Leaderboard

These are some wild deer by Loch Eriboll. please excuse the whiteness in the pictures as I just took the shots. These are the Hood Stones. I spent a full morning last year trying to find these as they were buried in the heather half way up the hill. Do a google search for HMS Hood and the hood stones to learn their historic significance. loch Eriboll is also where the WW2 German submarine fleet surrendered. Here is a link that tells you about the submarines that surrendered. http://coastkid.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/loch-eriboll-sutherland1945-operation.html Here is Buttercup opposite the old ferry house and the kiln oven on Loch Eriboll. I will post more pictures tomorrow and I hope you enjoy the ones above.

Hello team. Here are a few pictures of our trip. I must apologise for the quality of the pictures as it as raining on some and on others I did not realise my exposure was set to high. A bit gutted really but I hope you like them. I took loads but they just look like mountains and lochs etc and you don't get the WOW factor as if you are there. Anyone who has been will fully understand. These were taken in Glenetive where they filmed Skyfall. Here is Carol and buttercup re-inacting the Skyfall scene. Unfortunately we did it from memory and we were in the right place but the idiot taking the pictures was in totally the wrong spot. This road is 14 miles long from memory and it is a dead end. The road is stunning and none of my pictures I took do it justice what so ever. This is castle AAArrggghhhh from the Monty Python films. These are the Three Sisters. I have walked right to the near top of the right hand valley. The valley on the left is known as the hidden valley and I have yet to get there. Was hoping to do it this trip but bad weather stopped me. THESE PICTURES DO NOT DO THESE JUSTICE. YOU WILL SERIOUSLY WET YOUR PANTS THE FIRST TIME YOU SEE THEM. More pictures to follow.

Great thread. Living in this beautiful country every day, you tend to take it for granted a bit, but a thread like this from a visitor to this fair land has served as a reminder of just how stunning it is and gives me a kick up the butt to get out there and put many more miles on the Westy this year enjoying it. I look forward to your photos.

