Round Britain Rally 2011, What Goes Around, Comes Around

Windmills were another collection on the landmark list for this year and Ian and myself visited three different types.

The first one is Stevens Mill in the village of Burwell, Cambridgeshire. At one time, Burwell had four operational windmills, the Stevens’ Windmill being the last on standing. It was operational until the 1950’s but is now in need of repair. As the windmill is a listed building it was saved from demolition and the long task of refurbishing it is in hand. The windmill can be operated with only two sails, these were built in the 1980’s at a cost in the region of £15,000. To put another pair of sails in position today, the price would be doubled!

Situated on the Lincolnshire Fenland, eight miles, as the proverbial crow flies, from the coast, Sibsey is ideally situated for the location of a windmill. Originally built in 1877, Sibsey Trader Windmill is one of a few six sailed windmills remaining in England. Due to a shortage of time, we were unable to have a look around or sample the fayre in their tearoom. This has been added to our ever-expanding ‘To Do’ list.

Many s are only too pleased to have RBRers visiting their location. One landmark was on private property this year, clearly visible from the road. They requested for photographs to be taken from the roadside. This request was observed by all that visited to my knowledge. This leads me on to our third windmill.

In the north of my home county, Nottinghamshire is the village of Tuxford. The windmill, situated near the village was the landmark for this year. The proprietor did not take too kindly to his windmill being used as a landmark and tried to charge entrants for taking a photograph! Needless to say very little money exchanged hands! Many photographs were submitted from the roadside with the windmill in the background. I’m sure his tearoom could have served a few thirsty and/or hungry RBRers, thus helping with the upkeep of the windmill. I can only assume that in this time of wealth and prosperity extra finance was not required. Upon this reasoning, dear reader, you will notice the lack of a link to this enterprise.

There has to be a first for everything. The first man on the moon, first flight, first locomotive, first car and even the first motorcycle. This brings us to a tranquil suburb in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, to locate the first ROUNDABOUT in the UK!

Built circa 1909, we can only imagine the confusion this may have caused. In Portree on the Isle of Skye a few years ago, a mini traffic island was built in the centre of the town. The islanders had not seen anything like it before, thus resulting in a few accidents before it was replaced with a one-way system. I’m not suggesting that this would have been the case in Letchworth, but to come across something so alien…and what sort of traffic flow would there have been in this area in the early part of the last century. Could it have been an experiment to try out before being unleashed in the capital? Whatever the reason it works well as a traffic flow solution, unless you want to get through part of Swindon.

To end, by turning full circle, another roundabout was a featured landmark. This particular example at Thornaby on Tees, Teeside has a Spitfire in the centre. This replica was built in 2007. It seems a little ironic, as the roundabout is located at the junctions of Thornaby Road, Bader Avenue and Trenchard Avenue. Ironic in the sense that Douglas Bader flew in a Hurricane.

The reason for mentioning this unvisited landmark? In all honesty it’s just so that I can finish with this film clip. No matter how many times I watch it I still have a smile on my face.

Round Britain Rally 2011, Planes And Boats And Trains

Well the RBR has finished for another year. The usual ‘adjustments’ having to be made during the course of the event. One landmark was sold and moved piece by piece to another location, another, a Roman Milepost was hit by a car and had to be removed for running repairs (groan). Repair work also was required for a statue of John Perry so we took an exciting picture of his plinth.

As has become the custom, the RBR season kicks off with the ARSE, the Annual Rally Starting Event. This year’s gathering took place at the Ellesmere Port Canal Museum where over 50 entrants met for the obligatory group photo. The object to photograph was the anchor sculpture, situated near the café. Yes, one or two people did snap the wrong anchor.

Doctor Beeching’s axe saw the closure of many rail lines in the UK during the 1960’s, however one line that closed before his hand gripped the shaft was the Southwold to Halesworth line. On this local line, at Whenhaston, Suffolk, a plaque depicting the site of the local station has been erected.

