allow plenty of time for our evening meal, plus signing on etc. Suitably fortified we set off on the first road section, taking advantage of the holding control to fine tune the headlights, and then into Catsash, which we climbed without event. Whilst pumping up the tyres, we remarked on how difficult even the simplest task becomes at night, what with fiddling about with torches and if you drop anything small it’s gone for ever. 

On to Up Ewey and Grabhurst where it was noticeable how much more traction and control the new tyres gave over last year. What was more remarkable was how bright the moon had become; it was almost possible to drive without lights, although I suspect our navigator was not impressed by my practical demonstration of this. 

We left the Culborne Inn (bacon sandwich) and drove down Countisbury and up Porlock Hill, these are challenging in a modern car so it’s hard to imagine what they must have been like on an early c20th motorcycle.

The restart on Barton Steep was the first serious challenge, as the larger wheels on the Golf have raised the gear ratio and it took a lot of clutch slipping and some burning smells to ensure a fool-proof getaway. We were promised more of the same at Upper Molland and the feeling of trepidation was heightened by the optical illusion, as you descend into the clearing at the start, that the hill is steeper than it actually is. A VW beetle looked remarkably like its namesake as it climbed the track opposite. In fact the restart on loose surface was a lot easier on the clutch (obvious when you think about it) and we climbed it with only some wheel twirling on the corner.

Beyond this we were further than 2004, but no mention was made of this at the time for fear of “Murray Walkering” our chances until we reached the services at Roundswell (coffee & chocolate bars). Wargery and Roly Poly passed without incident and we continued to the café (control point) at Wilsey Down – ham, egg and chips with a mug of tea – excellent – and a chance for a nap in the sunshine. At Petherwin it was nice to see our first spectators there, but there was a scary moment as we rounded the first corner by Ruses Mill, trying to build up speed for an unknown gradient ahead and just missing a large stone covered with about 400 years worth of scrape marks.

We arrived at the Lady Vale test to a pressure building combination of spectators and the distant sound of a car struggling up something like the North face of the Eiger. In fact this test had one huge advantage, it was not necessary to engage reverse gear (refer to previous March Hare articles for an explanation of this), and we completed the test in what seemed a reasonable time, although I haven’t seen the results when writing this so may have to eat those words. The subsequent Mays Hill was very enjoyable and we approached Adrian’s Way with mounting confidence. 

The section was a bit slippery at the start, then a nice few yards to build up speed round the corner and a steepish climb to something I can’t tell you about because we never made it. There were two routes round the corner. I took the left hand one and avoided the rut, but unfortunately hit a large lump of earth on the inside which killed our momentum and we just did not have enough grip to make it to the top. At this point our navigator, quite out of character, suggested a more gung-ho approach which involved dropping a wheel into the rut (wall of death), thus firing the car round the corner and up the hill to certain success. At the time I was too surprised to challenge this view, but subsequently we concluded that you would have probably have either grounded with the wheel in free space or dented the (newly repaired) wing on the bank. 

We opted to do only the first part of Bishops path, a wise decision looking at what followed and stopped for a few minutes (sorry) to watch a Skoda literally fly over the top of the rock slope on the way to a clean. We’ve got a digital film of this if anyone is would like a copy. 

At Perranporth car park we could have spent the rest of the day explaining why we were driving around Cornwall in a car covered in mud, but had to move on the final section at Blue Hills. My apologies to all those who tried to encourage us to give the big one a go, but having spent the previous Saturday panel beating and with a good chance of making it home in one piece I didn’t want to take any chances and took the soft option. This took us safely to the finish control at the Crossroads Motel (yes that really is its name) where we relaxed and reflected on a very enjoyable event over a pasty and pint. It really is a pleasure to take part in an event on this scale and our thanks to the (literally) hundreds of organisers and marshals who make it possible. This particularly applies to those who cover the class O sections, where I imagine the smaller number of competitors makes it a bit quiet, but we really appreciate the chance to get used to these events in stages.

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Lands End 2005

83rd Lands End Trial – It was a competitive Lands End despite the dry weather leading up to the event. The reintroduction of Cutliffe Lane and tricky restarts on Hoskins and Blue Hills One mean the MCC will not be paying out much for triples this year.

It was a nice dry night for the run in to eligibility scruitineering at North Petherton. 

Felons Oak – The restart box was very short, some of the competitors described it as almost a line but the boards were in fact about 6 feet apart, but there was limited scope for careful positioning in what is becoming an increasingly “competitive” restart.. This caught out around 50 competitors including the cars of Keith Oakes, Ted Holloway, Geoff Hodge, Peter Mountain, Brian Alexander and Bill Rosten for what was to be his only fail of the day. Simon Groves was judged to have failed to stop for the restart which was not a good start to his trial. 

Stoney Street – This long , rocky hill didn’t present to many problems although both Ross Nuten and Colin Sumner were delayed by other competitors and credited with baulks. 

Beggars Roost – The section had to be cancelled when Ian Bates in the course opening Land Rover found the track blocked by a vehicle. It soon became clear that this was put there deliberately by one of the local farmers. He became more than a little aggressive when Ian tried to reason with him and it was prudent to pull the hill rather than cause trouble in the middle of the night. 

Riverton – There was a lot of mud for the bikes and delays built up when a number of riders hit the deck. It’s a long section so the delays continued to build and by the final cars came along they were stacked up, not just on the approach track but well down the road as well. It wasn’t to challenging for the four wheeled brigade and PCT expert Nick Politt was one of the few to fail in his Nissan Micra. 

Cutliffe Lane – Another section with a lot of mud and clay that caused a lot of problems for the bikers to stay upright and stopped around half the cars, especially those running towards the end of the field. 

Sutcombe – The hill was used from a different direction this year. It wasn’t to difficult although it caught out both Brian Alexander in his Fiat and Giles Greenslade in his 1835 beetle which was starting to get a bit hot now the chill of the night had passed. 

Darracott – With the previous delays there wasn’t too long to wait at the Goosenham holding control. Just long enough for Simon Robson to adjust his clutch. Ed Nikel had been having problems with the front suspension on his buggy and on investigation found one of the shock absorber mountings had collapsed. Fortunately he wasn’t far from a friends place and diverted there for repairs that kept him in the trial, even though he slipped down the field. Ted Holloway had problems here as well and retired. 

