There it was.

Gone

Loaded up on its way to pastures new

To be honest, when I bought this car, I didn't expect to have it this long. It was bought as a cheap winter driver and was a bit rough. It lived outside all year round and for a few years was my daily driver. I thought I'd  probably have it for about five years.

Over the years it's had quite a bit of work done, just to keep it half decent and roadworthy and it just kept on going.

Recently it's had little use and it needs more work than I want to do on it so it is time for it to go.

There are many happy memories with this old bus. Many great trips to Scotland; blasting down the A1 to buy the alloy wheels, having them fitted and blasting back again; a tour in the Midlands with the MGB Register; and many more. Our touring holidays were usually 1000+ miles and mostly trouble free.

I'm sad to see it go.

This annual event takes in the roads & villages of East Cleveland before going west to the North Yorks Moors and passes many locations of motorcycle trials which were Geoff's passion.

We took the  MGB GT and arrived at the Motor Club around 09.30 with plenty of time to sign on and enjoy coffee & biscuits before setting off about 10.30

The meandering route took us via Stokesley, Great Ayton, Guisborough, Boosbeck, then on to Saltburn. From there we headed inland through Lingdale and Stanghow and on to the North Yorks Moors where we took a short  break at the Fox & Hounds in Ainthorpe.

It was then onwards across the beautiful moors. The weather helped here. We passed through or close to Danby, Lealholm, Fryup,and Castleton before returning to the clubhouse via Kildale & Stokesley.

A huge portion of pies & peas awaited us and it was more nattering until it was time to leave.

It was a glorious run of about 75 miles and our thanks go to all who made it possible.

Sadly it's time to go home. We've had a brilliant week, firstly with the Caledonian Centre on the Jacobite Jaunt and later on our own on the Solway Coast.

Breakfast over, pod emptied & cleaned, car loaded, we checked out and took the A75 to Gretna. A short hop south on the M6 took us to the A6071 which we followed to Brampton where we picked up the A689 which took us through Alston and on through Stanhope until we joined the A68. From there it was an easy drive to Darlington and along the A66 to home.

We chose this route as we weren't in any hurry and it's much more interesting.

I had a bit of a panic when I saw a road closed sign just as we joined the A689 but it was for work done in March & this was May. I guess they are short of storage for signs.

It may seem like we are always eating but, yes, we were looking for food again. We saw a sign for a pub and were going to see what they had to offer as we didn't want a full meal, just a light snack. As we approached the pub there was a sign pointing to a community hub and cafe so we though this may be more what we were looking for and headed down the lane to Hallbankgate Hub. What a  gem of a place! A warm welcome, good food and reasonable prices. What's not to like? Both of us like our bacon well done and that's what we got in a lovely soft bun. The scones were delicious too. Definitely a place to revisit if we are in the area again.

From there it was a steady drive home and we got back at twenty to four. Over the week we'd driven 1069 miles and done 32mpg. The car never missed a beat, used no oil or water. Not too shabby for a 48 year old car.

With nothing much planned for today we decided to go west to the other side of Wigtown Bay, an area we last visited on our Numbum Round Britain tour in 2016. It brought back some great memories.

Our route took us West and North on the A75 to Newton Stewart then south down the A714 and minor roads to Isle of Withorn where we took a look at a small exhibition about the shipwrecks in the area over the years.

We'd heard about the Iron Age Roundhouse  in Withorn so decided to take a visit. We arrived just in time for one of the guided tours and spent an enjoyable hour with a very informative and entertaining guide who shared his vast knowledge of both the build of the roundhouse and the lives of those who would have lived in one.

By this time we were getting hungry so the search for a place to eat began. We couldn't find anywhere we liked in Withorn so travelled north again to Wigtown and found a cafe for a light lunch. Wigtown is a lovely place so we spent some time wandering around and browsing the shops.

There was plenty of the day left so we headed to Kirkcudbright and explored some of the minor roads in the area before making our way back to the pod.

We'd bought a microwave ready meal in Wigtown so the next challenge was working the microwave. Pam managed to make some sense of it and we had an edible meal.

We went to take a look at the beach but it turned out that it was at the bottom of a very steep hill which neither of us fancied going down, much less coming back up again.

Back to the pod, TV and bed.

What a shock to the system! Woke up, showered & dressed, put the bed away, Where's the breakfast, the bacon & eggs, the tomato & hash browns and all the rest of a full English? Ah well it looks like cereal this morning.

Suitably fed & watered we set off for Dumfries and the Aviation Museum. This was a super place and a must for anybody interested in aviation from WW2 to more recent stuff. Lots to see and good information from the volunteer staff.

We spent quite a while there before having a coffee and setting off to explore the area a bit more. We ended up at the Mill on The Fleet. This was free to enter and to be honest, if we'd had to pay we would have been disappointed. There didn't seem much to see downstairs, and the bookshop on the top floor was so full of books that it would have taken an age to find anything. We did have a coffee and a light bite to eat in the cafe but thought it was a bit pricey for what we got.

From there it was back to the pod for the evening. Once again the takeaway got our business and we settled for a quiet night in.

Although it didn't seem like it, we'd covered 78 miles today.

It was a leisurely start to the day as we didn't have too far to go and all day to get to the Solway Coast. The hustle & bustle of the last few days were behind us.

It was an uneventful drive and we arrived at Auchenlarie Holiday Park which was to be our base for the next three nights.

It was mid afternoon when we booked in and bought some provisions.

