Coast 2 Coast Run 2022

[Chriss]

Hello All 

I am sorry that I am late in posting the announcement from Club Torque.  I have been caught out and thought that it would be published next week.  I am working to open the entry on 1st February, but there is a complicating factor that may delay opening the entry by a few days. I will announce the opening of the entry on a separate thread.

 

The Coast 2 Coast Run 2022

 

The C2C Run is an event designed to be a challenging driving experience of about 400 miles, lasting about 12 hours driving time.  It is a different type of event to the RBRR and the 10CR, but takes the best features from both to seek out some of the best driving roads that can be found in the UK.  It is primarily about enjoyable driving. Planning is not difficult and plotting the route can be done in advance. Due to the nature of the roads used, navigating requires attention. There is also a social element through activities and meals held before and after the event.

 

Due to the location of the roads upon which the event is held in National Parks and uplands, the start and finish can located some distance from the main population centres.  We try to minimise the inconvenience but the event is a fairly high effort, high enjoyment challenge. It can be looked at as an event in four parts: getting to the start, the social event, the run and getting home. It offers entering crews an opportunity to visit parts of the country that are not usually driven during other Club Triumph events.

 

The Coast 2 Coast 2022

 

Club Triumph is proud to announce the 2022 Coast 2 Coast Run. The 2022 event will be held during the night of Saturday and Sunday 25^th and 26^th of June.  It is intended that entry will open on 1^st February. Entry and merchandising will be available solely through the Club Triumph Shop on the Website. Vehicle entrants must be club members, but they need not own the vehicle entered. Crew members need not be Club Triumph members. Club Triumph Regulations apply and can be viewed on the Website. Current MSUK and national Covid-19 requirements will be rigorously enforced. Please note that although a MSUK Permit will be applied for, entrants do not need an MSUK RS Clubman or other competition licence.  A thread will be opened on the Forum to provide the latest information to keep potential entrants up to date.

 

The provisional route of the event is to start at the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways Harbour Station, Porthmadog, to drive through the Snowdonia National Park and the Welsh Coast Road to Cardigan, then through The Black Hills and the Brecon Beacons to a mandatory rest stop immediately before crossing the Severn Bridge. After which the route continues through Cheddar Gorge and across Salisbury Plain, along the Weald to a well earned breakfast at The Pilot Inn, Dungeness. This is a distance of approximately 460 miles.

 

Entrants need to be aware that access to Porthmadog is restricted due to the mountainous terrain.  Saturday is the hotel changeover day so traffic in and out of Porthmadog is heavy and long delays are expected. Further, hotel accommodation is very limited, although a new Premiere Inn will be open by 25^th June.  Getting there will require some planning and in view of the event’s social activity, described below, it is worth getting there, or near there, on Friday or even before. If you are going to book accommodation, book as soon as you have entered the event otherwise you may be disappointed.

 

 

 

The Starting point will be at The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways Harbour Station, Porthmadog, LL49 9NF.  The dinner will be in the Spooner’s Cafe on the Station from 16:30.  Parking for entrants will be in The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways reserved section of the Llyn Bach Car Park, which is close to the station. The event will start at 19:00.

For more details see: https://www.festrail.co.uk/

 

There will be a mandatory stop at Magor Motorway Services Eastbound, NP26 3YL, on the M4. Most of the caterers will be closed, but WH Smiths will have Starbucks vending machines and sandwiches available. For more details see:  https://www.roadchef.com/locations/magor

 

The finish will be at The Pilot Inn, Dungeness, Kent, TN29 9NJ at around 08:00. Breakfast will be available from this time. For your route home afterwards the M20 is not too far away. For more details see:  https://thepilotdungeness.co.uk/

The route will be available as .gpx files for use on Garmin and Tomtom satnavs and these files will be available as Google routes for use on smart phones. From the .gpx files you will be able to transfer the route to a road atlas.

 

Entry will be limited to 50 cars. A reserve list will be maintained if the numbers exceed this.

