Roger Albert Clark Rally
Discussion
Not long now... this is my 4th year attending and I've never been disappointed.
Oliver's Mount is a tarmac, hillclimb stage so if easy access is your thing then it's great. Generally good viewing too.
Not sure if they've changed it this year, but I'm pretty sure Harwood Dale is closed to spectators? Personally, I'll be heading to Langdale - plenty of (very) fast gravel, sweeping bends to show the BDA's in full flight...
Enjoy yourself - it's a truly brilliant event.
Oliver's Mount is a tarmac, hillclimb stage so if easy access is your thing then it's great. Generally good viewing too.
Not sure if they've changed it this year, but I'm pretty sure Harwood Dale is closed to spectators? Personally, I'll be heading to Langdale - plenty of (very) fast gravel, sweeping bends to show the BDA's in full flight...
Enjoy yourself - it's a truly brilliant event.
Edited by Bob Fossil on Monday 26th October 10:10
v15ben said:
Oliver's Mount is normally a good craic though will be fairly busy with spectators. The forests are IMO where the real spectacle begins and a great way to see the cars at full chat! I will certainly be trying to blag some time off to see at least some of the stages 
Give me a shout if you're heading up on the Monday, Ben. Have you been before? Is parking, finding your way about, etc. quite easy? I'm ashamed to admit I've not attended any forest stage rallying before so might need my hand held...chevronb37 said:
I'm ashamed to admit I've not attended any forest stage rallying before so might need my hand held...
You're in for a real treat - the first sight, sound and smell of a Mk1 / 2 Escort at full chat through a fast foreast / gravel stage is something that will stay with you forever (arguably even better at night). It still makes me grin like a loon and I've seen 100's of rally stages over the years.It's generally pretty easy to find your way around - check the official website for stage locations, and ask on the forums too. You cold also order a programme (£8-ish IIRC) that will give you more detail.
Most of all, enjoy it
Bob Fossil said:
chevronb37 said:
I'm ashamed to admit I've not attended any forest stage rallying before so might need my hand held...
You're in for a real treat - the first sight, sound and smell of a Mk1 / 2 Escort at full chat through a fast foreast / gravel stage is something that will stay with you forever (arguably even better at night). It still makes me grin like a loon and I've seen 100's of rally stages over the years.It's generally pretty easy to find your way around - check the official website for stage locations, and ask on the forums too. You cold also order a programme (£8-ish IIRC) that will give you more detail.
Most of all, enjoy it
Should be a very special moment actually getting to Kielder, thanks for the advice.
Not quite from the 1980's... but watching / listening to this reminds me of pretending to be ill so I could miss Monday at school to watch the stage updates on Ceefax, in between visiting Clumber on the Sunday and Kielder on the Tuesday... enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CGt_1AFsjU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CGt_1AFsjU
Some general advice for the first timers...
Plan to be in stage at least 1 hour before the first car is due. You'll have the course cars etc coming through and they can get a bit twitchy if people are wandering around aimlessly. I'm normally on scene at least 2 hours early which gives plenty of time to walk in and find a spot to take dodgy old photos from.
Dress for the occasion. You DO NOT want to be without waterproofs & warm clothing, particularly on the N Yorks Moors. The weather can (and usually does) change within a matter of minutes. Waterproofs, woolly hats and decent boots are the order of the day.
Don't stand on the outside of a corner and / or below road level. MK2s are lovely but not when they're on your head.
If you have a Radio Scanner take it. If a stage is cancelled it can take a while for the news to filter through.
If you're doing a night stage, take a good torch & spare batteries...people do forget, believe it or not.
There aren't many burger vans in the forests so take a flask & some food if you're likely to get hungry.
If you have any rubbish, take it home with you. The Forestry mob get a bit annoyed (rightly so) with the amount of crap left after some events.
Car Parks
They will be rough and the access roads can be very iffy. If you have a low car you will struggle. My lowly Octavia vRS has problems, particularly in Kielder.
Try and get the appropriate OS map for your stage(s). Harwood Dale & Langdale are on Maps 94 & 101.
