Northern Drive-Out - Coast & Castles Run, Fri/Sat 7th/8th August 2020

Ah, hang on, you did it as an email and not a private message.... I've done that before and it's not worked. Can you do it as the latter? :)

PM sent Norm.

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Originally Posted by Normb666

Phew! Cheers Phil! That's one step forward....now, does it make any sense??

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Traced it on the map, it all we seems to fit, not sure about the 'odd' bridge? Looking forward to it, see you all on the 7th.

Internet just returned after a 24 hour or so missing, was beginning to get withdrawal symptoms.

Robin, it's just an odd-looking bridge (just as you hit Lesbury), with the supports looking a bit like butterfly wings, that's all...it's more an observation so you know you're on the right track :)

Only a fortnight to go now - 16 people staying over in 9 rooms, and another couple along for the day. Very intimate! (...no, not like that...!)

A little more news/info on our accommodation:-

Dinner on the Friday will be at 7:30. On the Saturday, it'll be 8:00, to give everyone time to get back and chill a bit before eating. Face masks will not be compulsory anywhere in the hotel, but if it makes you more comfortable, no problem.

For those coming just for the run, you won't be able to enter the hotel, as it's residents only (although I'm sure you can go to Reception to ask for someone). The only publicly-accessible area is Copperfields bar (round the back, just up Hotspur St.), which I mention merely because you'll undoubtedly wish to show your appreciation of a grand day out :)

Think we've covered just about everything now, but if there's anything else you want to know (relating the the run, not the reasons for the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the like), then shout out!

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Originally Posted by Normb666

it's just an odd-looking bridge

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Sorry Norm, just thought you had hit the 'd' instead of an 'l'. I'm therefore impressed with your typing.

Robin, I'm just that "type" of guy :)

And, something you all might be interested in for the Sunday: there's a semi-open-air market at the Tynemouth Metro station, on the platforms, at weekends, and there are all sorts of interesting stalls and stuff. Might be worth a look on Sunday morning before you head off home? It's not far from the town centre, bit of a walk from the hotel, but there are car parks here and there if you have a look on Google Maps.

Also, if you want to make your drive home a bit of an event - you can take the B6318 west from Newcastle, which is actually constructed on top of Hadrian's Wall for part of its length, and parallels it for the rest. Great drive with loads of interesting stuff if you're into that kind of thing. I'll most likely be heading back that way...

After a bit of a learning curve and some experimenting, I have produced a Tulip style roadbook to augment Norm's route notes. Norm's notes are the preferred format, but I'd be interested in finding out how the Tulips go down and whether anybody might be interested in experimenting further. The route instructions are synced with Norm's notes.

The club has a subscription to use the Roadbook prep service so let's see if we can make use of it.

Have a look....

Attachment 16589

Mark

Nice one Mark. Do we all have the tripmaster app downloaded to our phones?!
It works well as long as your gps signal is not interrupted!

Just a slight amendment - at direction (14) it says NEWBIGGIN - should be LYNEMOUTH. That's in both my instructions and the tulips. Also note that at instruction (20) in the tulips, it says TOWN CENTRE, ALNWICK. This is actually a direction sign, i.e. "this way for..." - it doesn't mean you're entering Alnwick Town Centre :)

**** I might have made a boo-boo here as Mark had already corrected his document, so ignore the above! I think the software I use to view PDF files opened up the first version and I didn't notice. Or maybe I'm making excuses and I'm just rubbish :) ****

Have booked for the Friday and Saturday so will bring the Strat and the sun.

Dave

Wahey! Another Strat! This could be a new record for club drives!! Great to have you along - see you a week tomorrow!

Heatwave on the way for the weekend.
Guaranteed.

Thanks John - that's the kiss of death for any good weather we might have had :)

But seriously, I've been keeping an eye on the forecasts and it does indeed look to be shaping up to be a good 'un. Of course, all that can change dramatically....still keeping fingers crossed, for that, and managing to duck any lockdown changes that might affect us!

*** For those attending - don't forget to print off a set of directions! I won't have any copies with me like I usually do, due to the printer being out of service and I've not got round to sorting it out. ***

Think we're all pretty much set now (unless there's some serious government backpedalling which means we have to call it off), so in the absence of any last-minute info you need to know - be there or be square, as they say! See ya on Friday!! :) :)

Hi Norm et al - hope you have a great weekend with the weather to match. (I was in Cornwall last week where the temperature didnt get much above 20 degrees while back at home it was considerably warmer) - wish I was going on your weekend jaunt but maybe next year !

Don't forget your 'air con' everyone?

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Originally Posted by ProtoTipo

Don't forget your 'air con' everyone?

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And make sure the Heater valve fully turns off!!!

Nah, it'll P down. Has to, cos it's the Northern Drive-Out, and It Is Written :)

I wondered if the shower cover could stop the greenhouse effect, when parked?

Hope you all have a great Drive-Out......and remember to post lots of pics please!