To some extent this phoenix looks set to return, as there is a project to reinstate a small section railway, complete with a heritage centre.

There was one type of railway that Beeching could not get onto his report, the cliff railway. This year’s event saw the inclusion of several of these, two of which we visited on the weekend of our motorcycle club’s rally weekend.

On the way down to the rally site we stopped off at the Lynton and Lynmouth Railway. Lynmouth is on the A39, a road to Devon and Cornwall that is often by passed for the dual carriageway of the A30 and M5 motorway. Built in 1890, this water balanced funicular railway works in contrast to other water operated railways. Often water is released from the lower carriage until it is lighter than the top one, whereas on this railway, water is added to the top carriage from the West River Lyn.

Having stopped for some ‘Traditional’ fish & chips, we got into conversation with a local biker, resulting in a rather longer stay than anticipated. We vowed to return here for a longer stay in the future. Little did we realise that it would be sooner rather than later.

‘This one will be easy to find’, said Ian about the Babbacombe Cliff Railway. ‘We just head for the coast and follow it round’. Reaching the coast and following it round took us all the way around the headland and into a housing estate! When in doubt, ask the local postie, who put us on the right track. The plans for the Babbacombe Railway were put forward by Sir John Newnes MP, the man who built the Lynton and Lynmouth Railway. Sadly they were not approved until after his death. The line was completed in 1926.

The railway took us down to a secluded, almost deserted beach. Well it was mid May so that could have been the reason. The beach bar was deserted and the snack bar did a roaring trade in tea and coffee, with ample choice on where to sit.

Grove, Oxfordshire, was the destination for the ‘plane’ part of this post. And that is where we found this De Havilland Venom. Although Grove was reputedly the busiest airfield in 1944, there remain only a few derelict buildings around the area. This particular aircraft once belonged to the Swiss Air force and then Aces High. Not surprising is the fact that part of the airfield has now been turned into a business park.

Round Britain Rally 2010 (Part 3)

Due to the nature of the Round Britain Rally, landmarks are open to various predicaments. They can be uprooted and moved to another location, removed for repair, damaged by being run in to, or in the next two cases being vandalised!

To the side of the A140 there is a monument dedicated to the pilots who were stationed at RAF Mendlesham as the 34th Heavy Bombardment Group. Although the air force base has long since been returned to farmland and industrial units, with very few of the buildings and runways intact, the memorial reminds us of our history. In its prime the memorial looked like this,

however, by the time we arrived part of it was missing.

The copper plaque had been stolen! Details about the crime can be read here.

This was a memorable landmark for me as I was able to tease Ian about dropping his phone here. The caretaker’s partner found this when she went to inspect the cut grass. How a lime green mobile survived the onslaught of a large mower, I’ll never know, it did return unscathed.

From Suffolk we headed north to the county of Norfolk and the seaside town of Cromer. Here we had to find the bust of Henry Blogg, a man that can be classed as a true hero.

Henry was coxswain to the Cromer lifeboat from 1909 to 1947. During this time the lifeboat was called into service 387 times, saving 873 in the process. For his services, Henry received the George Cross, 3 Gold Medals and a VC and bar of the lifeboat service amongst his honours. How did a person or persons unknown treat this brave man? Like this!

Fortunately Henry was back in situ watching over the sea that he spent many hours of his life fighting.

My final choice is a landmark that took some researching. The clue was listed as “Roman Bridge”, Lyn Ogwen, near Capel Curig. Looking on the usual websites that I use produced no information, however eventually I came across a site that gave the location but no picture. With this information off we went. How many times have we travelled on the A5 in Wales and like thousands of others before us never knew of the bridge’s existence? We cross over the bridge without the motorcycle’s tyres coming into contact with it. How? Take a look.