Crackington

Steve Potter (Trojan)
Stuart Harrold (Troll)
Tommy Kalber (1600 Ford Pop)

There was still evidence of the devastation caused by the flash flood last summer, although the bridge at the bottom of the hill had been rebuilt, saving some wet feet. The hill itself didn’t appear to have been doctored as much as usual, although there had been the usual localised rain shower in the restart area. There was a little aggravation here when one of the marshals in the restart area stood on the dry part of the track for a while, forcing competitors into the deepest part of the mire where some of them failed. There was some heated “discussion” with his fellow officials, in front of a sizable crowd, which didn’t do a lot of good to the image of the sport. 

Most of the bikes were able to cope quite well, although some of those who weren’t going fast enough lost momentum through the mire, lost “steerage way” and either had to foot or fell off. Those that were brave enough to go up at some speed had no problem. None faster than Chris Beare on his 350 Suzuki but goodness knows how much damage he would have done to himself if he had fallen off. 

Tony Young was the first car to arrive and had an unhurried climb. Then came another dozen bikes before the cars arrived in earnest. Mike Warnes was the first failure of the day in his very smart Triumph TR7. Former “Old Spot Piglet” driver Clive Cook was taking things very easily and stopped before the mire to become the second candidate for the very efficient recovery crews winch. Then came Richard Shirley in his Class Seven Dellow, who stopped and restarted, as did quite a few more class sevens who came a long later. It appears that some drivers were confused because although the route card said they didn’t have a restart the boards were yellow with a black R, indicating they should stop. Class eight only restarts being shown in the route card as red with a black R. 

In Class 1 Paul Allaway made a very impressive full throttle climb, neither slowing, nor deviating from his line through the tricky stuff. They were followed by David Symons who was equally impressive in his Citroen AX. Most of the cars in class 2 made clean climbs although neither Steve Potter nor John Wilton’s Trojans had enough power. It will be interesting to see if John Turner is shown as cleaning the hill. His Austin Seven stopped in the restart area before getting going again with a shove from the controversial marshal.

Giles Greenslade retired at the foot of Crackington with a very hot Beetle. It had been getting more and more overheated as the trial went on until Giles finally decided to retire rather than cause permanent damage.

After the hours break at The Wilsey Down at Hallworthy came Warleggan by which time Brian Alexander had to retire. 

Hoskin

Dave Wall 1600 Mk1 Dellow
David Bache 1600 Mk1 Dellow
Peter Mountain 1600 Mk1 Dellow

Competitors with clean sheets approached Cardinham Woods with some trepidation as Hoskin was lying in wait. They weren’t to be disappointed. Hoskin is steep and under a layer of loose stuff there is a solid, polished stone surface. 

The lower classes weren’t to badly off as they were allowed a straight run through, but even so the hill couldn’t be taken for granted as its so steep. Lower powered engines can easily bog down unless they generate a bit of wheel-spin, but too much and you are in trouble on the slippery surface. In class four Dave Sargeant and Bill Rosten got it just right and flew up but Terry Ball had too much wheelspin, lost momentum and came to a stop in the class eight re-start area. Most of the powerful Escorts in class three and stormed to the summit, Simon Groves managing to wag his tail from side to side in the process.

In Class 2 Bill Bennett had no difficulty but the other members of his team didn’t do so well and Ian Williamson got well and truly stuck in his attempts to turn and go back down. 

Classes six and Seven had a restart on a more gentle part of the gradient but even if they got away it was difficult for them to build enough speed to get over the lumps and bumps in the class eight restart area. All credit to those that were successful, including Andrew Martin in his Dutton Melos and Roger Bricknell who had the audacity to change into second before the summit! In class six Mark Tooth did everything right and trickled away from the restart but was just unable to build enough speed and spun to a stop after a good attempt. 

If it was difficult for the lower classes it was really tough for class eight. Their restart was on the steepest part of the hill and there were lots of little steps and little rocks to trap the unwary. The main line was very slippery as the polished rock was exposed and no one, not even Dudley, could get away on this surface. The trick was to go either to the right or left and trickle away on the loose stuff, before putting the power down when it became a case of controlling the wheel spin as the track narrowed and the car forced onto the polished surface. Mike Chatwin got it right in his Troll and so did Ross Norman in his Deere Special who had no problems. David Bache managed to trickle off the line just right and although it was a struggle powered the Mk1 Dellow to the summit. Climb of the day though went to Tim Whellock. Wheelspin set in almost as soon as he left the line but he kept his foot down and he and Anne bounced and bounced and finally the Fugitive edged forward only to stop again as one of the front wheels came up against a rock. They repeated the process several times until finally the tyres gripped properly and the car flew to the summit. 

In the nearly, but not quite, category came Peter Mountain who went well to the right off the slippery stuff and pulled away nicely, but the camber dragged the Mk1 Dellow down onto the polished stone and that was that. Emma Flay went well to the left and trickled away from the line really nicely, keeping her wheels off those polished centre tramlines. It looked as if Emma would trickle her way to the summit but a front wheel came up against a rock, the Troll slowed, Emma blasted but didn’t have enough momentum and in the end had to give best to the hill. 

Bishopswood – There was a tricky restart for the Yellows and Reds, situated on the bump over the cross track as usual. It was far from straightforward and caught out Stuart Harrold who was running towards the front of the field. There was some unhappiness about the restart and many competitors thought that it was impossible for lower powered cars and a lottery for the others. 

Blue Hills 1 – Although this is a tricky section it hardly counts as a hill and this year the restart was a very narrow box right on the stone surface back on to the road. Unusually this was for Yellows Reds and Class Three! Car after car failed to get the necessary grip and failed. Ed Nikel had his throttle go over centre and shot out at an enormous speed, just avoiding the bank the other side. Fellow Falcon Colin Sumner had the reverse problem as his throttle became disconnected and he stopped without any power. This certainly wasn’t a Falcon friendly hill and only Keith Oakes and Ross Nuten were judged to be clean. 

Blue Hills 2

Bill Rosten
Harry Butcher
Peter Thompson

The hillside surrounding Bluehills 2 was thronged with spectators who had glorious weather for their afternoons entertainment. There was restart for yellows and reds in the middle of the artificial deviation. Most of the Sevens and Eights didn’t have a problem but the Beetles in class six struggled and neither John Sargeant nor Mark Tooth could pull away. Then along came Dave Sergeant who didn’t have to restart in his 1300 Beetle but failed anyway. He was followed by Terry ball who made up for his debacle on Hoskin and stormed up in his smart orange car. 

The outside bank on the artificial deviation claimed quite a few causalities as it acted as a magnet for Escorts and Midgets, many of which damaged their bodywork in the process. 

