Tag: The Motorcycling Club

Edinburgh 2004

Dawn is breaking as Dave Nash comes to the summit of Calton
David Bache on Haggside before the sign destroying rambler came
Dudley Sterry starting to slow as he passes the A boards on Litton
Dave Wall successfully bouncing Dudley Sterry away from the retart at Great Hucklow.

Start

Tom Goggin was in charge. The signing on process took some time as there were a considerable number of route amendments posted on the wall which had to be copied down. There was also notice of a minimum 16 psi for all classes throughout the trial,  apart from Bamford, although it was to transpire that very few of the Chief Officials knew about this and there were hardly any pressure checks.

Agnes Meadow

Only for Class 0. It was a shame for the rest of us to miss out on some green laneing and it must have been boring for the marshals.

Wigber Low

The first cars were there more than an hour early but the section was open and being nice and dry didn’t cause to many problems even with a restart. Myke Pocock had problems with his Skoda’s new rear suspension soon after the start. Unfortunately the repairs didn’t stand up to the rigours of the first section and Myke and Josie decided to spend the rest of the day spectating. The hill wasn’t friendly to Clive Booth either and he recorded a stop in his Dellow.

Clough Wood

There was a long wait for the first cars as there must have been at least 50 bikes still waiting for their go. Waiting in the queue Neil Bray noticed oil dripping out of his half shaft seal and for the rest of the trial tried to park on the level whenever possible.

Stuart Harrold and Chris Phillips were running the restart as the Troll’s back axle wasn’t ready. They reported that it was mostly down to positioning if cars got away or not and was particularly un-friendly to Lieges, most of which failed, Simon Robson being a notable exception.

Deeprake

The observed section in this quarry complex was just off the main road making life difficult for the marshals to keep queuing cars out of the way. Fortunately the section wasn’t very difficult. Competitors then had a long trip on the quarry roads to a nice simple special tests complete with a traffic light system. Quite a few competitors had problems with this as they started when red changed to Red and Amber and didn’t wait the five seconds or so for these lights to go out and the green to come on. Neil Bray was just one who jumped the start and was delighted when the test was scrubbed from the results.

Putwell

The organiser considered this to rough for the lower classes, who missed out on the superb views across to The Monsail Head Hotel. Fred Gregory was the first car to arrive and stuttered away from the start and fail to get over the step, only for the marshals to call him back, move the start a bit further back to give a run at the step and let him have another go, but they gave him a fail anyway! Fred was starting to worry about strange noises coming from underneath his Rickman Ranger which he thought was his new exhaust rubbing against the prop shaft. Despite the fact that it was a bit rough most other competitors recorded cleans.

Calton

There was a time when the ruts at the top made this a real stopper but its pretty tame these days where the biggest test was to see if the marshals could survive the biting wind.

Haydale

Veteran Biker Tom Beckerleg was in trouble here with an oiled plug on his Aerial which he reckoned was the oil scavenge pump not working properly. Tom slipped down the field amongst the cars but decided to carry onto the breakfast halt and see how things went. The main challenge occurred before the actual gradient started as it was the flat muddy rutted track that presented difficulties. Kevin Barnes, competing in class 2 with his famous Singer, didn’t have enough momentum , got stuck and needed a tow.

Breakfast

After a nice descent of Winnats Pass came breakfast at The Poachers Arms. The staff were taken by surprise when the first bikes arrived more than an hour early and they never managed to catch up.

Haggside

Haggside was it’s usual stony self with the restart just around the first corner as usual. There was a very pronounced step and competitors needed to either stop just inside the box and have a run at it, or go almost all the way through and get their rear wheels over. Later in the trial there was some aggro with a female rambler who got rather excited over the cars and threw the section begins board over the hedge.