The bridge is sheltered under a modern structure from the onslaught of today’s traffic. The downside to this is that a strong wind was created passing through and Ian’s rally control card was nearly lost and his helmet almost landed in the water. Does the bridge really date back to the Roman era? The jury is out on that question.

Round Britain Rally 2010 (Part 2)

There appears to be a WWII theme going on at the moment, so I will continue on with the next landmark. Our clue for this landmark was ‘Guinea Pig Club plaque, South Rauceby’. Nothing too difficult here then, ho hum. Having convinced Ian that this was nothing to do with little furry meals for myself, research started. The Guinea Pig Club is a group of servicemen, predominately from the Allied air forces that were treated for burns during WWII. They were the first group of people to be experimented on for plastic surgery, hence the name Guinea Pig. Early research showed that there was a mental hospital situated nearby that was transformed into a burns unit for the war period, however the building had been left to decay and had been set ablaze by various people. It has now been demolished and in its place is a housing estate.

Our journey to the landmark was entertaining as the Guzzi decided to cut out at a set of traffic lights in Grantham. There were several changes of relays and fuses before she fired up again.

Reaching South Rauceby Ian rode through the village, out the other side, turned round and did the same again. He then stopped, switched off the Guzzi’s engine, checked paperwork and tried starting the motor again. Nothing. Once more fuses and relays were exchanged, but to no avail. A slow push up a slight gradient followed, ending outside The Bustard Inn. Across the road there was a public telephone box, from where Ian phoned Carole Nash Insurance for breakdown assistance. There was nothing else to do except grab a bite to eat and a pint until help arrived.

Food ordered and beer poured, Ian enquired about the Guinea Pig Club plaque. A local customer knew exactly where it was and gave us directions. It was still early on in the year’s event and we were the fifth to ask for advice!

When the recovery van arrived, the driver offered to take the stubborn Guzzi to the landmark but Ian declined it. Ian decided to phone a friend, Italia, who would look at the stricken Guzzi between jobs, so off to Lincoln we travel.

At Italia, Steve and Phil tried several things before changing a crank sensor. This appeared to do the trick and the Guzzi was wheeled out of the workshop and onto the street. Ian got ready for a quick test ride. Nothing. Back into the workshop.

‘How did the road test go, Ian?’ asked Phil.

‘It hasn’t’ was the reply.

Eventually the problem was solved. The previous year the oil pipe taking oil from the crankcase to the tappets burst, pumping the engines blood all over the motorcycle. Although Ian had thoroughly washed the motorcycle a small amount had got into an electrical connector, shorting pot the throttle sensor! Phil got some cleaning spray and we had had no problems since. Having never come across a problem like this before, Phil was pleased to have solved it. The time taken? Two and a half hours. Cost? Nothing! When you have a good relationship with a shop, loyalty is repaid in kind and we have had excellent service over the last 16 years.

Returning to South Rauceby, we found the plaque, in the centre of a developing housing estate on the outside of an NHS building.

An eventful day for us but at least the problem was sorted before we went on our travels abroad last year.

Round Britain Rally 2010 (Part 1)

For the Chinese it was 3^rd February, the Gregorian / Western / Christian diary it is always 1^st January and for the Round Britain Rallyists (RBR) it was the 27^th March. What am I rabbiting on about? With apologies to the Chinese, the New Year. RBRers congregated at the 5^th Annual Rally Starting Event. As with many peoples’ behinds, the RBR’s ARSE just keeps on getting bigger! It is a social gathering at Landmark 1 on the entry list. Friendships are renewed, photographs taken, certificates and patches that had been pre-ordered are handed out and paid for.

With this year’s event now in full swing, I can belatedly share some of my favourite landmarks visited from last year.

Last year’s ARSE was held in the county of Avon, approximately 5 miles from Bath, at the Claverton Pumping Station.

The station was built in 1813 to pump water from the River Avon up 48 feet into the Kennet and Avon Canal. There was a small admission charge to get into the station’s grounds, which were taken over by many two and three wheeled machines. We were given a guided tour of the stations workings by one of the volunteers, making for an enjoyable event.