There was a new finish at The Crossroads Lodge at Scorrier where competitors reckoned it was an enjoyable and competitive Lands End.

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

My Lands End by Pete Barr

It would be a brave person who would say on this web site that one MCC trial is better than the others but with all the experience of one Exeter and five other non MCC events behind me, this year’s Land’s End has to take some beating. Just the plain logistics of organising the event are mind boggling to a newcomer and to end up with a finished product as satisfying as this reflects huge credit on all concerned. It seems usual to recognise the efforts (mostly voluntary) of organisers, officials and marshals at the end of a piece like this so, just to break with tradition, let me start by offering my thanks to everyone who contributed to Land’s End 2004. 

It is clear even to a relative newcomer that there is some disquiet around at the moment. I don’t want to contribute to that debate as I don’t know enough about the issues to make informed comment. What I would like to say is that something right is happening for such a minority sport to attract 450 vehicles, drivers and passengers to an event that certainly gave me a lot of pleasure and, by the look of the faces at the top of Blue Hills 2, did the same for a lot of other people. 

Anyway, enough of the contentious stuff and lets get down to the trial proper. Along with my passenger Adam we arrived at Anthea’s at about 8.00 pm in plenty of time for scrutineering and signing on. Anthea’s is a great spot for breakfast – even mid evening. 

I’m a founder member of the Cornish Bug’ers Trials Team and so was sad that one third of our number wasn’t able to make the start. Andrew Rippon, whose 1914cc Baja Bug is always likely to be a strong scorer had been struck down by a ruptured appendix three weeks previously and it will be some time before he can drive a car on the road, much less up Warleggan! The third member of the team is Jon Mildren who, like me, drives a class 4 VW 1303. Jon arrived just after us with his father Sid. Sid first competed in the Land’s End on a bike in 1953 and so knows a thing or two about this trial. He even brought along his programme from that first trial to show us while we were drinking tea in Anthea’s. As things turned out we were not about to pose a threat to hot shots like the FWD All Stars but more of that later. 

We left on time and had a leisurely drive through Devon via places that easily roll off the tongue of someone born in Torrington Cottage Hospital – places like Holsworthy, Black Torrington, Sheepwash and Hatherleigh all loom in my particular legend. The only disappointing feature was the state that Devon County Council has let some of its main roads fall into. We checked in at the Devon route check and then had an uninterrupted run to North Petherton. One question that interests me is that on the Exeter one can pick the route to the start proper – why can’t this happen on the LE? Is it to do with equalling out the mileage? 

We made it to Graham’s Transport Stop in good time. I used to be a regular customer here more than twenty years ago so this trial was turning into a bit of a trip down memory lane. Scrutineering seemed bear a remarkable resemblance to what had happened 98 miles previously – the lights were checked and that was about it. Not even a check to see if there were two return springs on my carb. We signed on again and then it was in to the café and another breakfast for those who could manage it. 

By the time we left Grahams at 01.58 the car park was virtually empty. We followed the route card (another excellent feature of the trial) for 28 miles to Felons Oak and got the first section out of the way with, I hope, a minimum of bother. I say “I hope” because I am writing this before the results are published and don’t want to take anything for granted. This first section seemed fairly straightforward apart from the restart boards which seemed to me to be about three feet apart and with just enough room to get either a front or a back wheel between them. On leaving the section we made our only slight navigational error which meant that we did a half circle before picking up the correct road. On this half circle we passed Jon and Sid, their heads buried under the VW’s deck lid after it had just died on them. The fault was eventually traced and repaired but by this time the closing car had caught up with them and they were left with no option but to head back to West Cornwall.

We met up with Giles Greenslade in the queue for Stoney Street. One of the things I most appreciate about trialling is the support and advice that the experts are prepared to share with novices like me. Giles is one of the best for this and, given his record over recent years, we would have been foolish not to take notice of what he was saying! The advice worked and we shot up the section in good style although I couldn’t help but be aware that in the past it has had to be cancelled when a marshal drove his four wheel drive over the sheer drop on the left. I didn’t have time to look but Adam said it was pretty serious. Probably a section that is best driven at night. 

We then encountered the toughest part of the trial, which didn’t involve any observed section. Rather the drive over to Culbone Inn and from there to Beggars Roost in a thick Exmoor fog. This required top concentration as the visibility was very poor and the lanes narrow and twisty. The Culbone provided a very welcome coffee and bacon rolls for those who could manage yet another breakfast. From here we carried on through the mist and fog nearly all the way to Barbrook and the famous Beggars Roost. The route card was explicit about stopping to do tyre pressures on the road and so this is what we did. The section was claiming a number of victims which meant that the delay was about an hour. The effect was that every few minutes twenty or so cars would fire up their engines to move forward a few yards. If any of the residents of that street happen to be reading this – I’m sure that all the drivers who were around at about 5.30am would join me in hoping that we didn’t cause you too much disturbance. 

I have to own up to a touch of complacency on Beggars Roost born partly from having cleared the section on the Exmoor trial in January and partly from reading the reports from last year’s LE when conditions were much different. I paid the price of only lowering my pressures to 15psi when, with a good position on the restart, my wheels span and, struggling for grip, I slid elegantly the wrong way. Expletives followed and we returned to the start and joined the route at the bottom. 

The run over to Riverton was much better as it was light by now and the fog had cleared although we were over 90 minutes behind our due time. We caught up a bit without breaking any speed limits and soon were queued up under the bridge awaiting our go at one of the best hills on Exmoor. This was another one that I’d cleared on the Exmoor but, given my performance on Beggar’s Roost, the confidence had been a bit dented and I needed a good climb to patch things up. Although I’d got up here before it was hardly in the best style especially on the left hairpin where I’d had a coming together with the top bank and only just managed to rectify things and get through to the end. This time we set off round the right hander, up the rough bit to a muddy sharp right and then on a gentler gradient to the hairpin. This time we got it all set up spot on, got the tail swinging out and put the power down to get a good line. The section doesn’t end here though and there is still some work to do before you arrive gratefully at the “section ends” board. All in all a satisfying climb and a good confidence restorer. 

Feeling pretty cheerful we set off for the Torrington holding check, got our control card signed and set off trying to make up some time but mindful of the ¾ rule which I think I understand having read it through many times now. From here the route took us right through my old stomping ground, past pubs where I learnt how to drink (and occasionally how not to) down to Sutcombe. The friendly marshal at the start told us that most cars were getting up with no trouble. With a minimum of delay we were off on the straightforward climb to the restart placed high up the section. This time we got a good position and 12 psi was enough to get the grip we needed to get away cleanly. A thumbs up from the marshal at the top confirmed our success and we pulled up to inflate the tyres. 

