Didcot to the Plough

[Alex]

Personally I'm of the "if it ain't broke" camp, I for one loved the run this year and think it could even be my favourite.
i know the m40/m25 causes problems but this will always be the case, moving the start would only change the whole basis of the run. Has it not always been a london start and finish?

[DaveKent]

And you need to be in certain parts of the country at certain times to makee it work. Welsh roads at night, Scotlands lanes during the day etc.

Doin the run the other way round from the same start point would have you at Lands End by 1 or 2 am- a bit pointless, and you wont see much of the view!!

[Radders]

xyv wrote:

And you need to be in certain parts of the country at certain times to makee it work. Welsh roads at night, Scotlands lanes during the day etc.

Doin the run the other way round from the same start point would have you at Lands End by 1 or 2 am- a bit pointless, and you wont see much of the view!!

Couldnt agree more, it's all about the timing. We leave Enfield at 6pm and arrive in JOG 14 hours later at 8am. If you left Enfield at 6 in the morning, you certainly wouldn't be in JOG for 8pm that night.

I know that nobody has suggested that, I'm just using an example that, that as Dave says, we have to be in the right areas at night time to make the event work.  :)

[Alex]

To be fair Colin's suggestion would still enable us to do most of the main parts at the same times......but we would have to leave lands end and come back down the m3/m4 or something similar to make up the time.
Don't like change......  :'(

[Wilfrid]

Totally agree, having done it fourteen times. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[thescrapman]

xyv wrote:

And you need to be in certain parts of the country at certain times to makee it work. Welsh roads at night, Scotlands lanes during the day etc.

Doin the run the other way round from the same start point would have you at Lands End by 1 or 2 am- a bit pointless, and you wont see much of the view!!

Dave

It currently takes us 12 or 13 hours to get from LE to Crews Hill, so doing it backwards would still get you to LE at breakfast time if you start at 6pm.

Derek

You say if it ain't broke.... But the run has changed quite radically over the years, certainly the route has, the start has changed as well in the past. I remember doing a monumental slog down the M74/M6/M5 in 1990. No Wales that year.

I am not advocating change, just showing what could be possible if there was a desire to change.

Cheers

Colin

[Jason]

It's always a tricky thing, that last leg (in fact the post breakfast part in total!) we need to keep the crews checked in frequently to ensure the "legs" are not too long and drivers are encouraged to rotate. We also need to ensure we pick a route that's worth driving with decent scenery and roads. We like to keep the mileage around the 2000 mark and we have to finish at a time that allows for late arrivals to get back to the Plough at a reasonable hour. The Didcot to the Plough route is a pain, the real problem is that there are many ways to go but all are very "delicate" to balance  

• route complexity - important to keep it relatively simple at this stage in the run
• traffic - very volatile, in previous years, the M25 has been both stationary and clear and back to stationary within an hour
• mileage/average speed - again, we need to keep it within reasonable parameters to ensure drivers aren't encouraged to push too hard
• flexibility - I think here, more than anywhere, the phrase "the route is advisory" is most apt, drivers need to be flexible and use their skill and judgement, if the road is blocked, slow moving, etc then find an alternative.

Rest assured the organising team will discuss this, as we do every year, and see if we can find any improvements that work. One things is for sure though, with the next run being the 50th anniversary and the Plough looking like it will be under new (possibly much more corporate) management, we could well be looking at a different start/finish point entirely!

[Wilfrid]

Colin

Point taken ansd I well remember the M74 slog - thing was to try and con the co-driver into doing that bit while you got some sleep! Worked one year, not the next!  My point is that the route is only a suggested one and we should leave the organisers to determine the road book. It has always been possible for drivers to decide their own route. I was at the Plough last Sunday and remember the drivers coming in beaming and uttering the word "brilliant" in spite of, in some cases, a difficult run in.

[Slimboyfat]

Jason wrote:

One things is for sure though, with the next run being the 50th anniversary and the Plough looking like it will be under new (possibly much more corporate) management, we could well be looking at a different start/finish point entirely!

So that will be Gaydon then

[Steve P]

That would be a terrible shame if the Plough became just another corporate Pubco place.
S

[Jason]

Gaydon is indeed a possibility but nothing is set, we do need a decent start point and something like Gaydon could work although it is an expensive venue (compared to £nil for the Plough - all suggestions are welcome, needs to be something with catering, a decent carpark, would prefer something with a motoring heritage/theme but that's not a deal breaker - really somewhere sympathetic to the old car would be good.

As for the Plough, I think it is destined to become a "pubco" place :-(

[Wilfrid]

I wouldn't support Gaydon - as you say it is very expensive and the event has always been London - John O'Groats - Land's End - London. As far as the Plough is concerned, I spoke to Lou today and she does not think there will be a complete change of use, but we will have to wait and see. There's a lot of time to go before October 2016, so let's not burn our boats yet.

[ferny]

Gaydon would be great if it was a big money event. The RBRR needs somewhere where you get tightly packed in and can buy a drink afterwards. It's a bit annoying, but think how much atmosphere you'd lose without it.

[thescrapman]

I have to echo Peter here, atmosphere is everything at the start and finish.

I only ever did one start from Broadfields (1990), and I have no idea as to the atmosphere there as we arrived an hour after everybody else had left!

