The research trips made by Henry to keep this website focussed.
20th August 2010.
Back again in England after 15 glorious days around Holland and Germany.
With castles on the agenda anything else would be an extra bonus, such as the greatest collection of motorbikes I have ever seen on the road and the largest bike ever!
Here it is with some of the smaller ones. It's a Honda by the way.
A visit to Cochem Castle revealed a medieval faire and these pictures of a blacksmith at work. I bought four nails for the theatre set.
Nails
By Henry Tudor
Holding the world together brings problems close to hand
Keeping the wheel a turning from axle and rim, to the land.
The Blacksmith solves these worries, he creates things made of steel
From horse-shoes up to armour, what he makes is hard and real.
His fire is made of charcoal, ignited then blown with air
He raises the metal up gently, to red heat and beyond, don’t stare.
He pounds the now hot, soft target, to the shape he see’s in his mind
Sparks and scales fly out wildly, too close and then you are blind.
He forms the basic of products, which everyone uses without fail
To hold together their household possessions he makes the square tapered nail.
But nails were so expensive, they would be used over and over again
Except in doors of large sizes, when deformed to stop movement of stem.
This would annoy the user if products, as nails should never be lost
But bent, crushed old door fastenings is a one-off purchasing cost.
The stress and strain in the metal would cause the old iron to fail
So, throw away the old forgings, they’re as dead as a door nail.
18th July 2010.
Parallel world.
Yes it is true, Britain is changing away from its Engineering roots and grasping at service industries with worldwide sourcing of mechanical parts. It’s rare these days to actually meet an Engineer when not that long ago we were all over the place. This saddens me greatly, apprenticeships of more than ten minutes, “Bloggs and Son” now with sellable non person names and if successful the son has gone into property sales or banking. Passing on your Engineering business to your children is now not the norm, the kids want their own way away from the parents. So when I meet my parallel self over the motorbike park it is refreshing to find the old world again where design is by knowledge and skill without the exactness of computer files. New ideas, lateral thinking and human beings solving small household problems without a trolley at B&Q. Parallel world it certainly was, this biker had a unique four/three wheeler mid engine, chain driven, carbon fibre bodied machine. He also ran a Bonneville from his stable of motoring icons. Lifting his lateral car into its storage place is by electric winches, much the same as my system to load the bike into the RV. He is a retired Design Engineer, like me. He became a manager of an Engineering concern, like me. He even became a teacher, like me. Both in our sixties we had never met before yet we worked parallel in Bolton with the same kids. Now it’s getting spooky, I sent the kids in my school system to the skill centre he was director of, we never knew each other as our paths were parallel until we both broke the route and rode to Rivington barn this wet rainy morning where we crossed paths. He saw my Bonnie, I saw his strange car/bike. Funny old world.
The rain did not put me off, keeping the new bike clean is not on my agenda, it is there to ride and if I wear my waterproofs then the rain will definitely not stop me. It gave me the opportunity to test my new fly screen angle and see if the rain would be flung over my head from about 50 MPH, it did. So off I headed for the sun, seen over the coast from the hill of the Pennines and Southport became my day out. Only two Triumphs amongst a flurry of Harley’s at the Pier, same friendly faces, same coffee and same interesting conversations. The 11 year old Triumph Sprint was a credit to its owner, it looked new and the all black paintwork made it look very modern, it felt an honour to park the Bonnie next to his machine. This biker has an old Norton at home and that was the love of his bike world, another guy with a stable! I wonder if I should get a second bike and grow a stable, hmm that would be pushing my luck with Mrs biker.
Learned a couple of things today.
1. Get a lockable fuel tank cap as sugar will kill an engine if a spiteful person wants to cause you ill.
2. Fit a bar across your machine to stop side scratches if you fall off, or some idiot motorist pops out unexpectedly.
Gave out a bit of info.
1. Small fly-screens do work and do not create steering wobble. They can be adjusted to suit the speed when turbulence becomes annoying. Also can be had for an astonishing £22 from the internet, see www.getgeared.co.uk/Motorcycle_Parts/Motorcycle_Screens
And it works, I did expect as flimsy bit of perspex but was delighted to receive a well moulded, strong product in polycarbonate or maybe SAN. Definitely a good buy.
2. Auto chain oilers do work and are reasonably easy to fit for the Engineer. Triumph Bonneville mechanics told me to turn the central rear wheel bolt round to stop the feeder nozzle interfering. Listen to Engineers they solve problems.