One of the main reasons that I have got involved in trialling is to do with a near life long obsession with air cooled VW’s in all their various forms. It was an added bonus then that from here on we travelled much of the way with Phil and Tina Pontin in their bright yellow Chenowth rail and Ed and Steve Nikel in their red buggy. By the time we had got to Blue Hills I knew that the rail had been in and out of Phil’s family for many years and that of all the class 8 cars it is probably the most user friendly in inclement weather – it even has heat! Ed built his buggy in the mid 70’s and used it a lot before putting it out to grass. In the last few years with the encouragement of his family he has pulled it out of retirement and produced a highly competitive car in that most competitive of all classes. Both cars run pretty much standard 1600 twin port engines and it was a pleasure to check them out and chat with their owners while waiting in queues. 

Darracott is another famed LE section that I’d a lot about but nothing can ever really prepare you for the reality. First though we had to wait for the travelling marshal before being led down to the start of the section proper. Without the restart I don’t think it would be too testing but we struggled to get away. I think we went a bit sideways before we did get going. Rumour has it that the restart marshal hereabouts is a hard man to convince so I’ll be interested to see if this section put paid to our chance of a medal. No time to worry about that though as it was straight on to first timed test. We had made a clear decision that we were going for accuracy and that any time between ten and thirty seconds would be just fine thanks. Even so I managed to miss first gear on line ‘B’ however I think we were OK. 

From the top it was on to Widemouth check and then the best road section of the route. The route card tells you to “Follow minor and hilly road for 3.9 miles”. Too right. Much of this is steeper that the Class 0 route at Blue Hills with some hairpins that wouldn’t be out of place on a WRC stage – good fun. 

We reached Crackington in the company of some none competitors in Peugeots who thought that they would tag along to see what all the fuss was about. When they saw where we were going they pulled over and decided discretion was the better part of valour. A lot of thanks here to Paul Bartleman for his ready advice about the best way to tackle this hill in a class 4 car. Put succinctly it went something like, “keep your foot to the floor and stay in the ruts”. Thanks Paul – it worked. What a great section and a real buzz to get to the top. 

Treworld was picturesque rather than taxing. Gently down into the stream which was quite deep, get the power on and then a fairly straightforward climb through the gate to the top and that’s the North Cornwall bit completed. A short run brings us to Hallworthy cattle market and a one hour compulsory rest stop. Time to check the oil, fill up with gas and, you guessed it, eat another breakfast. Collect the control card and away – we are on the final leg now and should make up a bit of time. Drive over Bodmin Moor down past Colliford Lake on the way to Warleggan. I marshalled here last year and as far as I can remember only one car and one bike failed. Should be fairly straightforward – so why are a dozen or more cars being very efficiently marshalled at the bridge. When we eventually get to the start of the section proper we discover that the rain has taken its toll and it’s much rougher than before. The nearer we get to the start and the more cars I see coming back the more air I let out of the tyres until we are just off the minimum pressure. When it comes to it we take off smooth to the right hander and then the ruts and rocks start and go on, and on and we can see how Warleggan used have a reputation as a stopper. Still we clear it and head off for one of the major tests of any Lands End – wet or dry. Before that though we realise, slightly sadly, that the highway persons we had been led to believe would be extracting money from us seem to have got fed up waiting and gone home for tea. 

We are on home territory now and head towards Cardinham and another go at Hoskin. So far the score is Hoskin 1, Pete 1 so this is anyone’s game and I for one wouldn’t bet on the result. At the bottom there is a short wait and we are greeted by the smiling face of Greg Thomas who has been at the section for eleven hours by now. A brief chat with Greg before we go for it. We get a good start and build enough momentum on the first slope to get past the yellow restart, then the red and just make the whole section. Grip is at a premium and in normal circumstances I would have been four or five psi lower but hey, who cares, we got up there. 

Pump up and off to Bishop’s Wood where we have the second timed test followed by a section that I know ruined many a chance of a Gold last year in the higher classes with its evilly placed restart. On the test we follow the same principle as on the first test and complete it accurately in 25 seconds – that’ll do us. The first part of the section to the track is straightforward and good fun. Then we get to the ramp. I’ve got far too much speed on but and have also read too much about how cars were stopped here last year so decide to go for it. The result is that, as my skateboarding sons would say, we “get air” – lots of it in fact and really fly. This is all good fun but probably doesn’t make for arriving in Newquay with an undamaged car. Next year I’ll be a touch more circumspect. We pile out of the end of the section with the marshal there struggling to see our number but still on for an award. 

We are now on the final run to Blue Hills and stop off at the Perranporth route check just to get our card signed. I’d been to Blue Hills as a spectator before but nothing can really prepare you for the sight as you come down the other side of the valley. Even though it was late the sections were still packed with spectators and the track leading to Blue Hills 2 makes a dramatic scar picking out the route. 

Down at the bottom we were greeted by the friendly face of Graham Brazier. Graham was checking tyre pressures as one of the BH 1 team headed up by Dennis Greenslade. Graham is on of the real characters of trialling and other forms of motor sport. His ’59 Beetle is used for historic rallying and is a beautifully prepared car. He also keeps threatening to return to trials with a supercharged Beetle – we are waiting! Over at the restart things were being managed by Nigel Allen who has done most of the preparation of my car as well as being responsible for Giles’ and a number of other well known names in VW circles. This added an edge to the section for me as Nigel does a fantastic job and I certainly didn’t want to fail in front of him. We gingerly picked our way round the loop and slowly put on the power as we approached the cobbled ramp through some fairly thick mud. A bit of wheel spin up the ramp but we had enough momentum to get up the top and the sharp right turn isn’t too much of a problem as the track at the top is quite wide. Through the gate where we were waved on to the section ends board by Dennis. 