Holding Control

Back on the A57 Alan Bellamy was in charge of the holding control for Bamford which was in a long lay-by alongside the reservoir. Unfortunately the best laid plans of mice and men go awry sometimes and he was having difficulty with non-competing cars parked there. As the event went on, and the delays for Bamford built up, it was necessary to open up another temporary holding control, courtesy of Travelling Marshal Simon Robson, and delay departures from The Poachers Arms for up to ¾ hour. Fred Gregory had retired by now as he found one of the rear springs on his Rickman Ranger had collapsed so he and Peter Stafford did a little spectating before going to the pub in Buxton.

Bamford Clough

Bamford was back on the agenda for everyone, except the girls in class 0, thanks to some very hard work by an MCC team led by Ian Bates. Their efforts were well rewarded as they had got the section just right. Not damaging provided you were sensible but not so easy as to make it un-interesting.

Early competitor Mike Pearson took a cautious approach but misjudged the severity of the gradient over one of the steps and stopped baulking Michael Leete who was following. Once Mike was in the lay-by marshal Paul Eamer kindly let the Beetle have a go from where he had come to a halt and Michael was tickled pink to climb Bamford with a  restart.

Fellow Falcon John Parsons was not so lucky when the throttle pedal on his Buggy flipped when he lifted of for one of the bumps and without power that was that. Peter Thompson was having problems with his Manta’s exhaust and was in desperate need of a piece of steel for repairs. He found an unusual solution, cutting it from the wing of a fellow competitors 2CV!

Alistair Queen was back in a Skoda and celebrated by storming up Bamford to the sound of crashes and bangs from underneath as his Rapid is still a little on the low side. Alistair had run out of ground clearance on Clough Wood and from then on his passenger had stayed in the front and Alistair didn’t drop below 21 psi.

PCT Champion Barry Parker recorded his first stop of the day in his Audi 80 and Keith Oakes had the misfortune to break his gearbox. Although Keith had to retire he had the good fortune to have a recovery man who had two spare ones lying in the back of his garage! Like Mike Pearson, Peter Manning paid the price for a lack of momentum and didn’t make the summit

Great Hucklow

The early cars met a big queue of bikes here as the restart on the deviation was proving difficult and many of the riders were falling off in the rock strewn morass. It was a challenge for the cars as well but Dudley Sterry showed how it should be done with a storming climb, albeit at the expense of David Walls hat!

Ian Davis wasn’t so lucky and try as he may he couldn’t get his buggy away from the restart. Neither could fellow Buggy driver Simon Woodhall who knocked the car out of gear when applying the handbrake and slid back into a hole. Another Simon had problems here when the Robson Liege broke first gear and had to retire.

The lower classes were allowed a straight attack at the deviation. Still on for a Triple Giles Greenslade threw his Beetle at the hill and stormed through. Michael Leete was more cautious and paid the price when he didn’t have the momentum to get over one of the many big rocks.

Litton Slack

The route card contained dire warnings of penalties for anyone stopping to reinflate their tyres in the lane at the top of the hill. This all turned out to academic as none of the cars cleaned the section. It would probably have been on for some of the Class 8 hot shots but the 16psi limit and a restart for 6, 7 and 8 put paid to their chances.

It was only Bikes that gained the summit. Amongst them John Lee’s who eased his big Triumph Twin off the re-start before turning on the power and storming to the summit.

Running later in the trial conditions became a bit easier and Colin Sumner was delighted to get to the A boards in his Morgan to win Class 5 and so were Simon Groves and Verdun Webley

It was raining when Giles Greenslade arrived and the Beetle didn’t get very far. Costing him his triple as a couple of competitors in class 4 got beyond the A boards. Triple wise things are more straightforward for Golf maestro Dave Haizelden and we can congratulate him on winning another one, tremendous achievement.

Old Long Hill

While 6, 7 and 8 went off to the challenge of Corkscrew the lower classes joined the girls on the gentle pastures of Old Long Hill where John and June Blakeley presided over a surprisingly slippery section down in the valley. It was good to see President Gerry Woolcott here, chatting to competitors.

