It was a dry but cool morning as we set off in Numbum our old TA, heading for Stokesley for the start of this annual run to Durham Cathedral.

We breezed through Yarm High Street which is chaos during the week and had an easy drive to an equally deserted Stokesley where we met the other entrants in the showfield car park.

We signed on and enjoyed a cuppa before heading back to the car to attach the rally plate.

The usual chinwagging and telling of tall tales ensued until the drivers briefing which was closely followed by the start.

We were the second car away and had a great run through some lovely countryside. We stopped in Nothallerton for a comfort break and by chance met I guy I'd spoken to but never met. Adam has an Inca Yellow MGB GT which was his Grandfather's car and it means a lot to him. He has a website which chronicles his time with the car and the work needed to bring it back to life after a 17 year sleep. It was good to meet you, Adam. I'm sorry we didn't have more time to chat.

As we were leaving Adam got a couple of quick photos which he emailed to me and graciously allowed me to use them.

From here it was a smooth run to the lunch stop in Richmond where once again there was much good conversation. Once fed & watered we were on our way again, heading north towards Durham. The roads were excellent and we had a great time apart from a near miss. See it at 8.25 on the video below.

A couple of miles from the finish we developed a misfire which steadily worsened until the car wouldn't idle and I had to keep throttle on every time we stopped. This was a tad inconvenient as we were heading into town with more traffic and plenty of traffic lights.

Despite that we slowly managed the steep climb up to the Palace Green and parked up.

Refreshments were the first order of the afternoon so we hit the cafe for our cream scone and coffee before investigating Numbum's problem.

I checked the basics, spark, fuel etc. There didn't seem to be much fuel flow so I quickly fitted my spare pump but that made no difference. The fuel filter looked a bit grubby so I changed that as well but still no difference. A mad man called Ian decided to pull plug leads barehanded and it turned out that pulling 1 & 2 made little difference. The consensus was that the head gasket had failed between 1 & 2 cylinders. There was no chance of fixing that where we were so I closed the bonnet.

While all this was going on I missed the presentations and didn't get any photos. Thankfully, Pam had  been snapping away.

We decided to limp home with what little power we had, but sadly didn't get very far. About half a mile into the journey it died and wouldn't restart. We were in a pretty dodgy situation with fast moving traffic so Pam tried to call the police on 101 but couldn't get through so she tried 999 and within a few minutes the police came to the rescue.

In the meantime a couple of kind gents stopped to render what help they could. I was on the phone to the RAC and when I'd finished there was a plan in place to get us away from the dangerous place we were in. A short distance up the hill was a bus layby and old Numbum was pushed in there out of danger. A big thank you to the guys who stopped for us and the police officer who stopped traffic for us.

Eventually the recovery truck arrived and we were soon loaded and on our way.

Once home we unloaded the car and rolled it into the garage where it will sit until I can muster the enthusiasm to sort it out.

Despite the ending, it was a super day and thanks go to all who made it possible. There is a tremendous amount of work in organising an event like this and it's much appreciated.

Apart from a short run to visit a friend this was the first time Numbum had been out since our return from Scotland over a month ago. Time to see how well the repairs worked.

We had our ususal signing on duties at Stokesley and got there in plenty of time to get set up. The coffee & bacon butties went down well as we met old & new friends all looking forward to a good day out.

The start time soon came round and we were the first car away, flagged off at 10am. Bright blue skies and some warmth in the sun made for a pleasant drive through some lovely countryside.

The morning section took us through Stokesley, Swainby, Osmotherley, Northallerton and onwards to the optional lunch break in Richmond. We didn't stop in Richmond but followed the route until we found a place to stop to eat, take photos and some video. Most of the photos I took were rubbish because I forgot to change the settings on the camera. The video wasn't too bad though.

Once we crossed the A66 the route headed northwards through, Ovington, Winston, Staindrop, Toft Hill, Crook and onwards to Durham to the finish on The Palace Green

Sitting on the grass in the sunshine with coffee & a cream scone was great relaxation after a good drive.

The TA performed well all day and it was a joy to drive.

Up in Scotland we came to the concusion that my failing hearing was making things difficult so I bought an intercom system and this was the first time we'd used it. It worked well and the only issue was the fact that it was wired and every time I moved my head the earpiece tried to escape from my ear. I'm sure I'll find a cure for that. I'm not sure it's worth spending the money on a wireless system.

The newest car on the run was a new MG3 brought along by the Teesside dealership. Pam spent a lot of time looking at this and talking to the salesmen. I'm getting a bit worried now.

All the cars attracted a lot of attention from the public and we had a great time chatting to them and others who were on the run.

Once the awards were made for the cars the judge would most like to take home, it was time to say goodbye and head for home. Just 122 miles on the clock today but they were hugely enjoyable miles.

It was quite warm, sitting in Howards Cafe in Stokesley, as we did our usual job of signing on the entrants for this annual run. This year it was a bit different with this start in Stokesley and another at Bamburgh Castle, both finishing on the Palace Green in Durham. We were expecting 33 at Stokesley but by the time we were relieved of our post there were only 30 signed on. Two had phoned to say they weren't coming. I don't know what happened to the other.

In glorious sunshine we were the first car flagged away at 10 o clock, the same time as the first car from Banburgh.