16th July 2010.
Stone the Crows it costs £5 to drive in Tatton Park on a motorbike!
Stone the Crows.
By Henry Tudor
Crows were an acceptable meal in my day. But there were laws of ownership for their nesting places. If the nest was in your land they belonged to you, if you rented the land they belonged to the landlord. The high trees on the edge of a wood or forest is the favourite place for a crow to build a nest, it give them access to crops in the adjoining fields and any predator birds cannot swoop easily with open sides and a cluster of taller trees on the opposite side. So the positioning is quite clever and ends up as on the outer edges of woods or down tree lined roads. Catching the crows is the expertise of poachers who would smear glue on the branches whilst the birds are out hunting, catching them as they get stuck on their return. Getting them down would be the act of throwing stones or using a slingshot so as not to be seen in the act of stealing the Manor’s crows.
On the other negative side, the Crows devastated crops such as corn and various designs of scarecrow were developed by each Manor to keep their losses to a minimum. Here are some scarecrow designs. Can you make a modern technology scarecrow?
Scarecrows
By Henry Tudor
Get out of my field you pesky Crow
Back to your tree for a stone to throw.
Leave this corn for my master’s meal
It is for him to eat, not for you to steal.
I would chase you if not made of wood
Old cloth draped, carrot face not really good.
Try to scare you, to keep you away
Windy days flap and you are at bay.
But sunny and calm I’m totally still
Now you come in and eat ‘til to your fill.
My master’s view is I’m not pulling my weight
Another scarecrow replaces me, sorry too late.
Having a toxic eye for detail, what is wrong about these scarecrows from a Tudor period point of view?
1. No red, too expensive a pigment and no fixing agent.
2. A Scottish cap? No way Jimmy.
3. Cotton? not yet on the market!
4. The clothes are clean, better than what the peasants wear, they would get stolen.
5. Buttons! What is a button?
As the Crow meat was favoured, the use of a scarecrow wold be rare, more like a trap to catch them would be used such as criss-crossing string over the crops to tangle the swooping bird.
See how deep you have to look to see the truth!
12th July 2010.
The Nod
By Henry Tudor
A nod's as good as a wink! Rubbish.
You wink at a stranger in my part of the world, there is one of two outcomes about to come your way. Either a black eye or a date, no orientation unaccounted for.
But in my world, there is a nod for motor-homer’s and a nod for motor-biker’s. Both are different and depend which side of the road your country drives on.
Motor-homers come in three categories, they begin with caravanettes with rising roofs, moving to built on chassis with original cab front, then ending up with A-class machines built from the chassis up with no identity of motor-van shown. The acknowledgement to passing motor-homes in the opposite direction is the wave of the fingers from the top of the steering wheel usually followed by a large hand wave from their wife in the next seat. “Hey look we spent all our money as well”, “Like you we don’t care about causing traffic jams”, “On the road again, not working, not caring”. These are the unheard thoughts between the two drivers, OR “why did he not reply to my wave”, “I’m not a saddo. So don’t expect a wave”
It’s a sort of club, a member of the same clique, fellow followers.
Biker’s are different. Bikes are available for all kinds of riders, I never stop wandering how all bikes look different and have been added to, changed and adapted to the style of the owner, it really is a true world of individualism. Now one cannot wave as letting go of the handlebar is quite dangerous, nodding up and down with an aerodynamic helmet on looks stupid, so there is a standard nod for passing bikers. In left hand side roads we nod with a right slant towards the oncoming biker, left if in right-hand roads systems. This nod is significant it is saying only one thing and cannot be misinterpreted. “I love biking and it’s worth the risk”, a thought in all the heads of the avid rider. BUT, beware bikers out there, nod at a scooter, a small moped and you will not get a reply except maybe a hand signal. Now here’s a problem, what if there is a party of biker’s passing, do you nod at all of them or will the first initial nod be enough to satisfy the party? A world level problem if ever there was one. Nod at the first biker, a slow middle nod to spread amongst the group then nod at the last biker but don’t be upset if some miss nodding back as they don’t know who you are nodding at.