Corkscrew

The former Jenkins Chaple was as tough as ever and caught out quite a few including Ed Nikel, Clive Booth and Dave Nash who had problems getting the long body of The MGeetle around the sunken hairpins.

Excelsior

This is a nice little section between stone walls. The early part of the section was muddy and quite rutted before rising on a stony surface after a ninety right. It proved to be a stopper fro quiet a few of the Class one’s and lower slung cars in other classes, including Brian Alexander’s diminutive Fiat.

Moneystones

This cuts the corner of the junction between the B5054 and A515. This was class 0 only which was a shame as although it isn’t a competitive section would have provided a nice bit of extra green laneing for the rest of the entry.

Moneyash Special Test

Another nice simple test finished off the trial after which it was just a short run to the finish. For most apart from Ed Nikel. Ed hit a hidden rock on the exit deranging the front suspension and had problems getting home when the recovery said it was a RTA and excluded from his cover!

Club Supper

The day finished with a mass club supper at The Pavilion Gardens. MCC President Gerry Woolcott made a short speech thanking the organisers and marshals that was just right for the occasion and went down very well.

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

2004 London to Edinburgh Centenary Trial

A glorious road on the way home. Picture by Peter Mountain
The Finish. Picture by Mike Hayward
Peter and Jim Mountain and their travel stained Morgan at the finish. Picture by Peter Mountain
Slightly jammed accelerator cable, Thursday morning somewhere in the Scottish borders; it always rains when the car decides that it needs some TLC. Picture by Peter Mountain
The Innerleithen Control. Picture by Mike Hayward
Park Rash. Picture by Mike Hayward
Park Rash. Picture by Mike Hayward
Sunrise at Great Hucklow. Picture by Peter Mountain
The Original 1906 Trophy. Picture by Mike Hayward
2004_mcc_london_to_edinburgh_club_run_programmeDownload

Mike Hayward Reports

The idea appealed to me from the first time I heard word of an event to celebrate 100 years of the Edinburgh Trial. This must have been eighteen months ago and quite a lot of changes took place in that time. I thought the original idea was to start near Borehamwood on the A1. Great, just down the road from home. Somewhere down the line, the powers that be decided that a start from Popham would be appropriate. Why I don’t know, and what relationship Popham has to the Edinburgh, I don’t know that either. Oh well, what’s another 100 miles. The next thing to change was the date. Originally planed for the Whitsun weekend, which I would have thought would have given everyone the chance to enter, the powers that be decided to move the start to a Tuesday, so as to restrict the entry to those retired or with spare holiday entitlement. I fall into the latter in case you were wondering. 

When the entry form arrived the biggest decision of all had to be taken. Shall I enter?. Of course I will, this is one of those once in a life time things. Next, which Car to enter. My Mkiii rear wheel drive Escort hasn’t gone down well with the MCC Committee and this isn’t the time or place to try and upset them. Next choice my XR4i. Expensive to run. I estimate £180 + in fuel alone. That leaves me with Sapphire, my two year old Ford Focus. Not really the period of car I’d hope to enter this sort of event with, but I estimate a saving of £80 in fuel and that’s a saving you can spend on a half decent room for the night. So the Focus it is then. Passenger next. Michael Leete was unable to take part due to work commitments, so I asked Mum if she’d like to go. Her eyes lit up, so that was a yes then. 

So with hotels booked, everything was in place, even the weather was kind. We arrived at Popham at around 3pm to be greeted by Chris Phillips who was directing operations in the car park. With all the formalities over we were soon lining up to start our big adventure. 

First car away was Peter & Deborah Lawley in a Toyota Privs, a bifuel, drive by wire, 21st century, technological master piece. This was followed by a varied selection of the automobile manufactures art including, Morgan’s, Dellow’s, a Liege, Mazda, Fiat, VW, Skoda, Ford, Marlin, MG, not forgetting the bike manufactures art represented by, Royal Enfield, Triumph, Honda, Vincent, Suzuki and BMW. 