I thought I'd booked a yurt but as quite often happens, I thought wrong and we ended up with a pod. This was a small but well thought out design and perfectly adequate for our needs.

Perhaps the only things missing were a table to eat from and some instructions on how to use the microwave, which had more buttons than the space shuttle, but we managed anyway.

Just across the road was a stand of pine trees which was home to a rookery and the noise was constant and horrendous. Thankfully the pod was well insulated and the rooks were silenced when we shut the door.

We did have some quieter neighbours who were quite entertaining at times.

We settled in and put our feet up with a cuppa while we decided what to do about our evening meal.

Neither of us fancied driving out to find a pub so we decided to hit the site takeaway. This turned out to be a good move as the food, although basic, was good quality, well cooked and huge portions. It was reasonably priced as well.

We sat & watched some TV then decided that an early night was in order so we had to work out how to find the bed. It was cunningly hidden in the wall behind the sofa and only needed pulling out. Good night!

A hearty breakfast started the day off well before we packed our bags, paid the bill and loaded the car.

Today was a run of some 75 miles down the A9 to the House of Bruar where we stopped for a comfort break and a cuppa.

On our return to the car we met a lovely couple who were taking a break on their journey to Bicester in their stunning HRG. We had a few minutes chat before wishing them well on their trip and setting off for the next part of the run.

The next 53 miles to the West Huntingtower Hotel in Perth took us off the main roads onto a stunning mostly single track road which was sheer bliss to drive.

A buffet lunch was provided at the Huntingtower which was most welcome and all too soon it was time to say our goodbyes. This was the end of the Jacobite Jaunt but not the end of our time in Scotland. We were moving back to Stirling for the night before going down to The Solway Coast for a couple of days.

I had been an amazing weekend and we were sad to leave. I know that these events take untold hours of work to set up and our heartfelt thanks go to all who made it possible.

With the bacon butties on offer when signing on we didn't have breakfast, just packed up our worldly goods and loaded the car. Signing on was busy but we got sorted and sat down to look through our goody bag and munch our bacon butties.

Meeting old & new friends is always a good part of these events and this morning was no different.

This year the organisers had a timeline of a few cars to go off first and our car as selected as car 3.  I'm not sure how that happened as our BGT isn't the most pristine example but we'll take glory where we can.

The ten o clock start was soon upon us and we were on our way to Fort William, a journey of about 96 miles.

This route took us through the beautiful Glencoe  where we stopped for a short lunch break.

From Fort William we headed north west to Inverness and the Kingsmills Hotel which was to be our base for the next two nights.

We stopped for a while at The Commando Monument which was quite a moving experience.

A few miles  further on we passed the Invergarry Hotel where we spent the premature last night of our 2016 Numbum Round Britain tour in the MG TA. It brought back some memories.

Some delightful single track roads made driving fun and we made it to our destination in one piece as did everybody else thankfully.

It was a busy check in but we eventually made it and went up to our room. What a room it was. How did they know we were an old married couple? The bed was huge so if we had a barney we could keep well away from each other. If it was a serious row, there was an extra bed!!

We had time to freshen up and change before going down for dinner which was preceded by wine and canapes. After a good meal there was a casino evening with blackjack, wheel of fortune and roulette. We managed to lose all our chips and being lightweights headed for bed. It was a great fun evening.

A lovely 161 miles today.

Although this event doesn't officially start until Saturday we travel up on the Friday as it's too far to travel for the start on the Saturday morning, so we count this as part of the trip.

The most direct route is only a little over four and a half hours travel but it includes quite a few motorway miles. The BGT is OK on motorways and can keep up with the traffic easily but it's very boring so we decided to take a scenic route.

We left home at quarter to ten and headed for the A68 via Darlington and took that road to the Scottish border, stopping for a bite to eat at the Last Cafe in England.

From here it was onwards up the A68 to Melrose where we headed west to Peebles before threading our way northwards and joined the M9 for the last few miles to Stirling.

We arrived at The Highland Gate Hotel, about quarter to four, after a leisurely drive of 194 miles. As this was the stating point for the Jacobite Jaunt there were other MGs there and more arriving all the time.

There were tables booked for 50 to have a meal together which we duly did. Good food and good conversation passed the evening on well. We got back to our room and Pam asked how much our meal had cost. Errr. I dashed back to the restaurant to pay for it.

Sleep called so we settled down looking forward to a fun day on Saturday

The MGB GT was the chariot of choice for this annual run which seems to get better every year. It was a relaxed start to the day as the clubhouse is only 15 minutes drive away and we didn't have to be there till 10am.

We arrived and signed on and had time for coffee & biscuits and some good crack before setting off.

The route took in some super roads traveling south and skirting Stokesley, Swainby, Osmotherley and Hawnby to a halfway coffee stop at the Yorkshire Gliding Club.

After a pleasant half hour it was time to move on and once again there were some good roads passing through Sutton under Whitestonecliffe, Kirby Knowle, Northallerton, Appleton Wiske, and Yarm before heading back to the clubhouse for a BBQ having covered just short of 80 miles.

We stopped on the way back to get some video of some of the other entrants but only a couple went past us. The rest must have got lost.

It was a lovely afternoon in the gardens as they are a sun trap for the afternoon sun. A good BBQ and some good conversation rounded off a great day.

Good cars,  super roads, food and great friends. It doesn't get much better.

Thanks to Pam for the photos.

Huge thanks to Richard for plotting the route and to all who helped out on the day.