Drive to Haynes Motor Museum
Wye Dean drive to Haynes Motor Museum, Sparkford – May 21st 2017
3 TRs met up in Monmouth, and set off along the Wye Valley route via Tintern, not expecting to see many others at that time of day – how wrong! Plenty of cars, some admiring the view; plenty of cyclists, some in bunches, and riding 2 abreast making it tricky to get by; and I think there were 3 sets of temporary traffic lights. So what should have taken about 30 minutes took considerably longer. There weren't any other TRs waiting along the parking area at Chepstow, so we pressed on to rendezvous with 2 more cars at Aust Services, bringing the total human count to 8 – Jeff & Caroline, Karen & Tony, the Tudhope 2, Alan and John. Caroline distributed a route plan 'borrowed' from Glavon, and we set off. Tony alerted us to a new road system after the Clifton suspension bridge, and all went well until we tried to find a left turn onto a B road towards Chew Magna – we eventually located it, after a few shrugged shoulders & u turns.It was tricky to keep sight of the other cars, so there was a re-group at Emborough – the others thought the Tudhopes had left the country!We did reasonably well until we tried to locate the 'staggered' junction after Castle Cary – the Tudhopes notched up 2 U-turns there!! Eventually we all met up at Haynes, had a reviving coffee & lunch, and enjoyed the fabulous exhibits at the museum.
5 cars and occupants made their way home via Cheddar Gorge, which I understand was very impressive – the Tudhope 2 had had enough excitement for 1 day, and set off for home on a direct route. So, a good day out, putting the cars and drivers (and navigators) through their paces on a beautiful, sunny, if breezy day.
And finally, commiserations to Sian & Martin, who were aiming to meet up with us at the museum after a short break in the Cotswolds, but suffered a breakdown – hope you still managed to enjoy the weekend break.
You'll find some photos on the gallery tab.