The route out of the Popham car park was different to the normal route. This time we went towards the airstrip and turned left into the field where Special Test 1 was laid out. The instructions said “start on line A finish on line B”. it didn’t say anything about the wiggle woggle between the cones. On the way out we met Peter Mountain who was the first victim of the Popham Services being closed, and had run out of petrol before he’d left the airfield. Richard Hoskin had a spare can and Peter was soon on his way again.

There were a few problems with the route instructions to get to the first control at Fair Mile, and several drivers and navigators struggled to make sense of a “R” that should have been “L” and a missing roundabout. However most crews made it to the control (eventually). The route then continued through Marlborough, Malmesbury and out into Cotswold Country. Following a route that would normally take competitors to Axe, but instead turned right at the cross-roads to Observed Section One, Old Hollow. Old Hollow was a hill used by Falcon Motor Club in the Guy Fawkes trials of the 1960’s. So as a Falcon member, this hill was of special interest to me. It was surprisingly slippery as well as steep, a damp surface with a sap covering from the overhanging trees caught out a few. After Old Hollow, the route led us through Dursley, passing the foot of “Crooked Mustard” and the top of “Crawley” and eventually to the Strensham Services on the M5 for a 1 hour break. 

Forty Seven miles further on and we were into Clee Hill Country to attempt Section 2, “Farlow” The only surprise here was how long the organisers had made the section. Farlow was my first ever Classic trials hill and I made a mess of it only getting to the Seven marker if my memory serves me correctly. This time the section was all tarmac, as were all the sections, and we cleaned it. The route led us past the “Boyne Arms” through Much Wenlock and Stone, and into Derbyshire to tackle Section 3, “Wetton Low” and the first restart. There was time for a bit of ‘shut eye’ before attempting the section and I must have been half asleep still when I stopped with the front wheels just in the box. which was situated on the apex of the hairpin, needless to say we failed the restart in a cloud of tyre smoke. 

Breakfast at the Hucklow gliding club was to be followed by Special Test 2. But this was cancelled because of all the cars in the car park, there was no where to lay it out. We left Derbyshire and headed towards Holmfirth checking in at the Heydon Control before passing the back of Nora Batty’s house as we passed through the town. There was some slight confusion in Huddersfield when my navigator misread the instructions and I think we went wrong just after Keighley but we ended up on the right road to Kettlewell and Coverdale through more spectacular scenery to Section 4 “Park Rash”. This section was longer than the previous sections and was very steep with the now obligatory hairpin. The restart was placed on the straight leading to the hairpin and we had no trouble getting away and cleaning the section. I stopped at the top to take some photos and it’s then you realise how steep the hill is. We watched a few bikes and cars make their attempts but sadly didn’t see Richard Hoskin’s attempt in his 3 wheel Morgan, as Richard was called back to the start line and both Richard and passenger, Andrew Hall, got out and started looking under the rear of the car. 

A further 28 miles brought us to Section 5 “West Witton”. This had a restart with a difference. The restart box was just around a hairpin but was down hill so if you went too fast you’d over shoot the line and fail. We took it steady and had no problem stopping. The re- start Marshall promised us he’d make it harder next time!! 

“Arn Gill” is on the Askrigg to Muker Road and was the last Observed Section. A straight climb with a restart half way up presented no problems for us. After “Arn Gill” there was a further 67 mile run into the lake district to Hartop where the trial finished for the night. By the time we got to the hotel we had travelled 591 since leaving home on Tuesday. 

Thursday morning started out damp as the remaining crews reassembled at Southwait Services (Southbound) on the M6. that was to consist of a drive to Edinburgh and started out in spectacular style with a 1905 foot climb of Hartside. We then followed the A689, A69, and B6318 to Brampton where another error in the directions saw competitors passing and re passing each other trying to sort out the way ahead. Once back on the right route we ran along side Hadrians Wall and then on to the truly magnificent B709 to Innerleithen. 36 miles of empty road with wonderful scenery and a road surface so smooth it looked as if were new. Coffee and scones at Innerleithen Golf Club were most welcome before the final part of the journey, mainly along main roads to the finish at Hopetoun House, just west of Edinburgh. We were greeted at the finish by the smiling face of fellow Falcon member, Peter Manning, who was on holiday and offered to do his bit for the MCC whilst he was in the area. 

