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Wales Trip

Organised by Tony and Jane

18th to 22nd August 2011

As usual there was an arrangement for the cars to meet to go up in convoy to Llandrindod Wells. The revised time was agreed as 10:00 am on this not too warm Thursday morning. We arrived about 10 minutes early to find Tony and Jane on station ready and waiting. From then on it was a bit like the film "The Magnificent Seven" where the team grew slowly, That makes Tony Yul Brynner and I must be Steve McQueen. Eventually seven cars were there and we still awaited John R to arrive. Still that was handy as Derricks car had problems with his throttle linkage. A few minutes later it was fixed and we were all assembled so off we set on the first stage of the journey.

We all headed for Llantony Priory in Gwent which was where the monks came from that formed Llantony Priory in Gloucester. It is a really picturesque venue in a secluded spot. An ideal place for a tea stop. All suitably refreshed we were ready for the next stage to Hay. However the next problem was John R losing his ignition key going from the back of the car to the front. You would think that would be easy to find. Ten searchers for fifteen minutes and still no joy. Luckily John had an idea which save the day and a key was produced.

We had not expected to see the road blocked by a herd of sheep. All cars were forced to stop whilst the sheep cleaned the sides of the cars. Unfortunately the sheep had left something on the road other than wool. Still we were sure the rain would help wash it off!

Lunch in Hay and off to the Metropole via a route Tony had planned taking us through the first bit of the spectacular Welsh scenery. Hills and vales were in abundance. After a particularly long climb we stopped at the summit and took in the views. Suddenly there was a cry of "Oh, Adrians put the kettle on!". This was because steam was coming from our car. The radiator hose had split. That was the excuse for the MG repair team to leap into action. There were a dozen hands all clamoring to do "do their bit" to help in the repair, Five minutes later we were off. This shows the depth of expertise and the cameraderie held in the club and is one of its great benefits.

The following day we headed off to see Abbey cwm Hir close to us. It was not my first choice as a place to visit but as Rita wanted to go I was out voted. I am really glad that I went. The house itself is a fantastic collection of collections. All 52 rooms in the house had something really interesting to offer. It is like a Welsh version of Snowshill Manor

From here we were off to see some birds! We had decide to go to the Red Kite Feeding Centre at Rhayader. Red Kites are making a comeback into the area and Gigrin Farm has a reputation for feeding the birds. After a small wait we were all seated in the hides when the feed tractor arrived. Shovels full of meat were dispensed over the site and the wait began for the show. First came the Crows and then the Kites arrived slowly like a scene from a Hitchcock movie. After a while there were too many to count. Soon they were treating us to a spectacular show of flying as they dived and wheeled to collect the food. To complete the day we had a leisurely drive around the lakes and back in time for dinner.

Saturday morning dawned and we were ready for the drive up to Llandudno. This was to pass Lake Vyrnwy and as we had all seen its beauty before we had decided to revisit it. Once we reached it we crossed the dam toward the cafe. As we drove over we appeared to be a show to some visitors as they clapped us over.

The final part of the trip was again fantastic viewing for many miles. Eventually we were all sceneried out and headed directly to Llandudno and a well earned evening meal. All that remained was to fill up with fuel. Sue and Trev were joining us and Rob and Julia, although not staying at the hotel, were also coming. So, down to the bar to relax before the start of the nights festivities. Derrick and I were sitting in the bar and Derrick was idling through his receipts and could not understand what this one for ten pounds was. It was then worked out that it was his petrol. It turned out that he had been asked to move by a car behind and he had paid his bill. He was, to use the police term, an (accidental) bilker, One quick phone call later and the lady at the fuel station was very helpful and all was OK.

After a few moments it transpired that Pete V was in pain and it was decided he needed to go to hospital. Taxi was called and Pete duly transported for a few days "rest" in hospital.

The evening meal that night was punctuated by long delays so that some people were lucky enough to have completed their puddings before others had their main courses. Still others had their meals delivered twice. Still, the company was great as usual with MG voices wafting over the restaurant until all the other guests had left. Tomorrow was a big day so off to bed before too much merriment

On waking on Sunday morning we were met by sunshine which was a surprise to many. Off to the start line, the promenade on the seafront. There were all shapes and dates of MGs in a wide range of colours. After registration we were off down the Great Orne, Llandudnos answer to the Big Sur. Storm clouds were making their first appearance and before the half way stop at the Slate Museum the heavens opened big time. The rain was the worst we had witnessed for some time.

By the end of the run the sun had reasserted itself to allow the MGs to reform and talk of the route. All were agreed that the rain had had a negative effect on the route but even the rain could not destroy the fantastic countryside we passed. All in all another great time was had in North Wales

All that remains is to thank Tony and Jane for all their hard work in organising and also Pete for sorting the visit to Abbey Cwm Hir

Adrian