Now, when not to nod. Whatever you do on the road changes dramatically when in a biker showroom. A nod in there buys you something. For example, I took the Bonnie in for its 500 mile first free service. The salesman saw me coming, “what about a Scott Oiler for that chain maintenance, I nodded.” What about a central stand for added stability in the garage.” Again I nodded. Lastly, “What about a diagnostic system to look after the bikes electronics.” Mmmm I thought nodding approval.
Three hours later the bike’s oil changed, timing adjusted and all the nodded accessories added I rode home after paying £450 for the free service, too skint to nod to oncoming biker’s who seemed to understand. Too scared of asking how much a fly screen would cost and allowing the wind to buffet me instead.
Now today, I told my story to my new mates in the biker world whilst watching new bikes ride into the Rivington barn carpark, they nodded as they remembered their last visit to a bike dealer and still stroke the carrier, the back rest in their minds. Like them this is the path we chose and intend to ride it to the end, nodding all the way.
My nod to myself whilst riding, is the empty country lane, sunny day, no rush and the bike purring. The forward view has lower boundary of speedo and rev counter clocks with a shiny chrome headlight top. There is no greater feeling of freedom and I cannot stop a mental nod, “This is what it’s all about.”
5th June 2010.
Today it begins in earnest, Triumphant Entry Blog. My historical research recorded in diary format.
Here is the collection and first trail run of the new Triumph Bonneville 60. Enjoy.
The first ever ride out was planned for many weeks, must be the cafe on the beginning of Southport Pier, the North of England's Ace Cafe.
I parks gingerly next to another Bonneville T100 and met its rider, a great bloke from nearby Ainsdale. You would never believe his name was Henry, another History buff!
Here are the two Bonneville Buddies.
Footnote:
Pre-delivery of new Triumph Bonneville
The following articles summed up my 3 months of frustrating wait for the delivery of my new motorbike, still had to work but not on the wheels of choice.
A Triumphant beginning
History is all around us here in the UK, houses, castles, factories, mines and even Roman leftovers from their prompt departure back to defend their crumbling Empire. We forget and ignore our heritage in our normal run of the mill working lives, how many times have you looked out the car or bus window and thought “....my that’s an old house I really must try and go and see how it was built and figure out what kind of people lived there?” Nobody. Well that’s not really true there are the History buffs out there who are always on the lookout for a new gem to bore everyone with when they get to work or home, anoraks and I am definitely proud to be one of them.
However I’m not boring because I live history, I am King Henry VIII in the disguise of a 60 year old in 2010. I have purchased a motorcycle specifically aimed at the transport for me to engage in history hunting. Not just any old bike, but a limited edition retro Triumph Bonneville 900 which is designated the Bonneville 60 after the 1969 model it is designed around. Grey and blue, piped leather seating and wire wheels set this bike off from the modern variety of speed machine. Not being a fast bike but a very powerfully torque tuned cruiser, just the ticket for a sad old man to wander the lanes with his camera and netbook to produce a weekly commentary for the King website, www.Henrytudor.co.uk
Issue 1. Goodbye Vespa, hello Bonnie.
I have owned my Vespa for 9 years now, loved it to bits and kept it in the most immaculate condition in a dry garage. I’ve taken it all over Europe and the UK in the back of my RV to provide transport for trips out from caravan sites. Sad to see it go but looking forward to the new Triumph 60. The new bike has not been made yet, Triumph are numbering each sale in brass on the headstock out of a total 120 machines, very limited really and so I expect it to keep its value if I keep it in great condition. This has happened to the Vespa, keeping its purchase value for 9 years is something you never see, lots of interest in the sale on Ebay and offers already making it a sale in another 8 days time.
Here is my plan for this new column:
A new idea in travel documentation and research. I have always been a good researcher and look for depth in all I view, stories of old lives are much easier to find by being there and recreating scenes in ones mind. This sort of knowledge is indispensible when delivering a talk or answering a history question from a personal angle with accurate feelings. I intend to use the bike, take video and still pictures and have the bike in the foreground to give the whole column a themed style.
Triumph Entry is a pun on King Henry VIII entering his Palaces but actually will mean a report from the saddle of the Triumph Bonneville 60.
Not due to be delivered until April, this new column will begin next with the collection of the bike, to be named for the purpose of story lines, “Maggie” after Henry’s grandmother Margaret Beaufort who carried the Tudors into power with her charm and charisma but most of all with her strong low down negotiations, talk (torque).
Here’s the pictures of the outgoing and the incoming bikes.
Vespa PX 200
Truimph Bonneville 60 Limited edition.