[Velocita Rosso]

As D says ...it is a London to London event, traditional start /finish, see nearer 2016

[Horace]

I'm all for tradition - and this was my first time in the event so what do I know, but the slog out to the a1 was dire and the m40 on the way back brought a sense of anti climax to the final stage. After sitting in traffic for what seemedike a couple of hours we weren't really up to a bit of banter in the bar after.   Overall still a brilliant event but it did take the shine off the last bit.  I know suggestions say there needs to be a motoring theme but surely any good pub with a large carpark would do- all meeting there and eventually it becoming a legendary venue like the Plough will create the right atmosphere wherever. I note the comment re London as part of the event. However for those of us oop north it adds to the expense and time off work 'cos you really feel you need to either set off early Friday or stay Thursday night as well as Sunday. This may well put off a few from my neck of the woods.  All to the good perhaps!!

Still want to reiterate will do it again from the plough or wherever!

Bob

[Davemate]

The event is
London - john o groats - lands end - London.
Two years ago was my first time on the event and over the hole event we only got held up for about 10 mins on the m40 on the way back to the plough
This time we got a bit of traffic on the A1 going up but we only got held for about 15-20 mins and on the m40 I don't think we stopped ,we crawled along for about 10 mins
Two runs 4000 miles and only held up for no more than an hour  :)

[thescrapman]

6854 wrote:

I'm all for tradition - and this was my first time in the event so what do I know, but the slog out to the a1 was dire

Bob

Bob

did you follow the roadbook up the A10 to the A1, or did you cut straight to the A1??

I like the A10 mind.

[Slimboyfat]

Jason wrote:

- all suggestions are welcome, needs to be something with catering, a decent carpark, would prefer something with a motoring heritage/theme but that's not a deal breaker - really somewhere sympathetic to the old car would be good.

:-(

Coventry Transport Museum then?

[Horace]

Colin - went up the A10 etc per the route book.  On the whole its usually more fun on A roads but it was the first few miles that were a pain. After that ok.  At certain times, the traffic in the south east is just daft and presumably its only going to get worse.

I think focussing on a motoring themed venue is a red herring, Apart from us and the RBRR what qualifies the Plough in this regard?   It starts there because of tradition and that's why people like it. A new venue would soon become popular if it was the right one. Surely its the people and the cars who make it.  When I explained the run to anyone, the first thing they forgot was where it started - they just remembered the John o Groats/ Lands End thing.  A lot of people from other parts of the country aren't quite sure where Enfield is!   Having said that aren't there a few pubs that are famous as motorsport meeting places?

Bob

[Velocita Rosso]

6854 wrote:

Colin - went up the A10 etc per the route book.  On the whole its usually more fun on A roads but it was the first few miles that were a pain. After that ok.  At certain times, the traffic in the south east is just daft and presumably its only going to get worse.

I think focussing on a motoring themed venue is a red herring, Apart from us and the RBRR what qualifies the Plough in this regard?   It starts there because of tradition and that's why people like it. A new venue would soon become popular if it was the right one. Surely its the people and the cars who make it.  When I explained the run to anyone, the first thing they forgot was where it started - they just remembered the John o Groats/ Lands End thing.  A lot of people from other parts of the country aren't quite sure where Enfield is!   Having said that aren't there a few pubs that are famous as motorsport meeting places?

Bob

First, you have a PM

Being a new member you would not know,but The Plough is the original and North London area meeting place.
They offer the club very good services and use of the property as though it were our own.
Its used  for many an occasion and was used for the start of many events
The CT monthly committee meetings are also convened there,as is the AGM
We will be going down tonight for the monthly meet
If you have any concerns /issues that you wish us to address while we are there then please do not hesitate to contact us

[thescrapman]

6854 wrote:

Colin - went up the A10 etc per the route book.  On the whole its usually more fun on A roads but it was the first few miles that were a pain. After that ok.  At certain times, the traffic in the south east is just daft and presumably its only going to get worse.
Bob

Bob

The traffic was actually quite good for a Friday in Enfield...  :-/

There is an alternative route to get to the A10 just north of the M25, at Brookfield Farm (the large Tesco on the LHS) that I have taken a few times (you go through Goffs Oak), but as I was in the first dozen or so cars out the start this year I went down to Bullsmore Lane.

There is also an option to go straight ahead rather than do the left turn just after the start, and you join the A10 just south of Bullsmore Lane, and can wave at the people queueing as you cruise past going north again.. :-)

Some people choose to go left out of the pub, head to the M25 at J24, and then go round and up the A1, or they go through Potters Bar and up the A1000 to Hatfield and join the A1 there.

Cheers

Colin

[thescrapman]

michael_charlton wrote:

We will be going down tonight for the monthly meet

Mike

I don't like to be the bearer of bad news, but the monthly meet is next week.

It might be a bit lonely down the pub for you tonight....  :(

[Velocita Rosso]

thescrapman wrote:

Mike

I don't like to be the bearer of bad news, but the monthly meet is next week.

It might be a bit lonely down the pub for you tonight....  :(

The committee meeting.......is tonight

[thescrapman]

michael_charlton wrote:

The committee meeting.......is tonight

You said monthly meet...  :P