I read in the event programme after we got home, that the aim of the celebration was to give the drivers “bigger mileage, much of it on lesser but really enjoyable roads” and I have to admit that the MCC succeeded in that aim. We covered a total of 1175 miles from Lunch time Tuesday to arriving home Tea time Friday. As we live next to the A1 our return journey was back down the A1. It took about seven hours, a bit different to 100 years ago. 

Mike Hayward

PS – I Thought you might like a break-down on the results from the Centenary Trial. 8 cars hit a marker (Cone) on the first special test. 9 failed Old Hollow either by stopping or footing. No one failed Farlow. 12 failed Wetton Low. 2 Failed Park Rash. 4 stopped (or should that be didn’t stop) on West Witton, and everyone cleaned the last hill. Congratulations to Class C winner, Falcons very own Peter Thompson in his Opel Kadett.

Peter Mountain Reports

A few minor anomalies on the route card kept the crews alert, reminds me of the route cards 10 or 15 years ago. No use following the car in front, they were probably lost as well! 

As Mike Hayward reported, we ran out of petrol just after the Popham special test; the petrol gauge has never worked since I got the car in 1968. Luckily Richard Hoskin was carrying a gallon of fuel in this three wheeler. Whatever happened to him, he seemed to disappear during the night run. 

I remembered (too late) that Morgan handbrakes do not work on hills, so failed at least one restart, probably more. 

Later I was reminded how efficient modern cars are; the Morgan averaged only 22mpg over the whole event and only 20mpg on the way home. We would have used less fuel in my Omega which is twice as heavy, automatic and has a litre bigger engine; Peter Lawley was probably doing more than 50mpg in his hybrid Toyota. 

What must it have been like in 1904?, with poor roads, poor petrol, acetylene lights, punctures, infrequent fuel, etc. 

As you saw in the photo, we had one minor mechanical malady, the accelerator cable got shifted and the revs would not go below 1500, easily cured with a cable tie, but during the wettest part of the trial. Navigator Jim took the attached photo of sunrise at Great Hucklow. 

Edward Stobbs hustles his 2CV special along at thoroughly indecent speeds for 602cc and only 3 wheels. When we were following him there was no urge to overtake and when he was following us he had no problem keeping up. 

Nice to see a familiar face at the finish; Peter Manning took the attached photo of us and the weatherstained Morgan at the end. There were many familiar faces on route as well, all marshalling; thanks to all the officials. 

On the way home I navigated & whilst taking an unplanned “scenic route” we came across this delightful road just off the A68 (see photo). 

I think there ought to be a special award for masochism, both Dellow drivers would qualify; 1100 miles in a Dellow is quite a round trip. 

Peter Mountain

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

Edinburgh 2003

If you were car classes 1 to 5 it wasn’t a competitive trial because it was so dry and only the higher classes were let loose on Bamford and Corkscrew. But what a good day out. Nice weather, gorgeous views, a new road route and a nice club supper to finish the day. Super news, Brian Sussex won a gold and his triple.

Start at Moto Services Tamworth

The start was just as sterile and devoid of atmosphere as last year and most of the facilities were closed and locked up behind steel shutters. The President participated in scruitineering, shaking spare wheels vigorously  to make sure they were secure. There were lost of abandoned tow cars and trailers around the car park and the management will have made a few quid if they all paid their £6 long term parking fee.

Agnes Meadow

Dave Nash deviates off the main track at Agnes Meadow in the Skeetle. A Beetle floorpan and running gear with a Skoda convertible body.