Keep watching this space.
My planned 10 research areas for this year. Not in any order.
1. Margaret Beaufort, her plans and her successes.
2. Katherine Parr, Kendal Castle
3. Waterwheels in Tudor times.
4. Shepherd sticks, Tudor timekeeping and monastery technologists.
5. Hunting birds.
6. Paper making.
7. Mordants, Yorkshire.
8. Ink production, Norfolk.
9. Building methods, Cumbria.
10. Propaganda from Arthur Pendragon to Arthur Tudor, via Merlin’s Bridge.
11. Another visit to the Castle of Kleves in Germany
12. House construction. Various smaller visits.
Issue 2. Goodbye Vespa.
It’s gone!
The Vespa has left the building.
Thanks to Ebay and the enthusiastic Vespa world out there the blue PX 200 which has been my mistress for the past nine years has moved on. I delivered the Vespa to its new owner, Chris, in Bradford yesterday. This man loves Vespa’s so I know this bike will live for many years yet if not decades, he lives scooters and is a member of the Vespa club, so I will keep an eye on their website for the old girl.
Now please don’t laugh. Stop thinking “get a life”, keeping a bit of your youth alive and kicking is a good thing, it is somewhere to return to when the modern world gets a bit hectic. I would get on the Vespa is a stressed mood, tired and frustrated with life in general. I would get off the bike an hour later, with a broad grin, no stress in my head and ready to give the old machine a clean and polish, my way of thanking the bike for the privilege of the journey.
I never had a journey on the Vespa, it was always an adventure.
It wasn’t you Vespa, it was me! I fell for the charms of a Triumph rebirth.
Sad eh! Well wouldn't you too? Come in Number 1 your time is just beginning.
Now it’s time to move on and I will decide today just what accessories the new bike will have.
Ideas so far:
Not a rear rack nor a rear box and this will lengthen the bike too much to get it into the RV, so side panniers. Not solid, plastic lockable panniers as they look too modern on a retro bike. So leather with two buckles and Triumph emblazoned on their sides.
Now if you remember my little thought some months ago when the idea of a new bike was swilling around my head, the notion of getting it passed “her in the Palace” came up. I now have to convince the Queen to ride the new bike and not be scared off by the shape or size of the machine. So, a backrest (Triumph called them "sissy bars") fitted especially for her as she claims they make her feel there is something behind her for protection. Mind you there are two to choose from Triumph, a low and a high one. The high one will look ridiculous when riding solo so I will make sure it’s the low one as the compromise.
I have weighed the bike by trying to get the dealers demonstration Bonneville into the RV. It is 100 Lbs heavier than the Vespa which was difficult enough at 400 Lbs to push up the ramp into the on-board garage. Now a 500 Lb machine will break my back and roll backwards over my body leaving a great looking tyre tread up my face. So I need a solution to this problem for the future success of this enterprise. To this end I have already ordered a new folding ramp which is longer and wider than the one I already have. The existing ramp will be fixed to the garage floor as a guide to take the bike to the end without someone holding the handle bars. Clever eh! Then here comes the lateral thinking, I will buy and fix a 12 volt winch on the RV garage ceiling to pull the bike in whilst I hold it upright at the back. Up the ramp and up to the end wall. Starting and stopping the winch will be solved by buying one with a remote control.
Drums roll, trumpets blast, the dream is created, the past is past.
Now must get to work converting the RV ready for April.
Issue 3. Winch me up before you go go.
It’s one of those Good news and Bad news moments.
Good news:
I have ordered both the cissy-bar with backrest and the side panniers for the new Triumph. I ordered and received the very next day the 2,000 lbs capacity winch and found the cleverest device ever for such an enterprise, a jumpstarter.
The jumpstarter is a self contained 17ah battery, with charger which can be charged from both the mains or the cigar lighter in the RV, connect the red and black crocodile clips to the winch’s remote control and wallah the winch works. This is a huge bonus because the unit is actuall cheaper than buying the 17ah battery on its own! It can also be used for powering the computers via its 12volt output socket and to start the RV if the vehicle battery is flat. All this for £35 bargain. The winch was £54 with delivery so the cost is within my original thinking of about £200 for the whole job. Bought some wire and connection box now to fit the design.
