Monday, 16 July 2012

International AutoEcosse & the North of England

As I have been busy with a lot of TR7 and non TR7 related things lately, I haven’t got ‘round to update my weblog with a little write up on the International Auto Ecosse and a walking holiday in the Dales and the Lake District. As ever the International Auto Ecosse was a top event, with lots of fabulous driving roads covering a fair bit of Southern Scotland.


We entered Great Britain by ferry through the port of New Castle, in the week before the event. This enabled us to spent a few days walking the Yorkshire Dales, enjoying the lovely scenery and the rather fine weather: But first we had an extended lunch stop in the lovely little town of Richmond

Lovely views over Richmond Castle from the beer garden of The Buck Inn

Cornforth Hill

Castle Walk

Castle Terrace

After lunch and a leisurely stroll through the town we headed deeper into the Dales, to our final destination for the rest of the week: the small village of Kettlewell

There was a race on in Kettlewell in a few days time 😊

The Racehorses Hotel in Kettlewell

And The Blue Bell Inn opposite our hotel

‘t Kreng resting in the hotel’s back yard.

On a public footpath just outside Kettlewell

View over Wharfe Dale from Gross Wood, halfway between Kettlewell and Starbotton

In the equally small village of Starbotton

Barn near Gill Wood, Wharfe Dale

Foot bridge over one of the many tributaries of the River Wharfe near Firth Wood, NW of Starbotton

But despite the beautiful scenery and fine views I couldn’t ignore this fine piece of machinery,
lurking behind one of the many barns in the Wharfe Dale.

View over the Wharfe Dale and Kettlewell from Knipe Wood

The Racehorses Hotel in Kettlewell

On the Friday before the IAE we headed a bit further south to Kelbrook and The Old Stone Trough. Here we met up with several of the Club Triumph entrants for the IAE. There was some beer and a BBQ involved. And there was some tinkering on the cars.



Next day saw a rather early breakfast at the Old Stone Trough, after which everyone headed North to Longtown for the start of the International AutoEcosse.





Sadly some of the teams encountered technical problems.
But as ever there were always people willing to help with unnecessary advice 😊

Team Shorts at Loch Lomond Shores

And Team Shorts in action at Loch Lomond Shores

The event itself was again a very nice drive over some great roads. Especially chasing the Heeley’s in their Opel Nova over the (rather deserted) Trossachs was absolutely brilliant. No pictures of that as my navigator was unable to keep the camera steady πŸ˜‚
After the IAE we headed down south again, this time for the South western part of the Lake District. Again to relax and do some more walking. Which meant crossing the Lake District diagonally. Some lovely roads there. It’s a shame that they are far too crowded, especially in the heart of the Lakes. But there were some quieter bits, like this stretch of Kirkstone Pass.


And although the weather wasn’t as nice as the first week I didn’t need my wet weather gear.
Which is always nice in England.

View over Duddon Sands, Foxfield

Lush meadows near Chapels

Far Houses

View over Ennerdale Water

Geese day-care, Ennerdale Water

View on Black Combe, slightly hidden by clouds,
seen from St Mary Magdalene's Church, Broughton-in-Furness

Church Street Broughton-in -Furness

The Manor Arms is beckoning, Knott Lane/The Square Broughton-in -Furness

Butcher shop in Prince’s street Broughton-in -Furness


‘t Kreng lurking in Prince’s street, Broughton-in -Furness

The well-stocked bar at Beswick’s restaurant, Broughton-in -Furness

And I found the old workshop in Broughton-In-Furness, where my DHC’s exhaust manifold was repaired many, many years ago.
It was still in business, and it still looked as I remembered it!

‘t Kreng lurking in front of The Black Cock Inn, our accommodation in Broughton-in -Furness.

Sadly all good things come to an end and all too soon we were back on the ferry,
heading for home.

Edited on the 31st of May 2022: As it is 10 years ago that I started on this Club Triumph organised touring event, I decided to freshen up the pictures of this driving and walking trip, using the original digital “negatives”. Also added a few extra pictures and edited the text where necessary.

2 comments:

Patrick said...

bonjour ,
tr7 as no more secret for you and your "photographie" world is on the same great direction.
Ecosse is one of last magic place in europe and you prove it.
Good summer 2012
Tr7 Driver

Beans said...

Thx Patrick, Scotland and the North of England indeed are very beautiful.
And that the weather was rather fine certainly helped a lot there :-)