That was the taster – now for the real thing. I don’t mind admitting to all you experienced people that I was pretty pumped up by now and had used up about two weeks adrenalin ration. Because we were towards the end of the field there was no queue and little time to think about the final section. We had lots of advice from other class 4 competitors about keeping the pressures up for BH2 and this went completely out of my head. Firstly I pulled up at the wrong start line and having been waved on by the marshals any thought of stopping to put air in just went. I’d dropped the pressures quite low to get up the ramp on the previous section so the result was that on that rocky and fairly dry start I just got too much grip and blew it big style. Martin Harry (another VW aficionado) fixed us onto the winch and off we went, still to some applause from the crowd which was a buzz. We knew by then that Giles and a number of other class 4’s had made it so next year I’ll be back, certainly one year older and hopefully (but no guarantees) wiser. To say that the tow up on the winch was an anti climax is the understatement of the weekend but we were cheered up by being met by fellow Cornish Bug’ers Andrew and Lorraine who had stayed for hours waiting for us which was much appreciated. We looked around for the promised marshal to sign our control card so that we could prove we hadn’t dawdled at the top but there didn’t seem to be anyone. Mindful of the organisers’ concerns we got going anyway and headed back to Newquay to sign off and claim a bronze having definitely failed Beggar’s Roost and BH2 – just that nagging doubt remains about Darracott so roll on the provisional results!

Whatever the final result that was a great 24 hours. The added bonus for us was the short drive home from Newquay to be followed by food (no bacon, eggs, chips, beans etc!), quite a lot of wine and a lapse into unconsciousness. 

Thanks then to Adam the passenger (whose motivational skills played a major part in us doing as well as we did, to say nothing of how quickly he learnt the art of finding grip), all the people who were so kind with their advice (especially Giles and Paul), Andrew and Lorraine for that long wait at Blue Hills and again the organisers and marshals. Next year the Cornish Bug’ers will be a force to be reckoned with!

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

No Rush for Gold on Lands End

The 2004 Lands End wasn’t a particularly tough trial. Most of the sections were relatively easy but there were two big obstacles for those aspiring to gold. The ever-difficult Hoskins, and a tricky restart on Bluehills 1 for the higher classes as a spoiler. All this meant that there might be fewer than 20 competitors who cleaned all the sections.

2004_lands_end_resultsDownload

Good Friday was a nice sunny day and Popham car competitors had the unusual experience of wearing their sunglasses for both the start and finish of the trial. Scruitineering was a bit different to usual, with the marshals coming to find cars in the back field rather than competitors get checked on the way in. As usual a few were having early problems. Philip Whatmough had the brakes of his Morgan +4 in pieces; assisted by Ian Blackburn who is normally associated with his unique Singer. Neil Bray arrived at the start to find he had his first puncture of the day and it took the combined resources of about six people, including a spectating Stephen “man in black” Bailey, to break the bead. Ian Davis fell foul of the scrut when after 17 years the MCC have decided that the buggy’s dynamo belt isn’t properly guarded! 

Neil wasn’t the only one with tyre problems. Pete and Carlie Hart were no more than five miles away from home, on their way to the off at Michael Wood Services, when they had a flat which they fixed when they got to the start with the aid of David Foreshew and his bead breaker. 

The weather stayed fine on the route to the North Petherton Control near Bridgewater. In Stuart Harrold’s case it was accompanied by the ever increasing rumble of a failing front bearing which mysteriously cured itself as the trail went on! There was some confusion at the control as a lot of people didn’t read their route card, arrived to find the petrol pumps closed and had to retrace their steps to the M5 services a mile or so back down the road. 

It was soon time to leave for Felons Oak where there was some confusion about the route to the section. The instruction in the route card said “SO no DP – SO up lane to”. The turn left had an MCC no entry sign so competitors dutifully went straight on to come to a dead end an irate householder as you had to turn right to find the section! The restart for cars was nice and dry but a couple of steps have developed making it very important to stop in the right place. Ted Holloway and Simon Groves were amongst the few to fail here. The motorbikes didn’t have to restart here but a few did anyway which was unfortunate. Peter and David Manning arrived at Felons Oak to find they had Brian Alexander’s time card and had to retrace their steps to North Petherton to swap it for their own. This put them about 100 cars back down the field and they had a slow journey over the moors. 

Stoney Street was quite rough this year, especially near the top where a number of pipes cross the track and are sticking up more and more each year as the rocks either side get eroded away. Sadly Ed Nikel didn’t get this far. Ed had been struggling with a miss-fire, then the lights disappeared and he was forced to retire. 

Leaving Stoney Street the route headed up onto the moors and into a dense mist, which was a real problem. Competitors formed into groups with the followers having a much easier time than the pathfinder. Veteran Aerial rider Tom Beckerleg was running amongst the cars as he had machine problems back at the Plusha start when he couldn’t get the engine started at scruitineering. Tom and John Lees soon found that the chain drive to the mag had jumped off and got the venerable Aerial on the road. Peter Mountain had his wipers stop working crossing the moors and Jim had to operate them by hand as they fought their way through the murk, only for them to fix themselves when the sun had burnt away the mist! 

Beggars Roost wasn’t too bad for the early numbers, but cut up as the event went on, causing more and more failures and a delay soon build-up. Beggars wasn’t entirely straightforward even for the early numbers. Clive Booth and John Alssop struggled to get away. Simon Groves cleaned the section OK but by the time he got to the main road his newly fitted clutch had well and truly gone. Simon managed to get the stricken car to a garage and fitted a new clutch, only to find a terrible vibration. As he couldn’t find the cause, let a lone cure it, Simon had no choice but to retire, although he limped down to the finish. The many failures had caused a queue all the way back down to the garage by the time Mike Pearson came along at the end of the field. Unfortunately when the time came for his assault on the hill Mike stalled the engine getting away from the re-start. He got going quickly and didn’t roll back but was concerned about how the marshals would view this and was on tender-hooks until the results came and he could see he had been given a clear. 

Riverton wasn’t too difficult and on to Sutcombe where the restart has become very cut-up and it could be very difficult to get away if you didn’t stop in exactly the right place. Riverton wasn’t so easy for Ian Davis though. First the car had to be bump started then the lights failed on the section. After his earlier mechanical problems Tom Beckerleg had been running back amongst the early cars, who were very disappointed to see him record his only fail on Riverton. Fellow British bike fan, and reader of this column, John Lees struggled a bit with his Triumph twin but recorded a clean and went on to a class award. 

If some of the early sections have become rougher that certainly wasn’t the case at Darracott, which appears to have been resurfaced, and even the Class 0’s were due to have a go. However four of them had failed by the time Ken Green came along and after a mobile phone conversation with the C of the C it was cancelled for class 0. The section was followed by a nice simple special test after which Dave Nash stopped to repair no less than three punctures he had accumulated so far in the event. Dave’s unique MGeetle was going well, with no troubles from a re-built type three engine, which allows a flat parcel shelf under the rear window. Dave wasn’t the only Falcon to be suffering from tyre problems. Richard Tompkins was another to have multiple punctures and had to miss out a couple of hills when he diverted to a tyre depot and got over taken by the course-closing car. Ian Davis had finally traced his electrical problems to a faulty earth although he struggled with the indicators later on. 

