Oh! Barry Island – that’s lush!

 

Fans of the BBC comedy series Gavin and Stacey will be familiar with Barry Island. If you’ve never watched it, please do- it’s hilarious. We travelled the 169 mile, 4 hour (!) journey in the Astra, safe in the knowledge that the weather was going to be superb. It would have been an ideal Hot Rod trip but we are mostly keeping it under wraps as we don’t want to attract attention i.e. people coming up to us and the car. About 12 miles away from Cardiff, Barry Island as a seaside resort was every bit as tacky as we expected it to be; with the amusement arcades, souvenir shops and takeaway food shops but it was so much more than that. The view over Whitmore Bay and the Bristol Channel was superb, the large sandy beach was lovely and the whole place was completely litter free, a credit to the local community.

 

Every morning began with bacon baguettes and a cup of tea outside Marco’s, enjoying the early morning sun and the fresh sea air, along with a few locals and their dogs. Monday was Dave’s birthday and we were delighted to share it with our friends Ian, Anne and Clare Oliver (who was having a rare break from her doctor duties at Cheltenham Hospital). Most of the day was spent just chilling on the beach, just as the fictional Wests and the Shipman family did. We took an occasional stroll along the beach, promenade, to the fish and chip shop or for an ice cream. The weather was glorious and we certainly enjoyed the opportunity to catch some rays and chew the cud.

 

Our hotel, Premier Inn, is just inland on the waterfront in the old docks area. In the 60’s, following the decline of the docks, this area became the famous Barry scrapyard where hundreds of steam locomotives were sent for scrap. Luckily, before they met this fate, most of them were rescued and are now restored and running, keeping steam enthusiasts happy, all around the country. Now the area is a huge housing development of modern properties, which makes Barry a much more up market place than it was back in the days when Butlin’s dominated the coastal skyline. Unfortunately there is very little in the way of entertainment and restaurant facilities. There were a few very nice looking ones, in particular a new complex called Goodsheds, which only opened 3 weeks ago and yet they don’t open on Mondays and Tuesdays! I despair of these businesses. In a few weeks’ time when the weather cools and the nights get darker, no one is going to want to sit outside, so why not make hay while the sun shines?

 

The next day, we headed west and stopped off at Porthkerry Country Park to look at the 30m high, 16 arch railway viaduct, built at the end of the 19^th century. Structures like these never fail to impress me and you can almost feel the sweat and hard graft that went into the building of it. Part of the Vale of Glamorgan Railway, it linked Bridgend to Barry Dock, which, by 1913 was the busiest coal port in the world.

 

After hugging the coastline the best we could, we parked up at Coney Beach in the holiday resort of Porthcawl (free parking and free toilets). This area was a little run down and had lots of litter, the aspect of it not helped by the overcast and drizzly sky, but we still walked the length of the promenade. Its trade was very dependent on the South Wales miners holidaying there and of course these mines are all now closed. The silver pound is much in evidence though and there is a programme of rejuvenation in progress, of mixed results. The marina area is looking good which cannot be said of the wonderful Victorian building which was demolished and replaced with a building that won an architect’s award but is nicknamed the Bottlebank by the locals. 

 

 It was frustrating to see how businesses like the Piccolo Café (nicknamed dickalo café by us) seem determined to use the Covid rules to make their business fail and yet still not offer sufficient safety to their customers! Unlike the pub restaurant at Coney Beach Amusement Park which was spot on with its safety protocols and money making opportunities. After our lunch consisting of the local delicacy of faggots and mushy peas, we moved onto Rest Bay and watched the surfers catch a few waves before we returned to Barry and had a peek at “Gwen’s house”.  With everything else closed we reluctantly went to Wetherspoons for dinner, but were pleasantly surprised at how good the staff were at keeping surfaces clean, controlling idiotic customers and the food was decent too. (Ironically, we had stopped using Wetherspoons before lockdown because of staff shortages and grubby tables!

 

Our last day we moved a few miles east to Penarth, which is close to Cardiff and found this to be a delightful seaside resort. After a walk along the flower-lined promenade, we spent most of the day sitting on the small, but perfectly formed Victorian pier, reading and watching the world go by and the tide come in on the Severn Estuary, while we basked in the glorious sunshine. A fairly new development on the seafront is a fine example of how good modern architecture can be. The townhouses upstairs sold for £1 million pound each, making them the most expensive houses in Wales, even though there is a chip shop and restaurants below! A welcome Covid addition; the parking places outside have been converted to a “garden” with tables and chairs so we were able to sit there with a drink and look at the beach. We could have been anywhere in the Mediterranean! Finally it was time to come home and we traversed the Prince of Wales Bridge back into England, just as the sun started to set behind us and after a smooth, three and a half hour journey we were home.

