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For Le Mans virgins like the three of us, @greenstreak - it was a bucket list trip for him, to celebrate his ahem, fiftieth, this year @IanK and myself, we went, after much research by Andy, with Speed Chills, and what an excellent choice it was. Fairs, fair, it's certainly not the cheapest way of doing Le Mans, but especially for those new to it and traveling in silly little sports cars, they take all the pain and trouble out of it. Thoroughly recommended. You basically pick your route, in terms of ports, travel days, then add any options, like grandstand seats etc and that's it. A pack arrives with all the appropriate tickets etc. The campsites themselves, they have several, are fenced off within the main camping areas. We were at Bleu Sud, the smaller of the two main sites, but only a short walk to the main entrance. The site itself was kept neat and tidy, fenced and gated off, with our own security. We had our own toilet and shower blocks, along with a marquee, with a projector showing the Eurosport feed of the Race, a bar, along with tables etc. Breakfast and evening meals were provided. Food was, in all honesty good on some nights, ok, (a bit school dinnery) on others. Beer was plentiful and cold, when you felt like a change from the warm beer in your tents! The staff were all very friendly and helpful though. I knew we'd found somewhere decent, when the first thing they did on spotting three hot, dusty Westfields queuing up at the gate, was to hand us chilled bottled water! And yes, we flew the flag at Camp Krusty!

Welcome to a new section of the Boardroom! This is the Touring equivalent of the Trackday section; somewhere to tell everyone about the adventures we've had, exploring with our Westfields, recommend places to visit, discus what gear to take etc. We especially love to see photos and links to video in this thread, it really brings those trips to life and inspires the rest of us. Note, every member is free to add posts about upcoming trips and motoring holidays in here. We have made this a section for paid up members only though, so be reassured when recommending those hidden gems and off the beaten track places, only fully paid up, current fellow club members can see them. While this section isn't really for technical questions, it is a place to ask about and discus what sort of tools/spares people carry on tours, argue over the finer merits of different dry bags etc. Lets share that knowledge and improve everyone's trips!

Here are a few things that I have learnt whilst on my travels. Its surprising how we all do different things but I have always learnt something different from other people. Please feel free to add to the list. A half hood, half doors and clear wind deflectors will get you through any amount of rain. Half doors are brilliant for touring. You can see so much as the surround on a full door is usually at eye level. Rok straps are brilliant for securing luggage. Buy the ones without the hook on them and then your car doesn't get scratched. Take plenty of microfibre cloths You can always wash them in a hotel sink but they will clean your car and dry up any water / rain. Autobrite Direct, Berry Blast is great for cleaning your car on a morning before you head out for the day. I keep a small bottle behind my drivers seat. A buff is brilliant protecting your face from the cold and in heavy rain. It also stops your neck getting sore if you have a coat with a zip that goes under your chin and irritates your neck. Not everything is about going at a million miles an hour. Relax, enjoy the views and make time to stop. It can be boring for a passenger who just gets to sit. Try to avoid “boring” routes. Plan that it will rain and prepare accordingly. If it rains, find a way to have fun and turn it into an adventure. This is what memories are made of and there is no need to let the weather spoil anything. Take two pairs of driving glasses. Sun glasses for during the day and a clear pair for on a night. You will wear less clothes that you think. You can wear the same pair of trousers for ten days and not stink. A lot of hotels will wash your clothes for you. Its usually about £5.00 per load. You can get everything washed half way round your trip if required. Take an umbrella. It is handy as a quick fix in a short shower. Remember to take sun block and a hat for your head. It is surprising how burnt you can get in a Westfield when driving every day. Make sure you have breakdown insurance that will get you and your car home. A GoPro battery eliminator is brilliant. You can keep your camera turned on permanently and not have to worry about batteries. I have a wireless remote clipped to the dash that operates the camera. Take tools, fuses and a throttle cable. An insulated food bag makes a great armrest if placed between the seats behind the hand brake. It can make a big difference if driving all day as your arm is supported. Plus you can keep all your odds and sods in it. Take a camera and a pocket size pair of binoculars. A she-wee is brilliant for a woman. Dont get to worried about petrol garages. There are more than you think. It can be expensive if stopping for coffee breaks every hour, especially if you are in a group. Budget or plan accordingly. A map book is great to take as well as a SatNav. If you get lost you can see more detail and area in the map book than you can on the SatNav. Keep all your clothes in dry bags. Lomo bags are really good and not expensive. Avon “Skin so Soft” is a brilliant midge repellant. Be aware that if you are in a group, some cars may be lower than yours so be wary of rougher roads. Take a credit card. Keep a small bag of change for parking etc. Don't take jeans or clothes that take too long to dry out or are really bulky. Clothes from somewhere like Mountain Warehouse are really good as they fold small, dry quick and are light and warm.

