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Day 9 so we had an early start. Enjoying some roads out of Luxembourg, then on in and out of Belgium and France all the way back to Calais. we did some fantastic roads through the Ardenne Forrest which I have done previously on bikes so it was great to also do them in the car. We even got on the Chimay circuit which was closed ready to start the classic bike racing weekend! (But quickly got turned around 😂) the weathers been so hot, we’ve been so lucky. No rain. No roof required. my car hasn’t missed a beat which Iam so grateful for and now feel like I’ve bonded with it totally! Trust her fully and found the limits (quite a few times!) 😂 everyone enjoyed the trip. Few minor technical issues along the way with a couple of cars but we all got there. Cheers to all the guys for the fun and banter, organising this and their expertise to make it what it was. I estimate 2600 miles ish. 8 countries, countless mountain passes. The cars had so much stick and in extreme heat and altitudes. Fantastic experience that will stick in my mind for ever. just sat waiting at the tunnel now for the next train back to Blighty (to enjoy the forecasted heat wave!)

Day 8 Anothwr early start allowed us to enjoy two or three of Austrias amazing and empty mountain passes we soon then entered Germany. By now the temps were really up and we hot footed it a couple of hundred miles to get into France with the intention of finding an Ibis or something for our last sleep. touching 41 degrees today it was to hot at times but the D roads through rural France kept us focused. The problem was it was Bastille day and everything was closed. Even finding water was an effort! we continued into Luxembourg and then found a camp site for the eve and enjoyed a Steak and few beers with the boys. the final 300 mile push in the morning back to Calais will hopefully get us on an earlier train home with a bit of luck

@Julie Hall - WSCC AO Representative can you promise Alpine weather, scenery and great roads 😉 ..............just asking for a friend................

Another 2 donations have been received and I believe they may have come from more members on here?? If so thanks again. A little update from Lily's Dad: "Lily had one of her regular scans a couple of weeks ago and received the results 2 days ago and the specialist seems happy so far. They did comment that there is a dark area around where the tumour was and they refer to this as a 'halo' which is caused by the radiotherapy and they also commented that as they hit her hard with it they would expect to see something still." She will continue you to have scans to monitor the tumour/brain every 3 months until she is 21 so still a long way to go before a normal life can be had but she is also grateful with what has got right now. He is overwhelmed with the support so far and even more so from people he doesn't know and probably will never meet. Yet again, thanks everyone!

Cheers Chris, I don't need satnav, just a speedo. I have gone quite old school as far as maps go, and bought a paper version - remember those 😄, I know where i am going on this trip and if I do end up going for a run and get lost - well that's half the fun to me.

I’ve used Google maps in offline mode, having previously downloaded the maps I needed, then just used the in built GPS for location. That way it uses zero data. Did that in the US once without a roaming add-on. As commented, quickest way is to entirely disable mobile data. I carefully pick which apps are allowed to use mobile data.

Yep we shall treck over for our 1st run out with you on Sunday.

Day 7 Today we travelled about 290 miles through Italy’s Dolomites and later on into Austria. The Dolomites and numerous mountain passes were something else! Perfectly smooth fast twisty with lovely switch backs. Well worth an early start before the traffic builds. Easily the best roads I have ever driven on we’re today in the Dolomites. The Westfield is so perfectly suited to them! I chased an Audi R8 all the way up one of the passes. I think it surprised us both, hair pin after hair pin he wasn’t getting away! We had a few nice stop offs for coffee and ice cream etc and another pic nic in a random picturesque spot somewhere in Italy! Once we crossed the border into Austria we did the Timmelsjoch high alpine pass (toll one) and it was worth every one of those 17 euros. Fast flowing and almost empty provided some entertainment! We had no destination planned today so when we reached Solden, Austria we went to the first camp site we found and it was spot on. Secure underground parking for the cars and a nice little area to pitch out tents. Lovely staff as everyone seems to be across Europe anyway! Well tomorrow is day 8 and we start to change direction and head towards home via Germany, France etc… The train is booked for day 9 so we have two days to cover 800 off miles which should be comfortable sticking again to D roads and avoiding motorways. I think tonight will be the last camping night if we can find a cheap Motel on route tomorrow. Here’s a few pics from today….