After leaving the gathering Ian and myself managed tick off a few more landmarks on the homeward journey, bumping into small groups of rallyists .

Higher Sutton is a small hamlet just off the A54 between Axe Edge and the junction with the A523. The landmark here is the Greenway Cross, also known as a Plague Stone. Originally the stone may have been used as a wayward marker and becoming a Plague Stone in the 17^th Century when England succumbed to the disease. There are many similar stones across the country, their purpose being that supplies could be left here and the townsfolk would come, leave payment in a container of water and thus hoping not to spread the plague further.

I selected this landmark, not for the Plague Stone itself but for the view across to the historic town of Macclesfield.

There is a saying within the RBR group that if you want to find a landmark, don’t ask the locals. This could have been proved correct, only in that the person Ian asked was not a local! We were on our way to find the memorial at Hunsdon Airfield. Having ridden around the area, to no avail, Ian noticed a security man on a small industrial area. He tried to give us directions for Gatwick Airport! Eventually, outside the village shop we struck lucky and a local person pointed us in the right direction.

Hunsdon Airfield is private land and has an active microlight club. We proceed up the loose chipped roadway and found the landmark.

There was a group of men around the memorial and we got into conversation with them. Ian gave them a brief rundown on the RBR and they were pleased that their monument had been chosen. It can be a rare event to meet another entrant at a landmark, but to be in the company of the builders…

We were informed how the monument was built, with extra reinforcing given to the engine. This was due to there being a similar style monument somewhere nearby and the engine was not secured, resulting in the engine deing removed, possibly for its scrap value. Details of the construction can be found here.

An enjoyable afternoon was spent in their company talking bikes and the history of the airfield. Slowly we went our separate ways, them back home whilst Ian and myself headed for a motorcycle rally, only after taking another photograph.

Monuments can commemorate many different past events. The Hunsdon memorial represents the bravery of the pilots stationed there in WWII, however the next one I have selected deals with a tragic disaster.

Freckleton is a small town in Lancashire, midway between Preston and Lytham St Anne’s. It’s the type of place that has a by-pass, thus there is usually no need to stop and look around. Indeed by-passes tend to make small towns invisible.

At 10:30 on the morning of 23^rd August 1944, two American Liberator heavy bombers took off from nearby Warton. The aircraft were soon in trouble as a vicious storm swept in from the Irish Sea. One of the aircraft was able to head north, however the other flew into the storm.

With the aircraft’s wings almost vertical, its right wing hit the top of a tree and then was ripped off as it impacted against the corner of a building. The remainder of the wing ploughed along the ground and through a hedge. Unfortunately the fuselage continued on its way, partly demolishing three houses and a snack bar used by servicemen. Momentum carried stricken aircraft forward across the road and then it burst into flames. Part of the aircraft hit the infants’ wing of the local school and fuel from the ruptured tanks ignited producing an inferno. The time was 10:17.

In the school, 38 children and 6 adults perished, the snack bar, 14 died and also the crew of 3 on board the stricken aircraft. A horrific day for Freckleton. More information on the disaster can be found here, including an account of the day by one of the surviving children.

For the RBR, we were given three locations and could select any two to find. The two I have chosen, I believe, tell most of the events of the fateful day.

Diary Dates

With Xmas now a distant memory it is time to start planning this years activities, so here are a few ideas for 2009.

The 9th Japanese Bike Show at Castle Donnington is on next weekend, 7th & 8th February. Details here. I really enjoyed myself at last years event and Ian was pleased to pick up a gasket set for the Suzuki at a knock down price. A link to the 2008 event is here. We are hoping to be there sometime on Saturday so look out for us.

The sandracing continues over at Mablethorpe with four meetings remaining for this season. We hope to get over again sometime but a lot is dependant on Guzzisue's broken arm. She is off to the hospital this week for a check up, but has at least another four weeks with the metal support. Here is a link to the remaining meetings. Remember to wrap up warm if you venture out here and something to sit on is a good idea as well.