The special test at the top of Darracott was cancelled after the marshals gave verbal instructions different to the route card and there was further confusion at the Widmouth Holding Control. The first bike competitor was due to leave at 5.05 am. However, for some reason marshals held an ever-increasing number of bikes and only let the first one away at 5.45. They then let competitor’s go at one-minute intervals. This was fine until one of the car competitors persuaded one of “those who must be obeyed” to speed things up. This was all very well until Crackington where the holding control was cancelled and marshals at the old hill were getting cars arrive much more frequently than they could let them up the hill and a horrendous jam developed. 

It didn’t seem that the traditional extremely local shower of rain had been as heavy as usual. Only the red cars had to restart, but even so there were a fair few failures. Michael Leete was delighted to power his way through on the minimum 10-psi pressure, albeit at the expense of a puncture. Neil Bray successfully restarted Primrose to clean the hill but heard later that the marshals had failed him for taking too much time to get away. Running close together neither Dave Nash nor Peter Thompson managed to get through, nor did Keith Oakes who was having an un-characteristic bad day in his Dutton Phaeton.

Ian Davis had a different problem. Arriving at the section in splendid isolation he was beckoned to the start line and asked the start marshal if he had time to let the tyres down. No problem. But no sooner had he started than Robin Moore comes over ‘I’m chief marshal. You haven’t got time for that. I’m going to invoke the 30 second rule’. OK technically he may have been right but with no cars behind Ian thought that a little harsh. 

Later in the event it appears that the marshals allowed multiple cars on the hill in an attempt to reduce the delays and this caused a number of competitors to get baulks when the preceding car came to a halt. Pete Hart, Mal Allen and Murray Montgomery-Smith were running close together and all suffered this fate.

The river at the foot of Treworld was running very full and plenty of water was being carried up the lower reaches of the hill. The yellows had to restart here and Simon Robson was failed for not doing so. Tony Branson got his Marlin away in fine style only to stop a few feet from the top when the engine had a fit of the sulks. Sadly Treworld was to see the end of Peter and David Manning’s trial when the teeth on the crown-wheel stripped so it was ride home on an RAC truck for the Midget. Class 8 didn’t have to stop but Peter Mountain was one of many who very nearly did! 

A very welcome rest was a few miles up the road at The Wilsey Down Hotel where the facilities are accessed through a cattle market where men with sticks normally drive beasts to their fate, steel hurdles keeping them straying from the path set by their masters. During breakfast one wag was heard to enquire if this was a message! 

In the past the rest halt has been followed by a quite long main road run, enabling competitors to catch up time. This year the route lay through lanes and villages and even the early cars were running behind time at this stage if the event. Warleggan isn’t a difficult section but it’s a bit rough and the challenge is easing your way over the rocks while keeping the car in one piece. Stuart Harrold and Chris Phillips didn’t have any problems as their Troll has sufficient grunt so they can ease off over each bump and accelerate to the next. By the time Mike Pearson came along at the end of the field he had to queue for 45 minutes and found the hill dreadfully rough causing a lot of punctures. 

Hoskins has developed a reputation for being the Lands Ends main stopper in recent years and this was justified once again as car after car had to reverse back down. Peter Mountain was one of those but then along came Dudley Sterry to show it could be done. Class eight had a very tricky restart in one of those areas that had once again experienced an extremely local rain shower. Stuart Harrold and Chris Phillips mastered the section. Stuart got out of the polished ruts well over to the right in the red restart box, got away well but then had to get back into the ruts so it was engine on the rev limiter and a great deal of bouncing/side to side woggling by Chris and they crawled to the top and out of the section for a clean. Running near the front of the field Clive Booth couldn’t get away and neither could Mike Pearson in the other Reg Taylor/Geoff Jackson built Dellow Rep. Mike got off the restart but wheel spin set in almost immediately and he went no further. Reg Taylor himself was running his Anglia in Class 0 but had to retire when his fuel pump packed-up. Class 0 competitors appeared to be enjoying themselves but it was far from damage free and Alan Foster stove in both the rear wings on his Morgan +8. 

After a Special Test, came the Bishops Path section where the restart for yellow and red cars had been moved back a bit. Pete Hart was delighted to get away. Fellow class Seven competitors Tony Branson and Simon Robson both failed with different opinions. Tony reckoned that the section was doable and fair while Simon reckoned it was too Mickey Mouse for The Lands End. 

With the nice weather the slopes around Blue Hills thronged with spectators. Bluehills One had Dennis Greenslade in charge with Graham Brasier taking care of the start. There was a restart on the slab onto the road for red and yellow cars and bikes and poor old class three cars for some strange reason. Blue Hills One is one of those sections that is very easy to fail if you don’t put the car in exactly the right place and with the restart it was very tricky indeed and didn’t go down well with competitors some of whom thought it was bit unfair. Ross Nuten was one of the early failures, bringing his total to three failures on the event. Ross enjoyed his Lands End, being much more confidant in the car now it has a Fack Diff. Ian Davis was another one to come to grief as was Mike Pearson. 

Things were a bit confusing between Bluehills One and Two as what happened bore little resemblance to the route card and it wasn’t clear where the section actually started. The hill itself was just right, challenging but far from impossible and it went down well. 

With the delays later numbers were arriving at the finish up to three hours late after waiting for a long time at Beggars, Riverton and Warleggan. The facilities there were good and there were plenty of the MCC hierarchy around if you wanted to express your opinion about the event. 

All in all a good event, even if one or two of the hills had controversial restarts. It was very noticeable how much the mileage has reduced in recent years and I for one do not think this is a good thing. The Lands End is about more than the sections and I would like to see it go back to going further west. However, that and some of the restarts apart, well done to all connected with the organisation for an enjoyable and well-balanced Lands End Trial.

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

My Lands End Trials and Tribulations by Verdun Webley

Verdun and Mike Pearson in fine spirits as they set out from Popham

Two weeks before the Lands End Trial and things were progressing well, all preparations were well advanced and arrangements made for the start. A thorough check of everything and some repairs had thrown up nothing untoward except for a wire, which had fallen off the main lights. All Lucar connectors were checked as a precaution and tightened up. Now the Marlin sported new side windows and everything was ready two days beforehand. 