 

It is intended that the carbon emissions created by this event will be offset through the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs’ Carbon Balancing Scheme (FBHVC).  At the time of writing (Early December 2021) this scheme has not been launched and full details are not known, but it should be operational in early 2022. Updates about the scheme will be posted on the C2C 2022 thread on the Forum as they become available. Planned participation in this scheme means that the price of the Coast 2 Coast 2022 cannot be finalised as I write.

 

The price will cover entry into the event, a contribution to the FBHVC Carbon Balancing scheme, car stickers and a finisher’s souvenir. Merchandise, if purchased, will be additional.  Food consumed at the restaurants is at the entrant’s expense (main courses will typically be around £10-£12). Fuel, car preparation, any tolls, fines etc., getting to and from the event are also at the entrant’s expense.

 

 

The Social Activity

 

 

By Mike Buck - Photo by Mike Buck., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2931882

 

For this year’s additional social activity C2C 2022 entrants have been privileged to be offered a guided tour of the Ffestiniog Railway’s Boston Lodge Locomotive Works. The Ffestiniog Railway is the world’s oldest independent railway company, being established in 1836. It has World Heritage status. These works have just secured £4M funding to conserve and redevelop what is the oldest steam locomotive factory and operating works in the world, having manufactured steam locomotives in the 19^th, 20^th and 21^st centuries.

 

The General Manager, Paul Lewin, will conduct two “money can’t buy” two hour tours of the works. These tours will take place from 10:30 to 12:30 and from 13:00 to 15:00. They will be informative and amusing. He will explain to you how steam locomotives are operated, maintained, rebuilt and built from new.  You can learn how steam locomotives work and Paul Lewin will answer your questions.  If you are interested in steam engines this is just too good to miss, you won’t get another opportunity like it!

 

In addition you can be a driver for a fiver.  If demand is sufficient, an engine will be in steam and event entrants can be “instructed” in driving a steam engine within the confines of the works. These events will need to be booked as purchases through the Club Triumph Shop on the Club Triumph Website.  Free for the tours, £5.00 to drive the locomotive.

 

There are many other interesting activities and sites to visit in the Porthadog area and if you have the time it is worth organising a mini-break in the area.  There are runs on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, there is Portmerion, home to The Prisoner TV series starring Patrick Mcgoohan and Snowdon National Park.

 

For those who like aircraft it may be possible to see NATO airforces training nearby in the famous Mach Loop, where after a bit of a clamber you can look down on aircraft flying at 500 feet and 500mph through the Corris Uchaf (A487 between Dolgellau and Machynlleth). For more information see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNmNVEJQsVU&t=747s

 

 

Club Triumph looks forward to seeing you in Porthmadog.

[John Bell1]

Great route, can´t wait! How appropriate that the address of the end point is "Coast Drive", Dungeness!

[Pete Arnold]

2 hours ago, John Bell1 said:

Great route, can´t wait! How appropriate that the address of the end point is "Coast Drive", Dungeness!

 

John,

Presumably you'll be driving a different type of vehicle during the week before the C2C. 

And the C2C route is generally in the right direction for your homeward journey!!!

Pete

 

[Howard]

22 hours ago, Chriss said:

and these files will be available as Google routes for use on smart phones. From the .gpx files you will be able to transfer the route to a road atlas.

A minor clarification to Chris' message.

If you want to use traditional paper maps, the  Google Routes  that will be issued can be used to view and transfer the route to your road atlas. This can be done using any Windows/Linux/Apple computer without any additional software. Please note that due to the current limitations on the free version of Google routes the C2C route will be split into about three sections to ensure that it accurately follows the SatNav routes.

Howard

[John Bell1]

1 hour ago, Pete Arnold said:

 

John,

Presumably you'll be driving a different type of vehicle during the week before the C2C. 

And the C2C route is generally in the right direction for your homeward journey!!!

Pete

 

Pete,

Will hopefully have ten days driving heavy metal at the railways before attempting the C2C. Makes sense if I´ve got the TR over in advance. As you say the route couldn´t be better for my trip home, but I´d getter get a good night of sleep first!

John