One always has a change of direction when the design becomes a reality, I hade planned originally to mount the winch at ceiling level, but this will raise the front suspension when pulling the bike in, now mounting the winch at the floor will lower the front spring when pulling the bike in, this will aid the clearance of the brake handles upon entry from the doorway top.
Now for the bad news: The delivery of all these 120 limited edition Bonnevilles is June not April. JUNE, how will I cope without a bike, nothing to polish, purr over!
It took me a total of two hours to sort out the winch and fit it all together into the garage of the RV. Here is a picture of the final installation, boy am I pleased with the outcome and the low cost overall, £110 in total, bargain. It makes a great engineering noise when operating and will pull the 500 lb bike easily into place. Now the next design is the holding of the bike in situ whilst driving the RV. Have some ideas but am favouring the use of hinged tubes holding the handle bars horizontally and the old ramp to be screwed in place to the garage floor to guide the bike the distance unaided.
Great project, as I love gadgets.
Adding to the list of research targets this year, I am going back to Kleves in Germany this August and have decided to extend the trip to include a trip through the mountains to Colditz Castle and a tour around the WW2 prisoner's quarter, also visiting the town of the Pied Piper of Hamling. Should some great stories for the website.
Not wanting to undertake any of the research trips without the new bike, I really cannot wait until June before new sections are written, so I have decided to undertake the Kendal Castle topic by car. First in the agenda being just where was Katherine Parr born, was it Kendal Castle or Blackfriars in London. We will see.
Issue 4. Astley Hall Gatehouse construction. Chorley, Lancashire.
Many stories in this Hall, but wander down the grounds away from the actual hall and you will find a lovely timber framed gatehouse. Renovated due to a flooding many years ago from the fast flowing stream in its front garden, this house shows how the Tudor builders overcame problems of strength and heat dissipation. A timber assembly needs adjustment in the design of jointing, cold winters, hot summers will loosen a mortise and tennon joint and so a wedge system is needed to allow a tightening with a hammer blow. Then there is the problem of chimneys overheating from open wood fires. Whilst it was a sign of wealth to actually have a chimney in the first place, it was also a problem to stop brick cracking under intense heat. The solution was to pattern the chimney which showed off the wealth even more but mainly provided an increase in surface area for heat transfer into the atmosphere. Here are the pictures taken on this expedition, alas without the Bonneville which is still in the manufacturing state in the factory, see the stream, see the chimney and see the jointing wedges. I have drawn a section to show how the wedges tighten the joints.
Other things to notice about this house are the roofing stones, the smallish wattle panels and the positioning on the stream which indicated that this house was rich.
More to follow.
Next week I have found some valuable time off calendar and on the road to the Lake District. Targeting Kendal castle and Dove Cottage in Grasmere. The Castle hopefully will convince me of the actual birthplace of Katherine Parr, Dove cottage to find one of the first fridges.
Fridge? Well not exactly a big white box with Freon racing around transferring heat from the storage, but an earlier version of the technology. The food storage room was built over a fast flowing stream, stone slabs were used for the floor and the effect was to produce a cold room. Is that fascinating? Not today in 2010, but now go back to the days of the owner, William Wordsworth and you are describing the top end technology of a very rich man. To keep your food cool has always been the technology of the super rich, from Tudor Ice houses next to lakes to moving water under buildings. Super cool!
Mind you, Wordsworth did cut costs a bit with his woodwork, he had pitch pine coloured with pigs blood to resemble mahogany!
Pictures and story to follow by next Friday.
Dove Cottage.
How many motorists believe that if you are driving a Honda Jazz, you must be old and senile? Well stop flashing your headlights or using your horn when I’m driving my wife’s Jazz. Just because you live your life at 100 mph does not mean other people would like to smell the roses too as they travel. Nonses. I passed the speeding black sports car as the driver was being booked by a motorway cop, the grin on my face was hurting and my cheeks nearly enveloped my entire head as I nodded approval. My wife, silently nodding and telepathically letting me know her disapproval at my childish antics, did not spoil the moment for me as I drove to Grasmere in Cumbria to visit Dove cottage. The sole intention of my visit was to understand the engineering involved in building a house with a cold room nearly three hundred years ago. No camera’s allowed in the house makes my blood curdle as I know from experience that the new digital flashes do no damage the pigments in paintings and the window in the room is more potent. But never mind they obviously want to sell a guide book and a camera without flash must not be in their minds.
Boy am I grumpy today!