Always keep an umbrella in the car, in case of sitting in traffic, you can protect from the sun quickly and fold quickly.

If driving in very hot sunny conditions, take lots of water and keep covered on the seat next to you in easy reach. If necessary keep pouring bigger screw ladder bottles into smaller bottles that can be opened with one hand. You can do this at the fuel stops. With temperatures in the the thirties last week, and high over head sun through much of the day, we found we were easily getting through around four liters of water each, in the car, at times! Oh and keep wet wipes and suntan cream just as handy. Again, on the extreme days, I was finding on my forearms and face, the lotion seemed to be "burning off" in forty minutes or so and needed toping off.

@Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary You did really well to get a shot of @greenstreak vertical we we did indeed have an epic trip though.

Hi Party Goers Keep Calm all is under control:- MEALS All of you who have requested a place for the meal have been accomodated by the pub: That means all those who entered on the original web site list are in PLUS the following:- Matt Hillam x 1 Phil Nicholls x 2 Mark & Bev (2) inc Mini Bus ACW (2) Alan Smith x 1 Howard x 2 Tigger x 1 Grand Total 44 Party Goers Mini Bus Numbers I have just 2 Mini Bus places left so if Howard is able to make his own way to the pub then those 2 places can go to Tigger and Alan Smith. (Please let me know Howard) Thanks Meal Ordering In General the meal ordering will be done on the night, table by table but they would like an advance indication of who would like steaks, mixed grills and gammon steaks. So please have a look at the Black Horse Blyton web site to review the menu's and perhaps you meat eaters will give me an indication of your preferences please? Timetable We have a different mini bus operator this year but we have a sixteen seater doing 2 runs as in previous years The cost is £3-00 per per person per round trip To help Martin collect the money easily please have the correct money available for your party as you queue ready to board the bus. Martin will not come looking for you this year to get your money so please have it ready so you are sure of getting your booked seat! The first bus of 16 people will leave the raceway paddock at 6-45 pm promptly as the bus man has other jobs after us! The second bus of 16 will leave around 7-00 pm or just after! First return run is scheduled for 10-15 pm Meal Orders will be taken from 8-00 pm, I may have to do some random table allocations to ease congestion in the bar area as we are such a big group this year! I hope I have covered all your questions? If not please just ask! It just remains for me to wish you a very happy evening and a Great Blyton weekend! Many thanks for your continued support Graham (Glutey)

glad you've got it all sorted out now boys.

We could see Team Derby & Notts flag from where our tent was, but despite keeping an eye out for Del and Garry, never actually crossed paths. But then there were the best part of quarter of a million people there, I believe!

Cheers, Geoff .. it's with thanks to all you guys! I'm sure we can pull this off and I still think that it'll go down as one of the longest couriers to date!

Yes, bumped into Mr Chairman which was nice! Brilliant trip and very lucky with the weather and the battle between the Corvette and the Astons was exciting! Parked in the Blue car park but did not see any of your westies. I know Mark (smokey mow) was there but didn't see him. Hoping to do the classic Le Mans in July next year!