Take some strong gloves (work gloves) with you. Marshals can be spread thinly through a Forest and you may well find yourself dragging cars out of ditches, or, if the worst happens and a crew rolls, you might be the only ones available to assist & get the car back on its wheels or the crew out of the car. If serious injuries are involved then run & find a Marshal or Radio Car. Believe me it does happen, although major injuries are very rare.
Seconds after i took this photo the car was upside down in a ditch. Nearest Marshals were a good 3-400 metres away and out of sight of the accident.
If you do end up helping to dig a car out, send someone back up the road a bit to warn the following cars. 1 Escort on your head is bad enough, but 2 will definitely ruin your day
Above all, enjoy yourself. To be honest, if you do the RAC and don't enjoy it there's not much hope for you
Plan to be in stage at least 1 hour before the first car is due. You'll have the course cars etc coming through and they can get a bit twitchy if people are wandering around aimlessly. I'm normally on scene at least 2 hours early which gives plenty of time to walk in and find a spot to take dodgy old photos from.
Dress for the occasion. You DO NOT want to be without waterproofs & warm clothing, particularly on the N Yorks Moors. The weather can (and usually does) change within a matter of minutes. Waterproofs, woolly hats and decent boots are the order of the day.
Don't stand on the outside of a corner and / or below road level. MK2s are lovely but not when they're on your head.
If you have a Radio Scanner take it. If a stage is cancelled it can take a while for the news to filter through.
If you're doing a night stage, take a good torch & spare batteries...people do forget, believe it or not.
There aren't many burger vans in the forests so take a flask & some food if you're likely to get hungry.
If you have any rubbish, take it home with you. The Forestry mob get a bit annoyed (rightly so) with the amount of crap left after some events.
Car Parks
They will be rough and the access roads can be very iffy. If you have a low car you will struggle. My lowly Octavia vRS has problems, particularly in Kielder.
Try and get the appropriate OS map for your stage(s). Harwood Dale & Langdale are on Maps 94 & 101.
Take some strong gloves (work gloves) with you. Marshals can be spread thinly through a Forest and you may well find yourself dragging cars out of ditches, or, if the worst happens and a crew rolls, you might be the only ones available to assist & get the car back on its wheels or the crew out of the car. If serious injuries are involved then run & find a Marshal or Radio Car. Believe me it does happen, although major injuries are very rare.
Seconds after i took this photo the car was upside down in a ditch. Nearest Marshals were a good 3-400 metres away and out of sight of the accident.
If you do end up helping to dig a car out, send someone back up the road a bit to warn the following cars. 1 Escort on your head is bad enough, but 2 will definitely ruin your day
Above all, enjoy yourself. To be honest, if you do the RAC and don't enjoy it there's not much hope for you
Edited by MonkeyHanger on Monday 26th October 18:27
I am out spectating again this year, keep an eye out for Dave Hemingway aka Greensleeves off here.
Starting off at Pickering Showground and Langdale on Fri, then Langdale Sat and working my way to the Borders for the evening stages.
2008 pics here
Starting off at Pickering Showground and Langdale on Fri, then Langdale Sat and working my way to the Borders for the evening stages.
2008 pics here
Edited by Jez64 on Monday 26th October 19:35
Edited by Jez64 on Monday 26th October 21:33
MonkeyHanger said:
Some general advice for the first timers...
Plan to be in stage at least 1 hour before the first car is due. You'll have the course cars etc coming through and they can get a bit twitchy if people are wandering around aimlessly. I'm normally on scene at least 2 hours early which gives plenty of time to walk in and find a spot to take dodgy old photos from.
Dress for the occasion. You DO NOT want to be without waterproofs & warm clothing, particularly on the N Yorks Moors. The weather can (and usually does) change within a matter of minutes. Waterproofs, woolly hats and decent boots are the order of the day.
Don't stand on the outside of a corner and / or below road level. MK2s are lovely but not when they're on your head.
If you have a Radio Scanner take it. If a stage is cancelled it can take a while for the news to filter through.
If you're doing a night stage, take a good torch & spare batteries...people do forget, believe it or not.
There aren't many burger vans in the forests so take a flask & some food if you're likely to get hungry.
If you have any rubbish, take it home with you. The Forestry mob get a bit annoyed (rightly so) with the amount of crap left after some events.