The run to the first section followed the usual route up the A5 and north through Litchfield to Ashbourne and out on the A517 to Agnes Meadow. There was a deviation here for classes seven and eight but it didn’t catch many people out this year as they knew all about the sharp turn back onto the main track. Everyone wasn’t lucky though as both Maureen Chattle and Neil Bray were shown as failures in the results. I don’t know about Maureen but not only did I see Neil not fail I videoed him not failing!

Clough Wood

With John Alssop not available Clive Booth coerced car builder Geoff Jackson into the passengers seat of his Dellow Replica.Corkscrew was Clive’s only failure.

There was along run of around 20 miles through Matlock to petrol at Two Dales before crossing over the Peak Railway to a rather rough Clough Wood where the sharp rocks ripped the sidewall out of one of the front tyres of Stuart Harrolds Troll. The sidewall was too badly damaged to put in a new tube so Stuart and Chris put on a wide rear wheel so they could continue.

Wigber Low

The dawn has broken as Neil Bray eases Primrose gently down the Wigber Low exit road with a decidedly wobbly front wheel.

Cars had the usual holding control in the breaking dawn before to prevent queuing on the main road. The section was pretty straightforward and the marshals, which included Morgan racer Rob Wells, weren’t troubled by many failures. Neil Bray was in problems on the following road section as one of his knock of hubs was coming loose from the flange. The problem was that the securing nuts had hobbed their way into the hub leaving almost no flats exposed to get a spanner to.

Bentley Brook Inn

Ian and Phillip Bovill entered their ISOC Sports which has its origins in a Sherpa Van! According to the owner it qualified for class 7 because of the long wheelbase.
Leiges  hunt in packs and are seen here passing time in a lay-by before clocking into Bentley Brook.

The organisation creaked a bit here as the  wait for breakfast grew longer and longed and the really late numbers had to wait for around an hour and a quarter. Needless to say quite a few left without any food inside them!

Putwell 1

Ian Blackburn is still enjoying the luxury of Tim Short chauffeuring him around Classic Trial sections in his Singer Nine Sports. Here they are tackling the big bump immediately after the start. (Picture by John Salter)
Tim Hellings struggling to find grip on the loose stones on the so called preferential start line that was to cause problems for a lot of the Front Wheel Drive cars. Tim had to retire before the end of the trial.

The normal start was just before a raised hump over a pipe but the big hole from last year was filled in. It was tricky getting away though, even for the front wheel drive cars who had a preferential start a bit lower down. There was quite a bit of blue smoke as competitors burned their tyre getting over the hump and the diff in Richard Tompkins Imp cried enough. Earlier Stuart Harrold and Chris Phillips had gone to let down their rear tyres only to find one was flat already so they were down to no spares!

Special Test One

Richard & Edward Cooper raising the dust as they round the 90 right on the Putwell Special Test. (Picture by John Salter)

The route card explained this as start on Line A, Stop astride Line B, Stop astride Line B affair but competitors were greeted on the start line with the news that it was a straight blast, stop on line B and that’s it. Nice and simple.

Putwell 2

Dudley relaxing while Stephen and Phil Potter take their time in restarting their Trojan. Both the Trojans went on to Gold. (Picture by John Salter)
Brian and Kevin Alexander restarting their diminutive Fiat under the eagle eye of the master. Brian claimed a Gold but was down as failing Litton in the results. (Picture by John Salter)

Dudley Sterry and Eric and David Wall were in charge here with John Salter taking pictures. The re-start was in the usual place on the rocky slab and was very, very rough. Most competitors got away OK but positioning was critical.

Litton Slack

Dave Nash and Julie Fleet attacking the upper reaches of Litton in The Skeetle.

The old hill was kind to competitors this year with plenty of grip all the way up. 

Black Harry

After Litton the route divided. Bikes and Classes 6 to 8 went straight to Great Hucklow while 1 to 5 went east on the A623 to turn off into the quarry complex to Black Harry, a nice simple straight track which didn’t trouble the scorer to much.

