Rolls Around the World 2007: 9 - Fawsley to West Thurrock, England

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

After getting an update out this afternoon we summoned a taxi to take us to the town of Daventry, dropping off laundry on the way, and getting a brief tour of the pretty town. We walked the three block length of main street, stopping at pubs located at each end. The pubs go back to the 1600s, and we had fun chatting with locals who were more than happy to tell us stories of the history of the area. Marilynn eventually tried a Smirnoff Ice in the pub before we decided on a Chinese dinner that would be easy on her tacky tummy. The food was great, and after another Smirnoff Ice with dinner Marilynn was feeling much better.

We picked up a few things at the supermarket, called the taxi, picked up the laundry and came back to the hotel. At £30 ($64) per return trip frequent visits are unlikely.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Another cold, miserable, rainy day. We stayed at the hotel, catching up on email, writing, photo editing and reading. Roger and Sally Nelson arrived at 7 PM, a perfect reason to have a beer. We have travelled with Roger & Sally down the length of the Amazon, explored Chile from north to south and covered six countries in southern Africa by train. We have also visited back and forth between Costa Rica and their home in Brampton, near Carlisle in the north of England.

Having a car available made the trip to the Windmill Pub for dinner a great deal easier - and a lot less expensive!

Friday, July 27, 2007

We were delighted to see the day dawn bright and sunny, as today is the first day of the Silverstone Classic car races. I phoned Agility Logistics again. Steve Bagshaw was not in, but I talked to Jo and she promised to get back to me quickly. Within an hour she called with the good news that the car had been unloaded at Southampton and that it had cleared customs. I've arranged to be at their office in scenic West Thurrock at 8:45 Monday morning.

We drove to the race site through back country lanes, where every few miles there was a tiny village of ancient houses. The area is much like the Cotswolds without the crowds - right down to a number of thatched cottages.

It took a bit of running around to locate the tickets Phil Dunn of Hagerty Insurance had left for us., but in the process I was able to contact him and confirm the European car insurance his company has provided. He is working hard as one of the race organizers, so will not likely have time to get together.

The circuit is huge, located on the site of a WWII airfield. Today practice runs were held for each category of race, giving the drivers a chance to get to know the track and to establish starting positions for tomorrow. We walked through the huge infield, filled with covered pit areas, mobile repair shops, a car auction, a pub call the "scarf and goggles" and many displays of classic cars and motorcycles. The variety of cars amazed me - there were many I'd never heard of. It was a sad in the classic Rolls Royce display area to find how welcome we would have been. They wanted our car front and centre. They are going to write us up in the magazine, but it somehow loses something without the car being there! We could also have used the Rolls for transportation through the huge infield area.

We returned through the villages, stopping for a pint at a small local pub where we were cordially greeted by the local patrons. Dinner was at the Windmill Pub again, to meet Simon & Brenda Gray, friends and travelling companions on both the Chile and South African expeditions. They are from Newcastle in the north of England. Simon arrived, but unfortunately Brenda could not make it, as one of their grandchildren was quite ill.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

After all the rain it was great to have another sunny day - the Silverstone races are indeed blessed! This is the first time we have had two consecutive sunny days since our arrival in England.

This time navigating the back roads we got off track only once, a better performance than yesterday. There were lines of cars waiting to enter the parking area - yesterday there was no line. It is well organized, and the officials very friendly and courteous. When Roger explained that we were a "couple of old crocks who didn't do well walking long distances" they sent us to a parking area very near the main gate.

The races were incredible. It was a history of the development of automobile racing, with races featuring cars from the 1920s right up to 1984. Products of long forgotten manufacturers were racing to win, just as when they were new! A truly memorable 60 minute race was between 49 cars, with the oldest a 1921 Bentley TT 3 litre and the newest a 1939 BMW 328. I thought these valuable cars would be driven gently around the track, but not so - they competed fiercely. While there are winners of each sub-category within the race, most contestants tried hard for the first place overall. It was something to see the '21 Bentley pounding down the track as it overtook other vehicles.

Another spectacular race was of 50 vintage grand prix cars. The entrants varied from a 1928 Frazer Nash to a 1960 Ferrari Diva. These cars moved along at a good speed. It was surprising that they raced as they originally did, most with no roll bars or other more modern protection for the driver, whose head projects well above the top of the car. As the old cars have an open cockpit it was easy to see what hard work it is to drive them. The driver was continually fighting the big steering wheel.

Silverstone was one of the tracks where Formula 1 cars first raced. It was interesting to see the improvement in handling made by spoilers, low ground clearance and swept fronts. There was a formula 1 race featuring many of the early cars and another race with 50 various models of vintage Porches. The races varied from 20 to 90 minutes in length. Over 600 cars ran in 22 races, and there were vintage motorcycle races as well as a display of vintage aircraft. There is still an operating airport within the racing circuit.

We spent some time with the people in the Rolls Royce display, where there were some beautiful old cars on display. If we had our car, we could have participated in driving two laps around the race track tomorrow in a classic car show. As it is we will miss all of tomorrow's events as we must travel to West Thurrock to pick up the car. That is a waste of £50 ($105.50) worth of entry tickets between Marilynn and I, not to mention missing the rest of the races. It is expected the racing will be even more competitive tomorrow, as it will be the last opportunity to have a win this year.

It was just starting to rain as we left the track at about 7:30 PM - there was one more race to go. We stopped in Silverstone at the White Horse pub for drinks and dinner, then flawlessly drove the back roads to the Granary, where Roger, Simon and I had a nightcap.

Tristan Palmer and his lady Terri have very kindly offered to pick us up at The Granary tomorrow and drive us to West Thurrock. This will take them the better part of the day, but will save us the taxis, trains and transfers we went through to get here. It is an offer most certainly appreciated!