Day out in the MGR

[CambCelt]

My dad and I went on the '2012 Octagonal Run' in parts of (I think) Oxfordshire/Berkshire/Hampshire yesterday. It was organised by WAMGOC (Wycombe Area MG Owner's Club). I was there as a Father's Day 'present' for my old fella as he didn't want owt for a present on Father's Day. Yesterday, I was his navigator (along with the sometimes annoying Sat Nav).

It's a bit like in the rally races you see on the TV, in that I was sitting next to the driver with a Tulip Sheet with all of the directions and distances on it. It was not a race though!

We went to Hughenden Park, on the A4128 just north of High Wycombe. This was where the MG (and some other) people were meeting for the start of the drive. We went out to Greys Court for a stop at lunch and then back again to Hughenden late-afternoon where the bar was open, and the cars were parked up, footy on the TV inside (but I had the cricket on the radio outside on one of the benches), a BBQ for those who paid extra for it (not us as we were going to eat back at home with my mum), and so on.

We only took a couple of minor wrong-turns and the car is cool. Pa puts his foot down a few times and we went well over 100mph (on the motorway when it was clear).

I was heat-frazzled (and wind-buffetted as the car is an open top) but managed to avoid sunburn somehow with a combination of hat, sleeves & suncream.

There was a chance that the sun and/or rain could've fucked things up for us but we got away with it. Last night I had the best nights sleep for some time.

Here are some pics:

Car at home before we left at 8:30 ish:



At the start after we'd put the plate thing on and got our stuff sorted:



Then we drove about for a while on the route - and I tell you what, we got to see some lovely places. Buildings, towns/villages, river (Thames and bits of other rivers?) stuff with boats and people paddling about, etc ...

England is really beautiful at the right time in the right places. You need to have a few quid though to live properly in the parts of the southeast that we went through.

Some of the cars lined-up at Greys Court (ours is the first one, far right):





I'll add some more pics in a bit, and tell you any other stuff that I've not yet recalled (my brain is still a bit heatstriken ) ...

[timey]

Thanks for that Cambridge, the car looks great, as does the weather. Your descriptions of the countryside and the Thames Valley area take me back a bit as I lived down that way when I was a nipper.

[CambCelt]

Thanks for that Cambridge, the car looks great, as does the weather. Your descriptions of the countryside and the Thames Valley area take me back a bit as I lived down that way when I was a nipper.

It was lovely jubblies mate.

Some of the wee single-track roads went through 'natural tunnels' where the tree canopy comes over your head, with some sunlight getting through but mostly it's shade. Really cool-looking. Nice to get in the shade when the sun has been at you and the breeze (when there was one) was blessed. We saw a muntjac deer, and loads of huge birds of prey circling around on the thermals (dad reckons that they were buzzards). One of those microlight plane jobbies flew by Greys Court when I was sitting by the car with the cricket on the radio.

At Greys Court, our car (left) next to a similar one:



Nice gaff at Greys Court:



Cars at Greys Court:









In this one, you can see what was the moat on the right:

[CambCelt]

Other Greys Court pics:











Back at Hughenden:

[CambCelt]

Here is my plate:



You normally get one per car, but we blagged one per person.

In this shot, it is leaning on a plant pot that was a Mother's Day present for my old Doris.

[CambCelt]

I've volunteered for another day out with my dad, as a 'father and son' bonding exercise (as well as good fun!) but I doubt that we will have good weather in 2012 again for it.

If it happens, I'll let you all know.