April sees the start of the Round Britain Rally an event that Ian and myself have done for the last three years. In this the entrant is given a list of landmarks, with at least one in every county on mainland UK. The entrant then has to take a photo of their motorcycle at the landmark to gain points. It is not necessary to do all of the landmarks, just as many as you are able. The points value for each landmark varies, so for example one in the Highlands will be worth more than one in Nottinghamshire. Here are a few examples from previous years.
The Tibetan Centre at Eskdalemuir.

Footplate sculpture at Flint railway station.

Welsh harp sculpture at Llangollen and

Victorian drinking fountain and trough, Norton. This landmark was a little elusive for a few entrants in 2008.

Easter's highlight is the Red Marley Hill Climb. We have attended the hill climb twice, see last years report here, so this time we are going on Easter Sunday to see the trials meeting.

One event that neither Ian, Guzzisue or myself have been to yet is the Thundersprint, held at Northwich. This year the event takes place over the weekend of May 9th and 10th. Here's hoping we can get there this year, if so I will give a bear's eye report.

The East Coast Challenge carries on, with the 2009 event starting on March 1st. Ian and myself managed to combine this with the Round Britain Rally landmarks for Norfolk and Suffolk last year. A rather sedate challenge by itself with a 200 mile trip to visit 5 given towns, ending back at your start point no less than 7 hours later but within 24 hours.

Nottingham often gets into the news for all the wrong reasons, one of the problems for a vibrant multi cultural city, but two events that we will be supporting are the Nottingham Light Night on February 12th and 13th. Last year for this event there was music in several places around town, the Nottingham Eye in the Market Square and several buildings lit up for the evening.
Here are some of my photos taken last year.
The Nottingham Eye with in Council House in the background.

The Nottingham Lion overseeing the activities in the Market Square.

A lady making her way down to the centre from the Angel Row area.

These pyramids are on Long Row.

Fire jugglers entertained on the Council House steps

while a samba band played on a stage in the Market Square.

The Dukes Box were playing requests in St Peter's Square.

Walking up Bridlesmith Walk towards the Galleries Of Justice, an old court building and now an award winning museum.

Finally over the Spring Bank Holiday in May there is the Nottingham City Pulse, a three day music extravaganza. Last year there was music from The Blockheads and The Beat as two groups from Ian's golden era, among with many others. Below are some clips I managed to record over the weekend. Listen and hopefully enjoy. The recording quality varies a little as it was a very windy weekend.

Kick 'N' Rush, a local skiffle band


Bombay Bajas an internationally known group of musicians.


Railroad Bill, who are undergoing a name change. Their website does not have much information at present.


The Real Macaws. A talented group from Yorkshire.


The Bikini Beach Band play well known tunes in a surf style. Great fun and look out for the dancers in grass skirts.


The Blockheads. I don't think any introduction is necessary here!


So these are a few of our plans for 2009. I hope some of these are useful to you. If there is any activity in your city go out and support it. these events are put on for your enjoyment.

Rallies - Ides Of March, Dwyle Funkers & 2 Moons

We have been to several motorcycle rallies this year. I will not go into too much detail as they tend to go along the lines of:

Arrived at.....
Met with....
Got drunk....
Woke up with hangover....

Anyone who read the two rally magazines (Big Bollards and Rally Review) will remember the style of writing of reports of rallies. The report of these rallies will be brief and I will let the pictures do the talking.

The Ides Of March.

This rally is organised by the Salford Centurians and is held outside Todmorden. The weather for this event can vary between wind, snow or rain. This year we only had the wind and rain, with a few tents being flattened.
The views of the surrounding area are enjoyable and worth a visit in summertime, which I must do soon.


The rally limit is 110 and usually sells out very quick. There is also a varied selection of two and three wheeled transport in the pub's car park.