Mike Pearson and I, in company with Dot and John Parsons, set off at 4.00pm for Popham. A good run down and arrive early, everything seems unusual because it’s daylight and we usually arrive in the dark. We sit around and then having chatted to lots of people we go to scrutineering. Perhaps this year I will finish the event and have a trouble free run just like the Exeter Trial. Now the gremlins strike, no headlights! Suddenly club members arrive out of nowhere and soon Neil Bray and I have the dashboard out and Neil says,” there’s a wire off’. Wire replaced everything checks out and we present ourselves once more and all things work well. 

We set off in high hopes and still in daylight, the car is running well and everything seems a pleasure. Darkness falls and North Petherton is reached in plenty of time for a gargantuan breakfast, yummy. We clean the first hill and the restart is no problem with more grip than a sticky bun. We reach the holding control, with everything swinging. Ross Nuten asks whether anyone has brake fluid as he has virtually no brakes. I produce a bottle of said fluid from the Marlin and get ready to go, no lights again! Off comes the dashboard and replace the same wire!!! We follow Ross into the fuel halt before Beggars Roost and fill up. Onto the hill, and although if takes an effort, we complete the restart, with the engine almost stopping under load. We notice Ross changing a wheel and as he seems all right we motor on to Stony Street. We clean this one and Mike says I need to slow down a little as we seemed to tackle the hill too quickly and it was very rough. Onwards to Sutcombe, where we sail up and leave the restart, easy, then the prop-shaft lets go ten feet from the end of the section and the Lands End ends here. 

After the last competitor leaves we still wait for Frances and Dorinda to arrive. Many competitors offer help and one even drives home and collect anew UJ in the hopes we can get mobile, no such luck, as the prop-shaft drive flange is broken. We leave the Marlin in the village until Tuesday when we manage to make temporary repairs having found a drive flange and had the prop-shaft welded. We set off and have an uneventful journey home to the sound of metal rattling and the car behaving like a squirrel on an ice rink. Ah well! We had a superb break in Newquay with great company. 

The Marlin already sports new suspension, its new engine is ready and lots of modifications are underway, in fact a complete rebuild. Next year I will get to the end, I hope. 

Verdun Webley 

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

My Lands End by Patrick Osborne

In the the Tucker-Peake tradition they start young in the Osbourn family.

I have been trialling on and off for about fifteen years mostly in class one cars with differing levels of success and many trips home via Britannia Rescue ! My dear wife also loves the trialling experience, so what do you do when children come onto the scene? Trialling and young children don’t really go together do they? …. or do they?? 

We do love the Lands End Trial, it has to be my favourite, probably because I was brought up on going up to Blue Hills every Easter to see my Uncle try to scratch his way up the gradient in his Mini! Anyway my wife and I agreed that we would take our two boys, Bradley 4, Jacob 2 and Morvah the dog to Cornwall to see my family the hard way! 

I asked my wife Candece to pack a small bag of clothes for us all, and when she had I checked it and halved the amount again to keep weight to a minimum, even the child seat was the lightest we could find. The dog had to use her ballast behind the rear seats and the potty doubled as her drinking bowl. 

So on the Friday afternoon we set out to Popham, one small bag of clothes, 4 nappies, one dog, two children, one wife and myself. The run to Popham was lovely in the warm sunshine we almost needed air conditioning. After signing on and trying to help Stewart Ikin with his electrical problem we set out again for North Petherton, a nice steady run across the beautiful scenery of Salisbury Plain, somewhere along the route the boys fell asleep, we checked in at North Petherton and had the car checked with the boys still asleep in the back. 

As we set off for the trial proper Candece and I wondered how the boys would cope with the rough hills. We went up through Fellons Oak without any problems, boys still asleep, and we tackled the rough Stoney Street (that really felt rough !) but it didn’t wake the boys they actually woke in the rest control before we went up to Beggars, good I thought, we need all the bouncing we can get from the re-start, I put the Skoda low in the re-start box which was a mistake, but we did manage to get away and out of those deep pits. The boys must have been so tired from their bouncing that they went back to sleep and totally missed the hairpins of Riverton, again with the dry conditions it was tempting not to go too fast. 

On to Sutcombe to see the first signs of daybreak, so I threw a boneo into the back for the dog and could hear that she was enjoying that as we bounced our way over the sea of rocks from the re-start. The clutch was starting to feel a little on the hard side after that and I knew that we had the Daracott re-start to come. We stopped in the box on the re-start, the flag went down and so did our hopes of climbing any more sections in the driest Lands End for a long time. We managed to make it out of the section but the burnt out clutch finally gave way on the main road so after discussing the possibilities of changing it in the layby (yes it did cross my mind) we telephoned Britannia Rescue who took us the rest of the way to St.Ives. 

So would we take the boys again? Well until they become a real weight liability yes, and they loved it. It wasn’t the easiest way to travel to visit my family but it has to be the most enjoyable way to visit Cornwall. I have to say thanks to Colin Perryman for the advice on the clutch and bell housing, I now have a Sachs clutch and a vented bell housing for the Exeter. 

Patrick Osborne and Family

We have been publishing stuff about Classic Trials on the Web since 1995 and always appreciate feedback. Comments, Corrections, Criticism & Concerns are all welcome. You can leave a comment to have your say here on this web site or our Social Media

Peter Mountains Lands End

I finally got the Dellow going, but as usual work got in the way & car preparation was left to “last minute motors”.   On the Good Friday morning I had the petrol tank out to solder the drain plug back in.   Anyway, that’s my excuse for not testing the car fully loaded.

Jim & I set off at 4.30 for Popham and got to Reading before we realized that the burning rubber on right hand bends was ours.   The new exhaust was great unladen, but too big for the wheel arch with a full crew, tools and tank of petrol & was cutting a groove in the tyre.   Nothing for it but to 
screw the dampers up & go home.   Spent all day on Saturday modifying the new exhaust to side exit in front of the wheel.

Regards

Peter

My Lands End in Class 0

Jonathan Laver Reports

We had the Lands End that you missed. I was sick at  most sections and on the roads joining them. By the end of the event I was feeling great but complaints were coming in about some of the restart lines being a bit sticky !  Ann, my wife was taken down with the same “BUG” for 24 hours and stayed in the hotel bedroom believing she was going to die until Monday. Fish and chips be blowed – t`was a “BUG”.