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Hi Norm, just a quick thank you for organising today's run and the weather of course! Paul really enjoyed it too and sent his thanks.Attachment 16633Attachment 16634Attachment 16635
It was great to meet so many of the guys and chat about their cars.
Hope your "Gala" Dinner is a success tonight and safe journeys home tomorrow.
Cheers!
Ade

Hi Norm,

Many thanks for another great run and out especially for starting so close to home nice to catch up with you all again and meet some new faces.
A grand turnout of cars and I hope you all enjoyed the drive.

rgds Bob

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Are those pics from today? I've been in North York near Whitby today and it's been grey, breezy and only 17 degrees.

Aye, that was this morning.
Best of the weather North of the Tyne today.

Lots of Stratos and no rain!
What's going on?!

It's the new "Norm"......

After last year's ever-so-damp do, we were owed a bit of decent weather! Sun and blue skies all day Sat, bit overcast this morning but that soon burned off and another good day.

The whole thing was a 5-star success (but then, I would say that, wouldn't I...). Hotel was fantastic, food and service irreproachable, and just over the road from the beach. On the run itself, no-one got lost even though we soon got separated, and most peeps did the whole route, which was basically interesting stuff and places for the first part, then into the wilds of Northumberland for some great driving roads and no (or very little) traffic. So summat for everyone! And of course an ace evening to round it all off :)

Having no fewer than 6 Strats was the icing on the cake. That's as many as I've seen anywhere, other than the club stand at the AGM. The line-up outside the hotel was a show-stopper - couldn't believe how many people were looking at the cars, and all with big grins...bet you wouldn't get that with a Ferrari club outing! Spoke to a few kids who were goggling at them and guess what, they all knew what they were too - so maybe there's hope for the future yet! One woman told me how she used to live in Africa and would watch the works cars on the Safari rallies, and seeing "our" cars made her day.

Ade, great to meet ya and have you and 'Er Indoors' drive with us, and your mate Paul in his McLaren...although I didn't get to find out which one it was, cos they all look the same to me! :) And Bob, glad you could make it - not sure I could call it a proper Northern Run if you didn't turn up!!

Anyhow, a Big Ta to everyone who came along, and I hope you'll all do it again next year...wherever that might be!

Hi Norm
Many thanks again for organising a great weekend again... even organised the sun !!.... great run, great scenery, great roads, great company, great social.... so overall..... not bad !!!
Cheers
Phil and Helen (Boxster !)

Norm
We had a throughly enjoyable weekend it was great to see everybody again in these strange times. It brought back a bit of normality. On the way home we heard an almighty roar behind us, it was the North East’s chapter of Hells Angels that streamed past on their hogs.

David and Pat

Thanks again Norm for a great weekend, much appreciated.
Thanks also to Chris and Mark for the scenic route home.
Looking forward to the next one :)

Dave

Norm, thank you from Carol & I, great weekend, with great company, great hotel with great staff.

Well done you, and to Leah for letting you do it.

Robin

Thanks all - couldn't have done it without you. Well I could, but it'd just have been "a weekend away" and there'd have been no point doing the directions :)

David - the Hogs were staying down the road in Whitley Bay. We passed them at their hotel on the run. Just think, with a slight change in emphasis on how we get our jollies, it coulda been us... yeah, can just see you lot in leathers, denims and cutoffs. Not :) :)

May well go along with Carol's suggestion of re-doing Kielder next year, and incorporate a break-out "back to base" part-way round, for those who don't want to do the full-on 200-odd mile route. Then again, I might come up with something else entirely...Isle of Man, anyone??

Safely home, without any incidents. Over 1000 miles, >30 mpg on the motorways, <20mpg on the cross moors driving... excellent stuff.
Great weekend, thanks to all for such good company and especially to Norm and Leah for making it all possible.

Note to self, I think the air heated by the front radiator comes out of the louvres, up the screen and straight into the top scoop and then the cockpit.. need to invest in an F1 style water cooled vest

Yes indeed, it was a cracking weekend, so thanks Norm, and to answer your question, of course we will come again, but preferably of course in a Stratos.
Although, I have to say in view of the hot weather there was some attraction in watching everyone else adventures from air conditioned comfort.
Following Mark out of Rothbury though definitely brought in a few pangs of jealousy when he dissappeared into the distance so quickly!
Great stuff, thanks to everyone for making it so enjoyable and interesting.

Some more photos, the line up. (It was not a 'Le Mans' start, it was very sedate)

And one of Britain's premier castles, Bamborough, it is enormous, and yes the sky was really that blue.

It actually WAS a Le Mans-style start, but with a kick-off time of 10:00 and the participants being so knackered, we lined 'em up across the road and said "Go" round about half 9...not sure any of them actually noticed though ;)

That looked like a lot of fun, wish I could have made it. Robins paint job is just perfect, love it :)

The right way up:

Thanks Chris, the forum site has been behaving its self with my photo posts recently, I had thought that there must have been a software update that stopped the frustration of the random revolutions, but obviously not. I did try with that one but failed.