So after months of anticipation Wednesday 27th May had finally arrived and time for us ( Michelle & I ) to set off on our trip to the St Goueno Hill Climb. We set off for our ferry from Portsmouth to St Marlo at 2.00pm, after an easy run down the A34 we’d soon joined the queue at the ferry terminal and could see ahead another member of Team WSCC Graham ( Windy ) Millar. Once checked in the three of us headed for the terminal bar to get in the spirit of the weekend while we waited to be loaded. The crossing was an overnight run so following an evening meal and a few drinks in the bar chatting to fellow competitors we retired to our cabin for a few hours sleep. In the morning we joined Graham in his commodore cabin for a complimentary continental breakfast before setting off on the short drive from St Marlo to St Goueno. Just over an hour later around 10.00am we’d arrived at the empty paddock hoping to drop our trailers off but not only were we turned away until 3pm we also noticed that one of Grahams trailer tyres had delaminated and lost a large chunk of tread, so out came the jacks and in true motorsport style the wheel was changed in no time. Many competitors camp in the paddock however following Grahams visit last year we opted to share a small gite in a village a few miles away and used our time to pop to the gite, unpack and have a cuppa. Time rolled by and no sooner had we sat down than it was time to head back to the paddock and set camp ready for the rest of Team WSCC. We quickly had our paddock area set up banners flying and cars ready, just in time actually as the remainder of the team had arrived, Tim Nunn & Karen, Richard Kerr & Lisa and Paul Morcom and then with a mass joint effort we organised the motorhomes and trailers ready for the weekend. Now the time had come for us to drive the hill for the first time, all be it still an open road but we couldn’t wait to set sight on the hill and see how it compared with the video’s I’d watch a thousand times before. With Graham taking Tim, Richard & Paul for passenger rides in his gorgeous orange MK2 Escort Michelle & I jumped in the Westy to get a proper view of the road. Wow this was going to be the most challenging hill climb I’ve driven so far, 2 miles of fast tight & twisty narrow road, steep banks to one side and armco to the other it became very clear there would be no room for mistakes here. So with the recky runs done and much debate about how to tackle this for practice on Saturday it was soon time to get ready for our first evenings entertainment in the Sal d fete in St Goueno. The hospitality here was exceptional with the organisers laying on evening meals and entertainment all weekend for drivers and their crew, they even provide a free Navette ( minibus ) to run everyone the couple of miles from the paddock to the village centre & back and also to and from our gite so we could all kick back enjoy a few beers blonde, cidre and vin rouge, bring it on. Friday was a nice relaxing day, as other than signing on and scrutineering in the afternoon we had no other motor sport duties so took full advantage and enjoyed a bit of a lay in ( we needed it after the night before trying to keep up with Tim & Rich in the bar ) followed by a walk to the village patisserie for croissants and pan aux chocolait . When we finally made it back to the paddock not much was going on so we took the short walk across to the Cheval hair pin to watch some of the local historic regularity cars running up the hill, a very enjoyable couple of hours drifted by and it was time to return for signing on. Friday nights entertainment was bigger and better than the night before with a live band playing and plenty good food and drink, again the Plays-kool boys were a bad influence forcing me to have one or two beers too many ;-) When we got home to our gite we had been joined by David Birch & his brother Alan, Ade ACW and a friend of Windy’s Paul who were all sharing the gite next door and spectating for the weekend. Saturday morning was beautiful bright and sunny, full of nervous anticipation ( well certainly on my part ) as our practice runs started at 9.30am. Unlike our British hill climbs the paddock was not laid out in competitor order, so to get everyone back in order before a run you first get called out to the pre grille. We had been divided into three groups of around thirty who get called out together, on leaving the paddock your given a pre grille number which you go find painted on the road and park behind it. Just as soon as the pre grille has all assembled your taken off in a convoy on the 2.2 mile drive down to the start line. Finally my group were called and off I set for my first proper run up the hill all be it un-timed, I quite liked that idea as it was a chance to sight the hill without the pressure of posting a reasonable time. It wasn’t far into my first run that the scale of this hill hit home, despite watching last years video’s a thousand times and driving the hill the previous day it only took a couple of corners before I was completely flummoxed as to what was coming next, that would be the challenge to driving this hill fast, memorising the course well enough to attach the corners. Well my first run was fairly cautious but completed without any dramas so I was happy with that. Back in the paddock we all chatted about our first runs, exchanged ideas on how to memorise the course and couldn’t wait to have another go and post a time. After lunch we were called again, wished each other luck and set off for the start line. Things all started to go a little wayward from here with delay after delay ( breakdowns and accidents that took an age to clear ) then at last it was my turn. My start was ok and the first half of the run went pretty much to plan ( I almost felt like I knew where I was going ) until I was Red Flagged just after the crossing ( a cross roads about half way up ), I pulled over to a marshall’s post only to be told the red flag was a mistake and I should turn around go back down to the start for a re-run. This was the last thing I’d expected and after a stressful 5 point turn I trundled back down to the start line, with one thought in my mind, I now had warm tyres and should take full advantage. This second start was much better and I set off at a faster pace, to my surprise the next few corners were all in the order I’d imagined, the run was going well I soon recognised the next section which is much faster and even managed to keep my foot half in through the crossing, the next two right handers went well ( including the nasty tightening one which was catching out a lot of drivers ) and I was heading down to the Cheval Hair Pin then just the last two corners and I was done, first timed run over and I thought went pretty well, just needed to see my time which was displayed on the return road, blimey 1min 46s I was very pleased with that. When I returned to our paddock all was very quiet, the girls had all gone to spectate as had Windy so I had a few quiet moments to re -run the hill in my head before I expected Tim & Richard to return as they were a couple of cars behind me at the start. It soon became clear more problems followed my run as no sign of Tim let alone anyone else, what I didn’t realise was it was Team WSCC causing some of the hold ups. Unfortunately Tim suffered a mechanical problem and had to quit his run half way up, then Richie rather enthusiastically clipped the armoc on the nasty right hander which he seamed to get away with only then to suffer steering failure on the very last corner and collided heavily head on into the water filled barriers, finally Paul returned in his beautiful Merlin having completed a successful run and we waited to hear of of Tim & Richie. Thankfully the Plays-kool boys escapades were not too serious, Tim’s air box had worked loose and was soon fixed and Richards off ( which looked spectacular on the big screen ) had left his supercharged Duratec unrepairable for the rest of the weekend but more importantly, other than a sore wrist ( no jokes about using the other hand please ) he was fine. A perfect example of why we should ALL be wearing HANS devices if ever one was needed. Due to all the hold up’s P2 was cancelled so that was practice over. Saturday evening was again full of good food, drink and great friends as we all reflected on the days events. ( I seam to remember even finding a bar selling hot dogs and chips somewhere, or did I just dream that ) ?? 5am Sunday morning I woke to the sound of rain lashing down on our gite roof, not good but what can you do, the bad weather looked set for the day. We arrived at the paddock with everything cold wet and soggy, while Michelle sat in the camper with heating on I set about drying out the Silver Bullet which although covered had not faired well overnight. Thankfully I’d done most of the prep for Sunday already so just a check of tyre pressures, get togged up and I was ready, leaving my time free to dry the car out and wonder what this hill was going to drive like in the wet. Soon enough we were called out to the pre grille, time for our first run. Well the conditions certainly slowed everybody, we all returned from our first runs having wheel spun, slipped and slided up the hill safely but non of us made it in under 2 minuets, this was now a very tricky and treacherous hill to drive. Before our next run we had lunch laid on, cold meats, bread & cheese and strangely cidre & vin rouge, shame we had to drive later! With lunch done time to return to the serious part driving the hill, unfortunately the weather had got a little worse over lunch and any chance of having a dry run looked off. Somehow we all improved for T2 ( maybe the wine at lunch ) and now Tim was leading our class, Windy second in his and Paul battling well with the other formula ford in his. We now waited in the drizzle to be called for T3, Windy, Tim & Paul were all eager for their final run but I was unsure, I had a few moments thinking I’d enjoyed my weekend, the car was still in one piece, the weather didn’t look like improving and maybe I should call it a day, thankfully I was talked out of that thought as T3 although still treacherous turned out to be all of our fastest run of the day and we all got round safely. The final results for Team WSCC were: Tim Nunn 1m 52.489s 1st in class & 9th overall out of 84 entries Graham Millar 1m 55.369s 2nd in class & 13th overall Paul Morcom 2m 01.828s 2nd in class & 24th overall Martin Harvey 2m 08.904s 7th in class & 36th overall Richard Kerr NTR With the cars and kit all loaded we headed up for the presentations and made sure Tim got the reception he deserved as he received his trophy, well done Tim. That just left the final nights meal which was a quieter affair, still loads of good food, great company with friends old & new and yep you guessed it all the vin rouge you could drink, in fact I think I had a few too many as I don't remember the journey back our gite, lol So how would I sum up the weekend for any of you thinking of giving it a go next year, hmm, well if you put our Blyton weekend and all your other favourites together your getting close to St Goueno experience, see you there next year!!!!

