The starting point for this gentle run through the South Downs was the George & Falcon pub in Warnford. Dave and I arrived in my Indy where we parked up with other very shiny Maserati cars to have our bacon butties. Ken gave out the tulip guide sheets as we left the car park and there were distances in tenth’s of a mile – problem 1. My old Sat-Nav doesn’t do tenth’s. So we missed the first turn but recovered! Some of the roads were narrow with loose stones in the middle and edges – i.e. single track. At one point the Sat-Nav showed us travelling through a field and approaching a barn but we pressed on. As it was such a fine day the Spyders had the benefit of open air motoring. On route we encountered walkers (we passed a 15-mile marker for them), cyclists, walking groups and dog-walkers and had to stop to let some of them squeeze past. Now had it not been for a clump of Cow Parsley (or Hedge Parsley – 2 to 3 feet high at this time of year) we would have had a considerably shorter journey. The Cow Parsley hiding a vital sign of Ditcham Park School where we should have turned left. The next left was a slip road onto the A3 !
So we dashed down to the next turn-off, passed by the old tower of Gales Brewery in Horndean (Sadly closed by Fullers) to return to the proper route. I am pleased to say all the cars made it to The Spur Inn on the A29 for an excellent lunch. Our distance covered for this 40-mile run was up there with the best!
Many thanks to Ken and Barbara for this event – next up it’s the AGM.