Glad you have got sorted.

Thanks. I'm making my first major tour this summer, down to Lake Como and back. I'll be sharing this list with my friends, and I'll let you know what comments come back (for sure there will be some from the ladies!).

Ah @IanK That's unfair, @greenstreak wasn't always horizontal, No, no, you're right, he was mainly horizontal... I'm in so much trouble now...

Excellent. I saw @bquansah track side but missed the rest of you unfortunately. Whilst not in the Westfield this year, I'll post a couple of pics, details on our route and "tips" for Le Mans too...

Also on the list should be metal putty which saved a boghouse brake fluid leak on a mad dash to the ferry terminal, I also carry a spare zetec thermostat housing as that easily gets cracked on a standard zetec if you bottom out on / off ferries etc

No worries, just checking. Cheers

Hi Daren, I'm sure there is a lot more you can say about your Westie if you want to attract any interest here. Blessed

This run took us through Whitby which is a lovely place to visit but its a terrible place to park. There is good parking up by the Abbey but you have to climb up and down 150 steps to get to the town. Clean toilets as well by the Abbey carpark. We use the coast road as far as we can up to Loftus and then its a blast on the dual carriageways around Middlesborough / Darlington before going up into Northumberland. Kielder Forest is lovely but be prepared to pay for parking but there is loads to do. Here is a link to our post and if go straight to page 5 there is also a video of our day which shows the cars but also the type or roads that we went on.

Just moved a couple of mine over

Yep a great place. We visited when we went down to watch St Goueno hill climb a few years back. The chap who owns it is the equivalent to Haynes in this country and made his money from car books, magazines etc. There is also a great little Kart track and a circuit where they operate supercar driving experience days. David

I was just thinking why would somebody want a plate running up the middle of the bonnet!

This is a lovely run. There are plenty of single track roads, roadside rivers, views, forestry and open moorland areas. Kirkham Abbey has a great shop and it has a take away coffee machine and they are big cups and cheap too. Plenty of parking and also toilets. Byland Abbey has a great tea shop opposite. Very clean and great food that is well priced plus a small amount of parking. Helmsley is great if you like motorbikes and cars as there is usually an assortment in the village square. You have to pay for parking but there are loads of little cafes and bakers. Grosmont is where the steam trains are and its worth a stop. Again you have to pay for parking but its really worth the couple of pounds. You can go round the engine sheds and watch them repairing the trains. There is also a tunnel that the trains go through when they turn round and its interesting to watch this operation. The full run can take half a day or easily a full day if you want to stop off as there are loads of great places on the route.

That was a really handy list Marcus, with the addition of a few bits and bobs, like silicon self amalgamating tape for hose repair, some spare nose cone grommets, (I seem to have developed a habit of loosing them ) and spare exhaust bobbins, I actually had two spares, but then there were three of us! It's pretty much what we took. In addition, we were all on 15" wheels, so the space saver spare I carry on the back of mine, would have fitted any of our cars for temporary mobility. Dont forget those locking wheelnut adaptors if you need them too!

Alas I can't take credit for the original idea, the initial germ was brought up by @IanK and kicked around over several pints between him, @greenstreak and myself at a fantastic little hotel in France, after the most amazing day of driving and the discovery of a museum that will have any true petrolhead lost in amazement for hours, and hours. (We dashed through it in two hours, due to limited time, but already want to go back!)

What a brilliant idea Dave. So looking forward to following this section of the forum.

