SKCC Road Trip – Newbies Perspective
I wanted one of the guys who hadn’t done one of our trips before to write a few words about his experiences and thoughts on the 5 day UK Tour that we recently completed. So i’ll hand the rest of this text over to Duncan Underhay………
I finished building my Caterham Seven just over two years ago, and joined the owners club. They didn’t organise any runs in the East Sussex area, but I heard about the Southern Kit Car Club from Mark posting runs on their forum. I joined the SKCC forum, received a very friendly welcome and was encouraged to get out on a run as soon as possible. Once I had tried a run, I was hooked, and with runs organised most weekends, I have used my car much more than I would have otherwise.
Last year I read the reports about the UK road trip on the forum, and it sounded brilliant. My wife realised how much I wanted to go, and offered to look after our children, so I immediately signed up for this year’s road trip.
I was a little apprehensive about whether I might hold up other drivers and how the wide range of people on the trip would mix. I needn’t have worried. From the start everyone was very welcoming and I never felt left out: There were a couple of drivers who had never been on a club run before and I noticed that the longer standing members went out of their way to include them, in some ways it was like an extended weekend run out, with everyone going at their own pace, punctuated by plenty of stops along the way. Almost every stop was accompanied by good natured banter as SKCC has some fantastic characters.
Mark organised the trip brilliantly, the hotels were good and all paid in advance, so we could make a quick get away each morning. He had even negotiated earlier breakfasts in a couple of hotels. We also had suggested coffee and lunch stops which were a good chance to chat and discuss how amazing the roads had been.
We had all been sent the itinerary files for TomTom satnavs, so there was no need to worry about being separated, this also allows drivers to complete the routes at their own pace. Some newer members did have some trouble with their Sat Navs as this was new territory for them, but by the end of the trip all had it mastered with Linda and others helping with their questions and other members like Pete leading two new members to make sure they didn’t get lost.
I soon found we naturally separated into groups who wanted to drive the routes at similar speeds, and the standard of driving was excellent with consideration shown to members and other road users.
Unfortunately, there were some mechanical problems, but none of the breakdowns were terminal and all were able to complete the trip. Some of the hiccups showed the determination and resourcefulness of our members, Graham for example had to have his car returned to Surrey at lunch on the first day with a broken thermostat housing. I was amazed to see him at breakfast on the third day after he had repaired the car and driven to Wales leaving at 1am that morning!
Richard deserves a special mention for helping to repair other people’s cars, and unfortunately found himself trying to sort an electrical problem on his own car alone after the last runners passed him without seeing him. When he finally arrived his car was surrounded by people helping adjust the tracking and doing a wheel swap.
Finally I have to mention the highlight of the trip, the roads. I don’t know how Mark does it. I’ve heard of some of them, like Horseshoe Pass and Snake Pass, but linking these together without resorting to boring roads was very impressive. Each day was packed with so many outstanding roads it is difficult to chose a favourite. They varied from wide and open Welsh roads with super smooth surfaces, to single track roads over moorland with cattle grids, sheep roaming and magnificent views.
With over two hundred miles each day, it was necessary to keep going, but I never felt rushed and there was always time to stop to enjoy the view and grab a photo. It was interesting to see that each of us preferred different types of road, and it is safe to say that after experiencing the best of the Peak district and North and South Wales, we were all satisfied.
On the last morning we headed back to England for a coffee stop and then to our homes or to Stoneleigh. I expected the roads to be a disappointment, but the route was brilliant and even took in more hairpins! I think everyone was sad to have reached the end of an amazing tour and I certainly missed the early start and driving for the next few days. Checking the forum for reports, photos and videos made up for it, and the consensus seems to be “Roll road trip 2014!”.