this is the Quiraing on the isle of Skye and these pictures give no idea what it is like. You have to be there. Do a google search and have a look on the images. The area was used for filming Prometheus and also other sci-fi films over the years. We wanted to walk and have a look round but the weather stopped us but will definitely be going back. It is like driving up the inside of a volcanic crater on another planet. This is what we did with our half hood with all the luggage strapped on. We rolled it behind the seats so that it was always fastened at the back and the roof bars tucked in behind the seat with the umbrella. it was only like this on days we moved hotels.

These are pictures taken from the next but one mountain to Ben Nevis. There is a cable car that takes you to around 2/3 to the top. I climbed to the snowline whilst Carol sat in the café and boy was it getting cold and windy. The views were terrific. On the same mountain there are some unbelievable mountain bike courses that come down right form the top of the mountain. Views were amazing and cafes and toilets are at the top and bottom of the cable car. These are Glenfinnan and this place was stunning. The water in the Loch was cristal clear. The viaduct was used in the Harry Potter films and you can go over it on a steam train. Plenty of parking here and toilets and a café. This is a sunset over Glencoe. The sky changes so rapidly and this was taken from our room in the Glencoe Inn. This is the Commando memorial and this place made me cry. There is far more than shown in the pictures and you really must go. The remembrance garden is extremely moving. This is the isle of Skye bridge that you drive over if you don't want to take the ferry. I will post more pictures later.

Now posted

Hello MurrayMint. Thankyou for the nice comment and also all the "likes". The weather has been...not very good... but I don't think we could have had a better time even if the sun shone all the time. It was the best holiday I have ever had. [not sure about Carol . She never complained once though] And just for you, here is a nice picture of Buttercup at Ben Lawer dam.

I get the impression that you all enjoyed yourselves! An excellent write up. Keith

Brilliant read!!

Martin, that was epic mate, great read. Lots of fantastic memories, oh how we laughed. Well done mate!

Martin Good write up. You definitely did have hot dog and chips ....and then more chips ... but you may have been somewhat merry by then ;-)

Great write-up Martin. Have you eaten the contents of your free picnic hamper yet?

Sounds absolutely fantastic, great report Mart Can I resist next year...............I doubt it!!

Hello Tex. The car was fine. We tried her out for an hour before we went and we had no problems. To be honest the bags were not that heavy.

Yep, & you'd know being head honch for the weekend!

First one's best. Son's current race car.

The trick is to take he youtube url and either use the 'Special BBCode' dropdown (media), or use the following code block: [media]

I'm always up for a lap or two too!

Tried my tracking numbers again just now and there's an update! My tyres are in Holland...........progress at last

Hi Julian, feel free to give me a call to arrange. I'm away on Sunday, but the present Mrs RichUK will be around. I'm back Monday later afternoon I think.

