4 members of the Nostalgia Sports Car Club, met at the Seacote Hotel, St Bees, Cumbria at the start of a Coast to Coast Tour, finishing at Robin Hoods Bay, North Yorkshire, a distance of 200 miles. Driving Nostalgia Classic XK120 replicas, the aim was to enjoy a tour across the middle of England using the Wainright C2C Walk as a guide and inspiration,
Saturday 11th June 2011,
The run started from St Bees, entering the Lake District National Park at Gosforth and was soon passing through the stunning scenery of the Hardknott and Wrynose passes. The run through the passes was somewhat exciting, as the long bonnet of the XK120 pointed skywards at the summit of each pass, blotting out which way the road was about to descend.
You have not long entered the National park and ascended the first steep climb when you reach The Hardknott Fort. It is a favourite place to stop to admire the scenery,.the pass stretches its winding way in front of you climbing towards the summit. We caught up with the "Red Cat" here. Norman had discovered a radiator leek as we left St Bees.and the "Red Cat" was feeling the effects of the climb. Once it had cooled down, sufficiently, there was a nearby stream from which Norman could give it a drink
Hill Top the home of Beatix Potter
Sunday 12th June 2011,
East Witton is half way along our tour from Coast to Coast. We set off in bright sunshine again but with the threat of rain for late afternoon. The first part of the route was an easy transit run to Northallerton and Osmotherly where we entered the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. . Taking note of the weather forecast and the weather pattern of Saturday we pressed on to Hawnby followed by a run to Great Broughton, and Danby, We stopped for a break at the Moors Centre in Danby which looked an interesting place but we did not have much time there before continuing on via Glaisdale. We arrived in Goathland before the rain, but only just.
Goathland (the location of Adensfield in the Heartbeat TV programme) was holding a “Heartbeat” weekend with displays of vintage vehicles and police cars many of which had a Heartbeat theme or connection. We wandered around looking the buildings and cars made famous by the TV series but the rain had returned We decide to head off, .except now it was the "White Cat" that refused to start. A swift fiddle with the top of the distributor persuaded it to start and we headed off to Whitby and to end of our journey at Robin Hoods Bay.
"The Aidesnfield Arms"
Charles & Deborah made it to the hotel without further mishap but the car was suffering from a misfire. It was too wet to do anything about it . From our hotel overlooking the bay we treated ourselves to Afternoon Tea. We were not disappointed by the weather, for although the bay was only just visible through the rain we had achieved our goal. We enjoyed our end of tour dinner and recounted the events of the past 2 days
Monday 13th June
The sun returned as we said our farewells. The "White Cat" flatly refused to start and join in the final photograph. Despite out best efforts including testing parts on the Red Cat which had a similar engine and ignition system the car was taken home on the back of a transporter. Overall the weather had been good to us with a mixture of sunshine and rain. We had had a fabulous and enjoyable drive in our cars, despite the problems, We had founded a great friendship and had some great meals and time together. Everyone agreed we'd had a fabulous weekend, the tour had been a great success and we were looking forward to next year’s tour.
The Coast 2 Coasters were:-
David & Mary East
Norman & Marianne Harding
Charles & Deborah Rabbidge
Keith & Joyce Wells
The Finish @ Robin Hoods Bay
David East
June 2011
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