Dwyle Funkers

This small trad. rally is arranged by the Dwyle Funkers themselves. Over the years it has been in several locations including Wales, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and this year it was at the
Lower Lode on the banks of the River Severn not far from Tewkesbury. The pub suffered from flooding last year when the river burst its banks. There was a rally on when this occured and a couple of motorcycles were damaged as they didn't get to higher land in time. The field containing static caravans also did not escape the flood water.
On the river bank there is a mooring place for a few boats with these sculptures.
Although the rally was organised by our friends Guzzisue felt uncomfortable in the pub. Her father cannot go near fields where there has been a major battle in English history, so we think this is something that has been passed on to her.
A pleasant evening was spent chewing the cud with a small break for a raffle and award giving. The best bike was chosen by the landlady, with Bob winning the Best Bike with his Guzzi.
Sunday's dawn chorus consisted of a flock of geese that had great delight in waking everyone up and then when they decided to settle down got very uptight if they were approached.
Of course some people do tend to take a lot of gear for a weekend away.

Two Moons Rally.


This is our club's rally held at The Rising Sun near Altarnun in Cornwall. As it was the 10th and final 2 Moons, Robbie had decided to go out with a bang. We arrived on site on the Thursday to help erect a marque lent from the Pint Pullers.
Thursday nights are a chance for club members to have a quiet pre rally drink before the onslaught of Friday and Saturday. With us arriving on the Thursday it also gives Ian, Guzzisue and myself a day to do some of the Round Britain Rally landmarks on Friday before people start to arrive for the weekend.
We had intended to have an early start on Friday to get to all the Cornish landmarks, but the evening session was longer than expected so we had to miss going to one. We did however manage to get to Chain Fort / Blockhouse at Polruan. This was built with another on the opposite bank of the River Fowery to protect the harbour. It was errected in the 15th Century and last used in the 1600's.
From here we rode up to St Cleer to photograph the Memorial to a Lost Railway Line. At times the rain was so heavy that it seemed that we were riding in a stream!
Whilst we were taking the above photos a local biker stopped to see if we were ok as he thought that Ian had dropped the Guzzi. He was quite bemused when Guzzisue explained what we were doing.
Next we into the county of Devon and to the site of the Lydford Leap. Here we met up with fellow RBRers Jacki, Phill and Rufus, a well travelled sheep.
Back at the rally site people were arriving for the weekend and a good Friday night was had by all present. Saturday arrived with the traditional rain and many held off from going out for a ride until it subsided a little. There was some lost property handed in at the control tent, but the article was not claimed!

Ian, Guzzisue and myself walked down into the village for a few supplies and a look around the local church. In the village there were two events taking place, one in the village hall and the other in the church hall. Ian bought some tombola tickets and managed to win some prizes, which then ended up in our own raffle that night. Guzzisue did the same at the church hall!
Guzzisue managed to get a lift back from the church warden as Ian and myself had already returned with the supplies. The warden also promised to return later that afternoon on his motorcycle if the rain stopped.



Here are a few motorcycles from the site. First is my computer guru Roy on his Savage
followed by Ted Trek's very smart BMW
or how about this tidy Norton?
or Geoff and Carole's Ural combo?
As Saturday night progressed the fox above the bar got into the spirit of the rally
and as per usual when drink flows the conversation gets slightly far fetched and there is a place where people talking rubbish get sent to!
There were three birthdays birthdays being celebrated over the weekend, one I'm not sure about, Guzzisue's and Robbie's 40th (and he thought he was going to get away with it).
During the evening Andy the landlord treated everyone to a shot of whisky as he was enjoying the weekend so much. Ian told him that we had done over 6,000 miles commuting to the rally over the years. Andy's reply was that we had better do another 6,000!
The 2 Moons is dead. Long live the next rally name. Yes I know what it is but my lips are sealed at this moment.