Anyway what of the event – Beggers caught a few out with a hole and some loose at the restart (VW`s included). Hoskins was disappointing but gave some, the chance to see what its like at the top. Blue Hills what can you say – I have heard every excuse for not getting up from “the sun was in my eyes” – “they put a bend in it and did`nt tell me” – “the restart box was a bomb crater” to this year —— “THERE WAS A CLOUD AT THE TOP THROUGH WHICH I COULD NOT SEE ! “

I saw some of the action, listened to the reports and walked the section upon Sunday morning, with Arthur. Blue Hills two was horrendous. The surface was very loose to a depth of six to nine inches, this being made up of very fine dust mixed with rock and stone. The section from the start to the left turn was cut into steps of about a cars length and would have made the climb that much more difficult since each step had to be driven up and over. I do not believe that these had been made by anything other than the trials traffic and the very dry conditions. The same material on the track could be seen falling out of the bank side. While we were walking a dust cloud swirled around us. Any competitor that cleaned this section deserved an award. Miss it and weep – we did, taking a very low slung Triumph TR3 around the class “O” route, and what a joy. Well done to the organising team.

Regards  Jonathan Laver.

My Lands End by Brian Sussex

Hmmmmm – what was it like for me? I guess it was spoilt a bit by suffering from what was nearly a migraine for the last few hours – it was only a determination to get my own back on Bluehills 2 after footing a few yards from the top and losing a Gold last year that kept me from turning tail for Newquay!

Left Exeter at 4pm for the ride down to Plusha on the TTR250 – a nice atmosphere down there and a very congenial Chief Official, Bob Slatter, which got everyone in the right mood for the trial ahead. Met a few old (and young!) friends and made a new one, Tony Mogford from Truro on his Yam XT350 who I was to bump into on various occasions during the event as we were only 4 numbers apart. Tony impressed a group of us by explaining the ¾ rule at Culbone Control in a way that we understood. However, I couldn’t explain it again now in the cold light of day! Also, thanks for the camera batteries Tony; I wish I had remembered to use it more.

 It is odd to be troubled by dust at this time of year, but following three sidecars to Felons Oak wasn’t fun. Felon’s itself is a nice little warm up section just to get the concentration going. Despite being sure that I had my road book correctly marked with restart sections there was a great temptation to stop at the yellow restart boards just in case… Glad I didn’t, but I wasn’t alone in needing reassurance from other m/c competitors that the restart wasn’t for us.

 I love Stoney Street, but don’t let your tyre pressures down beforehand unless you want a “snakebite” on your inner tubes. The run from there to Culbone in moonlight is almost magical and I am determined to see it in daylight one day. As a vertigo sufferer my next big challenge was Countisbury Hill, you will only know what I mean if you are a fellow sufferer, no trail riding in the Picas for me sadly.

 It was good to get a friendly welcome from the officials at Beggars. Again, I wonder what it looks like around there in daylight? Riverton was a challenge last year, especially at the almost hairpin right, and I was expecting the worst this year but my Spring trail riding on dry ruts has helped my technique and I stayed clean. I really dislike the Torrington Holding Check, a long wait in the cold. The good burghers of the town could at least spare us a few pence of electricity to see what we are doing in the Gents.  

Got the tyres muddy for the first time at Sutcombe. Daracott is beginning to wash out so to me it seemed a lot better than in 2002 when it seemed over improved. I know a couple of fellow competitors thought it was rougher last year but there you go. I missed my number being called at Widemouth Bay and had my control card put to the back of the marshal’s box and waited another half an hour to be called again. I was a bit chilled at that point and will certainly listen more carefully another time. 

Crackington was great. Last year I struggled and had to really push my boots hard into the pegs to prevent involuntary footing. It looked relatively solid so decided that I would give it the beans this time and managed to accidentally get a bit too much air a couple of times, a very satisfying and enjoyable climb. 

Treworld unnerved me. I hadn’t done it before and couldn’t really work out what was going on in between the trees, as each competitor’s engine note appeared to vary a great deal from its predecessor. I later learned that Tony Mogford (he got ahead of me by kneeling in front of the marshall at Widemouth so didn’t miss his number being called!) manage to loop his XT at the restart which explained one odd set of noises at least. Neil Browne’s BSA 951cc twin-engined monster (#81) sent shivers down my spine – no mistaking his exhaust note as he charged up the hill – luvverly. I stopped OK in the restart box and then slipped backwards with my front wheel locked (before the marshall put his flag up) but managed to stay in the box. Got away OK so was still on for a Gold – phew! 

Warleggan was surprisingly easy but no Highwaymen! Mind you the Authorities in Bourn must have filled their coffers with the novel “congestion charge” at a quid a vehicle. I won’t mention my special tests as the times will be a joke but no way was I prepared at this stage to get too gung-ho and foot or fall off dicing with those cones, not with the lock on the TTR anyways. Hoskin was fun and the restart so much easier than last year when it was very heart in mouth. Bishops Wood is a lovely section. A slight queue that allowed me to warm up a bit in the sunshine and chat to the marshalls. I was in a very good frame of mind and couldn’t resist giving the TTR a bit of wellie over the suspiciously muddy-looking take-off ramp, surprised there wasn’t a photographer there; I bet there would have been some good pics especially with the cars. 

Regrettably my slight headache started to thump shortly after Bishops Wood and the ride to Bluehills a real struggle. Instead of hanging around at Blue Hills, as I did last year when I think I let my nerves get the better of me, I rode straight to the start of Section 1 following Mike Robinson on his Serow. Mike entertained us by coming out of the loop a bit wide and having to use the opposite bank as a berm to get around the corner without footing and finishing of with an impressive little wheelie.

 I was soon at Blue Hills 2, my Nemesis in 2002. This time I took a wide approach to the entrance of the top loop and it seemed to work. Last time I tweaked the fast button over much and had to foot to keep the TTR in line, this year I chugged the last bit willing the little TTR to keep going, which it did to my great relief. I had cleaned Blue Hills 2 – Wahoo!

 I am sorry if I was a little curt to any riding friends at the top but all I wanted to do then was to get back to Newquay and sign off pdq. I have claimed a Gold and hope the marshalls’ scorecards agree my optimism.

 Another great event and thanks to all the organisers but particularly to the marshals, who were all to a man (and woman) very friendly and non-officious – brilliant.

 Thanks also to my fellow Devon TRF Group members Mike Holden (#512) and Roger Cantle (#511) for their company at the Bay after the event and giving the TTR and me a lift back home to Longdown.

 Brian Sussex

#74 – Yamaha TTR250

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