Great Hucklow

Michael Leete and Mike Hayward demonstrating that their Beetle has plenty of ground clearance. (Picture by Derek Hibbert) 

There was a special test before the section which deviated up the bank as usual. There was plenty of grip and this was one section that didn’t seem as rough as usual. Brian and Kevin Alexander had a few problems and had to stop just before the section but soon got going again to claim a gold, only to find they were given a fail on Litton Slack.

Gliding Club Control

This was a compulsory 30 minute rest halt and the holding control for those lucky enough to be allowed to tackle Bamford Clough. The organisers had clearly been taking lessons from the Lands End as they had found the coldest, windiest godforsaken spot in the whole area for Stuart and Chris to replace the tube in one of their flats.

Haggside

Chris and Linda Beaumont from Hereford arrive at the summit.
Brian Partridge and Julie Hebditch in happy mood on Haggside

The restart on Haggside was in the usual place just around the corner immediately after the start. There was plenty of grip in the dry conditions and only competitors who got their positioning totally wrong had any problems.

Old Long Hill

After Haggside it was back alongside the Ladybower Reservoir and the local constabulary wasting the taxpayers money in a very expensive camera vehicle trying to trap speeding motorists. At least they were nice and safe inside their van which they wouldn’t have been on the streets of nearby Sheffield protecting innocent citizens from murders, rapists and muggers. The long road section wound its way along the valley through Hope and Castleton and up the spectacular Winnats Pass before coming into Buxton from the north down the A6 and out on the A5004 where the car entry split. Classes 1 to 6 tackled Old Long Hill, complete with downhill start.

Corkscrew

Classes Seven, Eight and the bikes went on to Corkscrew, which was to pose a real challenge. Not only was it rough, narrow and twisty but it had a difficult restart, between the two hairpins, and it was wet. No, the MCC assure us it was not doctored, a natural spring runs down the hill. Amongst the bike entry Brian Sussex was on tenterhooks as he listened to first a crescendo of noise and then total silence. Fortunately when his turn came Brian kept his nerve and cleaned the section for  a well earned triple.

It was a tough section for the four-wheeled brigade but it was cleanable with a lot of care and a fair slice of luck. The section was very slippery for the early numbers and Stuart Harrold was one of the few early numbers to get a clean. It wasn’t easy, although they got the Troll away from the restart Stuart and Chris had to fight for grip all the way to the summit.  Fred Gregory got off the re-start OK only to come to a halt on the left hand corner. Mike Pearson came to grief when his left front wheel went up on a rock and the car pivoted on diagonal corners loosing drive. Ed Nikel failed as well but was happy as he was enjoying a nice reliable trial with VW power even if the engine was fluffing a bit. Corkscrew was Peter Montain’s only failure in his newly refurbished Dellow which was going very well apart from the carburation needing a bit of tweaking.

Haydale

As the routes re-joined there was another very long road run, north and then east in a huge circle around Buxton to Haydale where John and June Blakeley presided over a comparatively easy section in the dry conditions.

Calton

Bryan and Gail Foreshew needed sunglasses at the top of Calton.
Philip Pontin and Tina Ashby displaying that their Kingfisher Chenoworth has plenty of ground clearance.

The final hill was Calton. It was pretty easy in the dry but the ruts are a slowly stating to come back so it could soon be returning to be a competitive section.

Bull L’Th Thorn Inn, Flagg Moor

Reg Taylor and Bill Rule at the finish after a successful class 0 run in their RDT Anglia.

The finish was at this rather desolate pub in the middle of nowhere again. But inside it was noisy and crowded with competitors eating and drinking as they signed off. Popular opinion was that it was a very nice day out but with the very dry conditions not a competitive trial unless you were one of the lucky ones allowed to have a go at Bamford andCorkscrew.

Pavilion Gardens Buxton

The MCC had organised a club supper at The Pavilion Gardens which made a very nice conclusion to an enjoyable day. Hopefully this will be a feature of future Edinburgh Trials. The only thing wrong was that many of us were waiting for a few words from the hierarchy which never came!

2003_edinburgh_resultsDownload

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

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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

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