Winslow Classic Run - Stowe House

We were supposed to be part of the 90 mile annual Winslow Classic Run on Sunday 23rd July, which is organised by Winslow Rotary Club, but like most other events this summer it was cancelled. As restrictions have eased a little, the club organised a pared down version for today. We did not sign up for this lightly, having kept ourselves very much to ourselves on the car front this year, but we were so glad we did.

We had strict instructions not to arrive at Stowe House, near Buckingham before 11 am, so we stopped off in Buckingham town centre and in true Darby and Joan style, drank hot chocolate from a thermos flask and read the newspaper! We knew we were heading in the right direction as like worker ants, a bevy of classic cars funneled into the approach road of this seriously impressive National Trust gardens and House. This beautiful 18th century house was earmarked for demolition, following years of execessive spending by its owners. Fortunately it was rescued in 1922, when it became Stowe School and to this day it remains a school for boys and girls.

In true Covid style, our temperatures were taken before we were allowed into the grounds and then we parked on the lawn in front of the House, which provided us with a superb back drop for photo opportunities. About 50 vehicles took part altogether. We were the only Hot Rod and the second oldest car there. The collection of cars was very eclectic, from a Jaguar SS, an Austin Healey  to MGBs and a 1970 Beetle, all of which have very proud owners.  We were allowed to go inside in small groups to see the beautiful domed ceiling in what (for Covid times only) will surely be the most impressive school dining hall in the country.

 


The doors were then opened to reveal a breathtaking view of the grounds. There is so much more to see here and once restrictions are lifted, we shall return to see it all.

Just before 12 o'clock we started off in convoy for a run which would finish only 5 or so miles away, but it would take us on a route of 30 miles to get there. We had maps but it wasn't long before people started to take wrong turnings and we were as guilty as anyone. It takes great presence of mind to let the flow of traffic in front of you go the wrong way, while you turn off, knowing everyone behind you will follow you. Then you get a crisis of confidence and think "What if it's me that's wrong?" In the early mileage we acted like sheep but once we had a handle on it we were brave enough to do "the right thing" and thankfully by then we knew what we were doing. But you know what, the getting "lost" was great. Because the route was within a 5 mile circle and lots of roads would still get you to the correct place, it was great to keep coming across different vehicles and ending up following and leading different groups of cars, so much more interesting than a procession! I was laughing my head off every time we came across yet another car or two. Amazingly, we all arrived at our destination within 10 minutes of each other. We parked in the recreation ground behind the Shoulder of Mutton pub in Little Horwood. A lot of the participants then went to the pub for lunch but we were not sure what the situation would be like, so we had brought our own picnic, as did several others and we enjoyed a relaxing hour or so in the sunshine.





Fortunately we headed home at the right time. We arrived home, got the car in the garage just in time before the heavens opened. A great day!

NSRA Super Nots Saturday 8th August 2020

The Super Nats were cancelled a couple of months ago when the committee realised they would not be able to comply with current government guidelines on gatherings during the COVID crisis. So instead, they came up with a novel idea: "For one year only- The Hot Rod Supernots 2020 at Lockdown, UK". Nearly 1000 event T shirts were sold for the event (as opposed to 400 for a normal event!) and the committee organised a number of on line events for this weekend. Today, it was a virtual cruise around Central Bedfordshire. We and the Sharmans decided to actually do the cruise rather than follow the online version because a) the start point is only ten miles away from us b) it was nice to do a Super Nats cruise that we haven't organised and c) it was a lovely day. 

There was a slight delay due to Shirley's 34 having a spot of bother with the gear box, but that was soon sorted and we were on our way from her house, down the A1 to Old Warden Park. We blagged our way in and took some photos of the cars with Shuttleworth College as the back drop. The only difference between this and any other year was about 1000 cars, 2000 people and the red double decker bus (which doubles as a fish and chip shop) were missing! After another photo stop at the park gates we were on our way for the 40ish mile journey around central Beds. It was the perfect weather for cruising and our route took us through Broom, Langford, Henlow, Stotfold, Clifton, Shefford, Clophill, Haynes, Cardington, Cople, and Northill.  The cruises we've organised in the past have been through all these villages at various times but not all on the same cruise. We might have had complaints about the number of speed humps otherwise. (They can't be avoided in this area but we do try to keep them to a minimum). 