Car Parks
They will be rough and the access roads can be very iffy. If you have a low car you will struggle. My lowly Octavia vRS has problems, particularly in Kielder.
Try and get the appropriate OS map for your stage(s). Harwood Dale & Langdale are on Maps 94 & 101.
Take some strong gloves (work gloves) with you. Marshals can be spread thinly through a Forest and you may well find yourself dragging cars out of ditches, or, if the worst happens and a crew rolls, you might be the only ones available to assist & get the car back on its wheels or the crew out of the car. If serious injuries are involved then run & find a Marshal or Radio Car. Believe me it does happen, although major injuries are very rare.
Seconds after i took this photo the car was upside down in a ditch. Nearest Marshals were a good 3-400 metres away and out of sight of the accident.
If you do end up helping to dig a car out, send someone back up the road a bit to warn the following cars. 1 Escort on your head is bad enough, but 2 will definitely ruin your day
Above all, enjoy yourself. To be honest, if you do the RAC and don't enjoy it there's not much hope for you
^^^^Plan to be in stage at least 1 hour before the first car is due. You'll have the course cars etc coming through and they can get a bit twitchy if people are wandering around aimlessly. I'm normally on scene at least 2 hours early which gives plenty of time to walk in and find a spot to take dodgy old photos from.
Dress for the occasion. You DO NOT want to be without waterproofs & warm clothing, particularly on the N Yorks Moors. The weather can (and usually does) change within a matter of minutes. Waterproofs, woolly hats and decent boots are the order of the day.
Don't stand on the outside of a corner and / or below road level. MK2s are lovely but not when they're on your head.
If you have a Radio Scanner take it. If a stage is cancelled it can take a while for the news to filter through.
If you're doing a night stage, take a good torch & spare batteries...people do forget, believe it or not.
There aren't many burger vans in the forests so take a flask & some food if you're likely to get hungry.
If you have any rubbish, take it home with you. The Forestry mob get a bit annoyed (rightly so) with the amount of crap left after some events.
Car Parks
They will be rough and the access roads can be very iffy. If you have a low car you will struggle. My lowly Octavia vRS has problems, particularly in Kielder.
Try and get the appropriate OS map for your stage(s). Harwood Dale & Langdale are on Maps 94 & 101.
Take some strong gloves (work gloves) with you. Marshals can be spread thinly through a Forest and you may well find yourself dragging cars out of ditches, or, if the worst happens and a crew rolls, you might be the only ones available to assist & get the car back on its wheels or the crew out of the car. If serious injuries are involved then run & find a Marshal or Radio Car. Believe me it does happen, although major injuries are very rare.
Seconds after i took this photo the car was upside down in a ditch. Nearest Marshals were a good 3-400 metres away and out of sight of the accident.
If you do end up helping to dig a car out, send someone back up the road a bit to warn the following cars. 1 Escort on your head is bad enough, but 2 will definitely ruin your day
Above all, enjoy yourself. To be honest, if you do the RAC and don't enjoy it there's not much hope for you
This.
A most excellent reminder for the rusty as well!!!
mollytherocker said:
Bob Fossil said:
MonkeyHanger said:
lots of useful stuff
and that, my friend, is one of the most excellent posts I have read on this forum.Seriously.
We will definitely take my missus' Puma and not the Elise in that case though. Don't reckon it'll fancy rutted forest tracks...
Thanks everyone for your replys!
MonkeyHanger said:
Some general advice for the first timers...
Plan to be in stage at least 1 hour before the first car is due. You'll have the course cars etc coming through and they can get a bit twitchy if people are wandering around aimlessly. I'm normally on scene at least 2 hours early which gives plenty of time to walk in and find a spot to take dodgy old photos from.
Dress for the occasion. You DO NOT want to be without waterproofs & warm clothing, particularly on the N Yorks Moors. The weather can (and usually does) change within a matter of minutes. Waterproofs, woolly hats and decent boots are the order of the day.
Don't stand on the outside of a corner and / or below road level. MK2s are lovely but not when they're on your head.
If you have a Radio Scanner take it. If a stage is cancelled it can take a while for the news to filter through.