Here is the technology for the cold room, though it did have a serious downside. It also cooled down the bedroom above the Buttery and Mrs Wordsworth papered the walls withhold copies of the Times to try and warm it up. I can hear William now, “must keep the ale cold, wrap up warm kids.”
Yes Butter would have been stored in the Buttery, Butt, sorry But it was named after the storage of Butts of Ale.
A one hour delay on the M6 on the return trip was in fact due to an unmanned road works and an unmanned bridge not being painted. Must be in England eh!
No Butts!
The International Motorbike Show G-Mex in Manchester.
I did most of my courting some 45 years ago on the saddle of my powder blue Vespa 150. My girlfriend, now my wife, put up with this machine as it was all the rage then and I didn’t have a car. Her poor knee’s were bright red after a trip on the pillion, cold wet and wind strewn, she hung on to dear life to be with me. For this I love her dearly. Then came the marriage, the mortgage and the kids which transformed the motoring into mass movement of objects and children with their accompanying prams and push chairs. You can never get the motorbike out of your system, the simple fact that a small frame with an engine strapped in between two wheels is the nearest a person can get to a Knight in shining armour on his or her horse. So then various commuter bikes entered my life as soon as my wife got her driving licence, the best excuse ever to buy a new bike is to tell her, “It’s so you can have the car dear!”
I cannot use that excuse these days as I drive around in the RV to and from gigs all over the UK and parts of Europe. But buying an RV with a large “garage” was a clear inspiration as it gave the opportunity to plant a bike in it for local transport from campsites. This has worked well and my wife, now a granny 6 times over, and I love buzzing around the country in far flung places without the need to actually ride there and find a tent. The ultimate bike of my dreams has always been a Triumph Bonneville and I have had to wait these 45 years from the day I got my licence, to be able to afford one and justify it to myself. Not a “born again biker”, just an “always been a biker but had to wait for the best”. I know there’s BMW and Harley fans out there who are now jumping up and down about their two wheel love affairs, but simple and powerful, strong and safe is how I look at my bikes. 68 BHP with lots of torque, smooth and steady with thick steel and leather, now that’s what I call heaven.
Here we both are, after a terrible sardine trip on a dirty train from town to city to visit the international Bike show at G-Mex in Manchester, I knew the shop where I ordered my bike would be there so I was going to remind them that June delivery was screwing with my head and could they try to speed it up. The show was great, clothing at half price so a pair of gloves and a tee shirt entered my carrier bag and a warm wet burger fed us both thanks to the water to help get it digested. How can a rider put a bike on the top of a van with one jump, then spin round on the front wheel and jump off again? The skills of the display rider Steve Colley are so high they are an art form. I’m just happy I can hold a bike upright at the traffic lights, this guy could do it without putting his foot down. Brilliant.
We rode back home, sat down separately on a full but not bursting, dirty train, high with enthusiasm about the thought that the Bonnie I sat on at the show fit me perfectly and we were going to have one in June. So you see, June is still the date. Here are some pictures taken before the camera battery drained, thanks to forgetting to charge it before we left home that morning. Still got some excellent shots though, but the memory of just sitting there on the display stand, a green and gold Bonnie T100 between my knees and that beautiful view of tank, clocks and chromed levers in front will stay with me forever.
Did the day inspire the usual corny poetry in my head? Sure did.
Re-Enter My World
By Henry Tudor
She’s been here before in youthful day
We married and loved, together we stay.
We rode our blue bike to places away
Until family ties, made our direction sway.
Now with age and position we live out our life
Grandad and Nanna, the man and his wife.
Their home is now big for two people to dwell
The family have left to find their own well.
We relive out our past life on bike after bike
It’s the freedom of self, the power we like.
She cuddles up close as the wind rushes by
My pillion granny with wind tears, now dry.
I care not what you think about us on two wheel
Not born again, but forever, this bike makes us feel.
We are young again when riding, together always
My wife is my best friend, real love always stays.
New machine on show.
Old machines still in their glory.
A great place for a day out on your motorbike/car is Carsington lake in Derbyshire. Great facilities and art, take the 8.5 mile stroll around and see the woodwork!
Met another RV biker today, he was about 70 years old and had a trials converted Triumph Tiger Cub in the back of his van. He and his wife travel over the UK for competitions and were on their way back from Scotland. My kind of people, living their dream and quietly getting on with it. Brrm.