Hi all! A handful of us are planning to go to Curborough (Netherstowe Ln, Lichfield WS13 8EJ) tomorrow morning for their Breakfast Meet. No run out planned, just a meet up for a chat, a brew and look at a few cars 👍 We're planning to land between 10 and 1030. For those that haven't been before, it's free entry. They also do a reasonably priced, (no frills) bacon or sausage sandwich if you want to ruin your power to weight ratio for the drive home 😂

The GPS function itself doesn’t, though some systems will use wi-fi and or data from cell towers to improve accuracy. Adverts can pull varying amounts of data down, in theory only a little, but it’s really down to what the app publisher has buried in there under the hood, just what gets brought in. I’ve had phone apps that pull effectively movie clip style adverts in. Also, some apps are storing things in the cloud, pulling maps, weather and all manner of associated data down. Then as someone mentioned, there’s traffic and points of interest files, speed camera updates. It’s surprising just how much fetching and carrying some apps are actually doing.

Great write up and glad you all had a whale of a time and enjoyed every minute of it 👍

Great write-up, Ben, thanks for sharing the inspiration!

No But not sure if I paid a minimal fee for it.

Satnav shouldn't use data but if it's giving you traffic info that will

I've used DigiHUD without issue for just speed.

Which network are you using , I had this problem with giff gaff only it was eating into my pay as you go stash . I complained to giff gaff and they showed me how to turn data off . not used for speedo but mostly weather reports Incidentally you dont actually need a speedo . the rev counter does the same job if you know how many rpms you using for a given speed i.e. 70mph = 3000 rpms in 5th gear

I doubt GPS app needs data. Turn data off next time as a test to see 😊 I've used a range of differing GPS apps for driving, walking, biking and none require data to operate.

Soooo jealous, can't wait to put the Westie back together and enjoy some nice tours

It may sound weird, but the forum owners may have removed this (if it was ever there?). In any case, I've modified the default theme to include the up arrow next to the bottom block of actions. Hope that works for you (and everyone else) ?

I see what you did there…

Yep, see you there 🙂

If anyone fancies a passenger for the day I’d love to go, have my drone if shots are wanted also.

Yes pleeeeease

Hopefully I'll be there for at least part of the day (grandsprogs probably coming over lunchtime). We will try and bring a convoy as normal 👍 Bring your sunblock and shades everyone, it's forecasted to be a squillion degrees 😎

Hi All, I have had a few questions about adding a windscreen and I do have a collection of windscreen bits and side doors (as I had thought to go down that route but ended up liking the aero). So here is a pic of what I have... P.S. I'm not interested in selling any of the parts separately

End of Day 3 great day today. 260 odd miles and some fantastic first passes down through Anneccy to Mont Blonc where we are tonight camping. few little issues today with one of the cars which is currently being resolved. the beer and pizza sat in front of the mountain made up for it! ☀️ early start tomorrow (all being well with the alternator/battery issue) **update** now down to 5 cars for tomorrow while the others try to get an alternator issue repaired on a Sunday somewhere but fingers crossed they will catch us up by Monday latest 🤞🏼🤞🏼

Day 2 done. Perfect start to the day with breaky in a picturesque spot. The locals love the cars everywhere we go. It’s been hot, currently 33 degrees. 330 odd miles of fast D roads today. Great fun 😎 just arrived at the F1 hotel in Dole not far from the Swiss border for the night. Shower and off for food somewhere! few snaps of today

Work for me again sorry😟

Sorry. I am refereeing again (third Sunday each month). Luke.

Won’t make it - the car is being collected by its new owner on Saturday