If you're doing a night stage, take a good torch & spare batteries...people do forget, believe it or not.
There aren't many burger vans in the forests so take a flask & some food if you're likely to get hungry.
If you have any rubbish, take it home with you. The Forestry mob get a bit annoyed (rightly so) with the amount of crap left after some events.
Car Parks
They will be rough and the access roads can be very iffy. If you have a low car you will struggle. My lowly Octavia vRS has problems, particularly in Kielder.
Try and get the appropriate OS map for your stage(s). Harwood Dale & Langdale are on Maps 94 & 101.
Take some strong gloves (work gloves) with you. Marshals can be spread thinly through a Forest and you may well find yourself dragging cars out of ditches, or, if the worst happens and a crew rolls, you might be the only ones available to assist & get the car back on its wheels or the crew out of the car. If serious injuries are involved then run & find a Marshal or Radio Car. Believe me it does happen, although major injuries are very rare.
Seconds after i took this photo the car was upside down in a ditch. Nearest Marshals were a good 3-400 metres away and out of sight of the accident.
If you do end up helping to dig a car out, send someone back up the road a bit to warn the following cars. 1 Escort on your head is bad enough, but 2 will definitely ruin your day
Above all, enjoy yourself. To be honest, if you do the RAC and don't enjoy it there's not much hope for you
That is fantastic Geoff! Really, really helpful. Thanks for taking the time to write the reply. Really appreaciate it Plan to be in stage at least 1 hour before the first car is due. You'll have the course cars etc coming through and they can get a bit twitchy if people are wandering around aimlessly. I'm normally on scene at least 2 hours early which gives plenty of time to walk in and find a spot to take dodgy old photos from.
Dress for the occasion. You DO NOT want to be without waterproofs & warm clothing, particularly on the N Yorks Moors. The weather can (and usually does) change within a matter of minutes. Waterproofs, woolly hats and decent boots are the order of the day.
Don't stand on the outside of a corner and / or below road level. MK2s are lovely but not when they're on your head.
If you have a Radio Scanner take it. If a stage is cancelled it can take a while for the news to filter through.
If you're doing a night stage, take a good torch & spare batteries...people do forget, believe it or not.
There aren't many burger vans in the forests so take a flask & some food if you're likely to get hungry.
If you have any rubbish, take it home with you. The Forestry mob get a bit annoyed (rightly so) with the amount of crap left after some events.
Car Parks
They will be rough and the access roads can be very iffy. If you have a low car you will struggle. My lowly Octavia vRS has problems, particularly in Kielder.
Try and get the appropriate OS map for your stage(s). Harwood Dale & Langdale are on Maps 94 & 101.
Take some strong gloves (work gloves) with you. Marshals can be spread thinly through a Forest and you may well find yourself dragging cars out of ditches, or, if the worst happens and a crew rolls, you might be the only ones available to assist & get the car back on its wheels or the crew out of the car. If serious injuries are involved then run & find a Marshal or Radio Car. Believe me it does happen, although major injuries are very rare.
Seconds after i took this photo the car was upside down in a ditch. Nearest Marshals were a good 3-400 metres away and out of sight of the accident.
If you do end up helping to dig a car out, send someone back up the road a bit to warn the following cars. 1 Escort on your head is bad enough, but 2 will definitely ruin your day
Above all, enjoy yourself. To be honest, if you do the RAC and don't enjoy it there's not much hope for you
Edited by MonkeyHanger on Monday 26th October 18:27
Bob Fossil said:
chevronb37 said:
We will definitely take my missus' Puma and not the Elise in that case though. Don't reckon it'll fancy rutted forest tracks...
I think that's wise, although there is a rally-prepped Boxster that runs in the "clubman" event...Bob Fossil said:
chevronb37 said:
We will definitely take my missus' Puma and not the Elise in that case though. Don't reckon it'll fancy rutted forest tracks...
I think that's wise, although there is a rally-prepped Boxster that runs in the "clubman" event...http://bhppix.fotopic.net/p54912294.html
I could do with that much ground clearance in my car!
I'm glad some of you found my post useful. It's just stuff i've picked up since i developed this silly habit of wandering into forests to take photos of cars
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