As a newcomer to this system and now having done 2 events I think it is a great way of scoring. It brings everyone's times very close together. It takes out the money, weight, tyre type, and power advantages out of the equation and enables one to focus purely on driving ability. I've competed in the speed series from the beginning, probably near to 20 years now. The handicap system feels to me very much like the early days of the speed series. We all had very similar cars, similar engines and similar tyres then. The sport was also much more affordable and there were fewer rules for the novices to get confused about.

Well here is what I have learnt from this trip. I will keep updating this page for the next couple of nights. Some of it I have already said in my previous comments. A half hood, clear wind deflectors will get you through any amount of rain. Half doors are worth every penny as you can see so much scenery. A Paul Ash luggage rack is great for carrying luggage. Rok straps are brilliant for securing luggage. The west side is more WOW factor than the East. There are more petrol pumps than you think. Some are not proper garages but little shops with a pump outside. Bring a supply of microfibre cloths for drying up any water. A buff is brilliant for keeping out the cold. The zips on my coat and fleece made my neck sore after a while as I had to wear them for so long. Plan enough time to be able to go slow and enjoy the views. Plan that it will rain. We encountered no midges but Avon skin so soft is brilliant for protection. I wore less clothes than I thought but glad I brought plenty of underwear and socks. budget £80.00 a night for hotels. Can save money by going direct rather than through booking agents. Wear a pair of glasses as rain in the eyes hurts. Do not expect the car to stay clean. I had no need to carry cash apart from one garage that would not accept card payments under £15.00. Nearly all parking is free. There are masses of clean public toilets. Take notice of people who know the local area as they know some beautiful routes. Take an umbrella as handy for keeping dry if stopped admiring a view or darting into a shop. Take packs of glass cleaner wipes. Some places / garages shut earlier than you think. Would pay to ring ahead if an important stop to check. Nearly all the roads on the west coast we travelled on are a million times smoother than roads south of the border. The sun sets late in the highlands at this time of year so your days are really long. Be aware of animals in the road if whizzing along as lots of sharp bends. We had close shaves with sheep, deer and cows. Budget for between £10.00 to £12.00 for your evening meal plus drinks. Make sure you have recovery insurance before leaving. Phone signal and 3G reception is better than you think. Not available everywhere we went but nearly everywhere is fair to say. One day on the Isle of Skye is not enough. It gets windy in the exposed highlands so make sure you have enough straps to hold any rainproof protective cover down on a night.

All yours Julian, this time! If they were 15's you'd have been too late!

Evening Team. Today is our last day and the sun has shone for most of the day. Planning a route home to take me over the Yorkshire Dales for tomorrow. Done over 200 miles today. Not as dramatic as the West Coast but still enjoyable. Went to Lawers Dam and was a fantastic backdrop for pictures of Buttercup. I even laid on my belly got some arty shots. Ben Lawers is brilliant to drive through and we came from Fortingall towards Ben Lawers. Most done at 15 mph. Drove through beautiful forestry and single track, twisty roads. FANTASTIC. Managed to get the key for the McNab burial ground at Killin as not visible from the road. Extremely beautiful setting to be laid to rest and be remembered. Lots of Lillies and wild garlic. Went to Pitlochry for food but very expensive so did not eat there. First car park had to pay for and also had to pay for toilets. Very much for tourists. Nice shops for the ladies to do shopping. Ate in Aberfeldy. Fountain cafe. Reasonable food at reasonable prices. A few kids shouting though and running round. I enjoyed today but not as much as the West Coast. The area is very pretty and clean but is mainly green fields and trees and I have that at home. It is a very beautiful area though so don't get me wrong. LESSONS LEARNT TODAY. Sheep like Tarmac so be careful going round corners. Tourist areas can be expensive. Turn of your satnav and just drive. Don't worry about fuel as plenty of pumps. I have enjoyed myself in the rain as much as the sun. You can drive at 15 mph for miles and not see any other vehicles. I am going to do a lessons learnt from my trip when I have sat and thought about it a while. I am already planning my trip for next year based on my experience in Buttercup as it has been so different than travelling up here in my tiptop. I can honestly with no flowering up of my words or saying something just to make it sound good, that this is the best holiday I have ever had ❤❤❤and I really don't want to go home.

https://www.facebook.com/motorsport365/videos/984103994967558/

I unfortunately have the full set, ears both outer and inner, nose both nostrils which when pulled are knotted somewhere behind each eyeball and eyebrows that if left alone will become curtains. One upside is you can now appreciate a Turkish shave, where they set fire to a small ball of cotton wool and deftly wave it around the extremities and burn the blighters off. The smell of burning hair soon passes and the sight of flames coming off your ears certainly is entertaining.