As a further back up, if you can get it Stratford to solihull or NEC I can get it to Trevor in Derby on Saturday

Thanks mate! I may have this covered but still confirming details. I'll definitely keep your offer in mind and keep this thread updated

I get 8inch flames out off mine on deceleration

Here is our list for Euro trips: Items Allen Keys/metric/imperial Assorted M6,8,10 nuts and bolts Brolley (if you want) Cable Ties (assorted) Fire Extinguisher First Aid Kit Fuses large/small Gaffa Tape Hand wet wipes Insulation tape Jubilee clips assorted sizes Jump Leads Knife Latex Gloves Pliers Pressure Gauge Rags Scissor Jack Screwdrivers flat Screwdrivers pozi type Spanners normal Spanners ratchet Spare Bulbs (and any specific to your car) Spare fan belt Spare Throttle Cable/clutch cable? Tow Rope Torch Tyre Inflator Tyre pressure gauge Tyre puncture repair foam Warning Triangle (2 number?) WD40 Wire cutters Passport (each) E111 health card Insurance cover (European travel) Breathalysers (2off) check dates on any old ones you have Hi Vis vests (each) Driving license (both parts?) Car Insurance Doc includes for European travel Car breakdown cover (repatriation) V5 document Printouts of Ferry tickets and list of accommodation. Money (for beer/wine) let your bank know you may use your bank cards abroad

Well what a great day out we had. It was 361 miles from my house and back. We had no rain but was overcast all day but that certainly did not spoil anything. Three cars had to back out at the last minute which was a shame but do fully understand so so it looks like we may have to do it again for those that missed out. I left home at 6.25am and met Dave and Emma and we all thought Rob would be late....as he ALWAYS IS....but he was bang on time which is a worlds first. Well done Rob. We set off and met Martyn who had travelled up from down south especially for the trip and it was fantastic that he put so much effort in to attend. The first part of our run, I had planned to follow the coast as much as possible so that we enjoyed the sea views. Onwards we went to Darlington for breakfast. I was told by the others to speed up as I drive to slow so I clogged on and hit 57mph at one point. It was nice having the roads to ourselves and Whitby was a breath of fresh air to drive through as it was deserted and lovely and peaceful.....apart from the thunderous roar of our engines. After breakfast it was over to Alston to meet Chris and his gang. The roads were brilliant and I managed to hit over 55mph. Absolutely stunning views over the moors with white painted houses dotted around. It must be bleak in winter and they must have difficulty finding the houses in the snow. You could see the remains of the quarries that had been carved out of the hillsides. We went through one village and passed a chap on a disability scooter going down the street. it looked like he was only in his underwear. In Alston we met Chris and his gang....what an amazing set of cars they had. They look so smart together as they are all aero-screened and it was just like been at a trackday. What is fantastic is that no matter how well used a car is, everyone loves them and they all look amazing in their own right. We all left together but Chris and his friends went to inspect a road they wanted to try.....shame it was a 14 mile long dead end. [reminds me of the alps trip] The roads were brilliant and Chris gave us details of a change of route which suited our cars so well. Really twisty roads and lovely views. Poor Buttercup nearly got wiped out twice. Once by a deer that rain alongside my cycle wing for around 20 seconds and was as petrified as I was, and the second was a couple of minutes later by a tandem. I went round a corner and the bike was on my side of the road. The fella look petrified and his front wheel was wobbling like crazy. I got passed him but how he did not hit Rob behind me I will never know. Rob then lead for a while and went at his usual million miles an hour. I tried to get his attention but he was having none of it and he went straight passed the turning. We took the turning and sat and waited....and waited....and waited. Anyway we all arrived at Kielder castle. Nice carpark but parking is £4,50 for over an hour. However this does allow you to use the other carparks at Kielder. Food was very nice and was reasonable so no complaints there. There is quite a bit to see and do at the castle area so thats a trip for another time. There are also clean toilets here. We had some good banter between us and it was nice that everyone got on. After dinner we all said our goodbyes and headed home. We passed Hadrians Wall on the way and a lot of roman earthworks and a large roman fort on the hillside. It was a smashing day and the drive was a mixture of coast, moorland and forestry and it really was lovely. Thank you to everyone who joined in and below is a video of our day. I won't apologise for the music as it was all I had that was long enough. I hope you like it.