The run was a great 87 miles, taking us through some lovely villages & towns and a good mix of super driving roads. The glorious weather helped quite a bit too.

Once again my inability to manage modern technology meant that there wasn't as much video as I would have liked.

We took our time and enjoyed ourselves, choosing to stop en route for sandwiches, rather than use the planned lunch stop. The scenery was a bit better.

We arrived on the Palace Green to join the other cars in this beautiful space. The historic architecture made a great backdrop.

After a cuppa, a cream scone and some serious chinwagging, it was finally time to say goodbye and head for home.

When I dragged myself out of bed it was cloudy but dry. By the time I'd eaten breakfast it was raining so it was with some trepidation that I loaded Numbum, our faithful old MG TA for the short run to the start at Stokeley.

Thankfully the rain stopped before we set off and held off all day. It was cool in the morning but really warm on the Palace Green at the finish. That place is a real sun trap.

We got set up for signing on duties and met all the crews of the 40 cars making the run. What a great fellow Dennis is. He had some over ordered bacon butty tickets that he kindly donated to us. Thanks, Dennis, they were most welcome.

The morning section was a good mix of interesting roads leading us 40 miles to the lunch stop at Hardwick Park.

During the course of convivial conversation one driver mentioned having trouble with the route. It was navigational error, the navigator tried to start the run from page 5 of the route book. I'll spare their blushes by not naming them.

Duly fed & watered we set off for the afternoon section of 35 miles in improving weather.

On the way was a chance to stop at Auckland Castle, once the home of the Bishop of Durham.

The driver of the big Healey with side pipes on the passenger side set off a load of car alarms as he passed by. The superb resonance of those pipes must just have been right.

After a brief stop, it was onwards to Durham and the beautiful setting of the Palace Green. We were very honoured to have this location for our finish point. It was good to see cars spanning 70 years from our 1937 TA to a 2010 MG TF 135.

Over the course of the afternoon we noticed some cars approaching junctions from different directions from us. Obviously some navigator problems. Indeed the driver mentioned above had problems in the afternoon too as the navigator attempted to do the afternoon section from the wrong pages. DOH!!!   

Whilst there were a lot of familiar faces there were also some who hadn't done the run before, including one couple from Derbyshire and one from Lincolnshire. Both had decided to make a weekend of it. I hope you all enjoyed our neck of the woods and had a safe journey home.

Once again, thank you to Noel Lindford and his team of willing marshalls for another great day.

Numbum ran well all day, in fact the best it's been this year. Another 150 miles on the clock.

Thanks to Barrie Hope for this picture taken yesterday on the Prince Bishops Run.

With the start being at Stokesley, just a short drive from home, it was a relaxed start to our day compared to other runs. We arrived in plenty of time to set up for signing on in the warm and dry thanks to Graham Howard for the use of his cafe in College Square.

Being inside meant we didn't notice that it had started raining but only slightly. Once on the road we ran into fog as we climbed over the hills to Carlton. Thankfully it was clear once we dropped down to a lower altitude and it remained fairly dry till later in the day.

54 out of the 55 entries made the start of this annual run organised by the Tyne Tees Centre of the MG Car Club.  Unfortunately three didn't make the finish. I know two were from the same family who withdrew when the V8 MGB GT lost power and they had to head home for a trailer.

The lunch stop was at Hardwick Park near Sedgefield. The cars made a fine sight.

The undoubted star of the day was the superb 1929 MG 18/80 Mk1 belonging to John & Janet Day.

They had driven up from the Bedford area yesterday, a distance of some 210 miles and would be travelling back the same distance on Monday. With its 2468cc long stroke overhead cam engine this car is very happy at 60mph and eats up the miles easily. Despite the cart springs, it's a very comfortable ride.

Even though this car is in stunning condition it's no trailer queen having covered some 45o,000 ( yes, nearly half a million) miles and has been to most European contries, some of them more than once or twice. The 99 miles driven today, even over some challenging roads, were obviously no problem.

John is the fourth owner and knows the history of the car from new. The first owner used to commute 60 miles each way to & from work. That's quite a feat when you consider what the roads must have been like in 1929.

There are no known records of this model being sold this far North, so it's quite likely that this was the first sighting of one in this area, and certainly the first time one would have been on The Palace Green at Durham.

Thanks to John & Janet for bringing it for us all to see.

The route then took us to Auckland Castle before winding across the countryside to the finish at The Palace Green in Durham

There was another surprise on The Palace Green which made Pam & I very happy. A friend of ours, whom I've known since the 1960s owned a TC back in those days. Sadly he had to part with it and has always missed it. The new owner, also a friend of ours, happens to be a member of the Tyne Tees Centre and was on the run with the car.

The original owner didn't know this run was taking place but happened to be in Durham and noticed all the MGs. He followed them and found us all on the Green where he spotted his old car and got to sit behind the wheel for the first time in over 40 years. The smile says it all.

Just to prove we made it to the finish.

One more of John & Janets 18/80 on The Palace Green

As  usual we had the video camera running most of the day and here's a short clip.

The great day was organised by Noel & Carole Lindford, assisted by Barrie & Sheila Hope and marshalls. Margaret, Bill & Dennis were the ones I noticed but If I've missed anybody, I'm sorry. They all should give themselves a huge pat on the back Thank you all.