 Like most of the cruises we have organised, it wouldn't be right if something didn't go wrong at the last minute and this one was no exception. "At the roundabout with A507, turn right towards Shefford" which we duly did, only to be confronted with freshly laid chippings and cars hurtling towards us at 60 mph. We didn't have Hannah and her crew there to organise a detour for us in the usual fashion, so after a slightly hairy three point turn and a short diversion, we were soon back on track. We had a cracking drive around the area and even stopped off briefly at the King's Arms in Cardington where a small classic car gathering was going on (and a few of the A602 members were there with their cars too.) We ended our journey just short of the final destination at Ickwell Green, home of a quintessentially English maypole, cricket pitch and pavilion and there was even a match in progress. All the players were wearing the traditional whites, but not so traditional was the inclusion of women players too! A very civilised way to end the journey, we had a delicious picnic and watched the cricket!
 

Santa Pod Raceway Saturday August 1st

 

 

 The Phaeton finally went out today to the first event on Santa Pod's calendar for this year; the Nostalgia Nats. Dave wasn't really interested in going, but had agreed to meet up with some fellow NSRA members to chat about an event they are involved in. He was able to park the car in the pits per the photo above. The social distancing was well observed but a combination of Dave's lack of interest in racing at the moment and the fact that it wasn't racing any way; just cars, albeit nice ones, going up the track side by side meant that he was home earlier than usual. He then took me to the Horse and Groom in it for a couple of drinks. With the weather still looking good, we went out cruising around Bedford and over to Shirley's on Sunday afternoon which was nice.

A short season

Little did I know when I drafted my post about Studley that this was likely to be the first and last road trip of the year. At that time, our diary was full of car events and road trips. However, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that and here we are 7 weeks into lockdown and no end in sight while the country, and indeed the world, tries to eradicate Covid 19 disease.

One by one, our events have been crossed out of the diary:

5th April NSRA Drive Out around Northamptonshire
18th April MK Classic Tour which included a lap of Millbrook  proving ground
25th April Sally and Jason Woolner's 10th anniversary party in Yaxley
1st May Pre 49 weekend to Derbyshire (rescheduled for next year)
Others have been postponed even though we are not there yet including
NSRA Fun Run
Holmfirth Motor Festival
and of course all the Santa Pod fixtures, which we had planned to miss this anyway but weren't expecting 30000 other people to join us too! Other things we had planned, like the Changing of the Guard have gone too. We are left with the Supernats in August and Isle of Man in September but we won't be too disappointed if they don't go ahead. We have written the year off and are making the most of it at home. Dave has been doing some work on his van, I have sorned the Beetle and the Astra just gets a weekly trip out to the supermarket.

The Phaeton has had two trips out from the shed though- one on my birthday when Dave washed and polished it to chauffeur me down the garden for my 60th birthday meal, which was a lot of fun and then on VE Day, 8th May to commemorate the 75th anniversary, it was parked in our front garden where we enjoyed a nice afternoon tea and received a number of appreciative comments from people walking by.

Warwickshire in January

Studley Castle

Studley Castle Spa

Our first road trip of the year, only 10 days in was to Warner’s Studley Castle in Warwickshire, just over an hour and a half away in the Astra, to celebrate our 30^th Wedding Anniversary. My latest Trip Advisor review:

The new jewel in Warner's crown!

Review of Studley Castle Hotel

Our 3 day weekend break was superb. The hotel and grounds are impressive and the money spent on it has taken into consideration everything a Warner's customer may want. The staff were mostly young, local people and all were polite, hardworking and friendly. Our stables room was quiet and comfortable, near to the luxurious Spa which we made full use of. There were plenty of excellent activities - Pilates, cycle spin, quizzes, a cosy little cinema all of which I took part in plus archery, shooting, boules and table tennis which I didn't do. The dining/ entertainments room is well designed to give a clear view of the stage and we were well looked after by the entertainments team, who performed songs from the 60's up to today's music; Madness by Badness who really got the audience going and a funny comedian (the two words don't always go together!). The food was excellent: a combination of buffet style and cooking to order at a cooking station. In theory a nice touch was the a la carte restaurant which we could use once and was included in the price but on reflection I wish we hadn't. The tables were too close together in a regimented style and the lighting bright so it felt more like a canteen than a restaurant. The food and ambience in the main area was nicer (unless you are in a big group when you can take advantage of the fabulous private dining room). The age range was wider than we normally see at Warner's and none the worse for that. It now puts us in the middle age group instead of the youngest. There was plenty to keep the younger people happy but the traditional clientele were still well catered for. We will be back!

We usually explore the area but this time just relaxed and enjoyed the facilities on offer. 

Meanwhile Paul was just a few miles down the road at the NEC Autosport International. He was ferrying Emma Walsh from Made in Chelsea in the two seater dragster all weekend, doing burnouts in the Live Action Arena. It seemed to be well received and gave yet more kudos to the sport of drag racing.

 Photo by Callum Pudge