Around Britain in a Bond Bug
You know the scenario your in the pub with a group of mates when one comes up with a daft idea-Lets go hang gliding in the nude - How about a parachute jump over Afghanistan or why not drive our Bond Bugs all the way up to John o Groats then back down to Landsend -its only a couple of thousand miles. Well I must say I was rather keen on this last suggestion put forward by Jeff Ellis's and so were a number of fellow Buggers. Jeff then spent the next 2 years plotting routes, phoning hotels, badgering folk for sponsorship money and putting together a folder with all the details. The plan was to use travel lodges for most of the stops with conventional hotels at Lands end/John o Groats. Walkie Talkies were hired so we could keep in contact and each driver had a route plan. On this intrepid trip were Myself, Jeff, Alan Turley and Ian Harris.
Day One.
8th September. Hemel Hempstead-Carlisle
As we all came from various points of Britain the plan was to
meet up at Alan's in Dudley. The journey up was fairly non eventful and we all
met at around 12.15. It wasn't the best of starts for Jeff as his battery
was flat- (he had to get the misses to give him a push). But by the time we all
left Dudley all cars were running fine. During the months previously we had had
some banter on who's car was going to break down first but on the first
day we had no problems. Leaving Alan's we headed up country to our first
destination.
Day Two.
9th September. Carlisle- Fort William.
During
the trip it was decided we would all take turns in leading-Well I've been known
to take the odd wrong turning even on my own road runs so it wasn't much of a
shock when I lead the lads out of Carlisle only to arrive in a dead end street.
Whoops not the best start to the day. Fortunately we were soon back on the right
route and heading for the Highlands.
It wasn't to long before we crossed the border and posed for Photos outside
Gretna green and the Blacksmiths shop. After a quick stop we were back on our
travel's. If you've done as many miles as I have in your Bond Bug you know when
its not 100% this was the case later in the day. Out in the middle of nowhere
was a set of road works and the usual traffic lights. At this point the Bug
stalled and would not restart. Having the Walkie Talkies were a god send in
times like this and I was soon on the radio. The engine cover came off then the
distributor cap and the cause was soon evident -no gap at the points. A new set
of points were fitted "Cheers Jeff" and then we were off... Oh no we
weren't. Ian comes on the radio- "Jeff you got a puncture"..It makes
you wonder what the guys were thinking that were repairing the road. We'd had 2
breakdowns in the space of 25 yards. Jeff's wheel was soon changed and there was
no further problems during the 224 mile drive to Fort William.
Day 3.
10th September. Fort William-John o Groats.
There are times in everybody's life where memories will live forever- Today was one of those.
Day
3s journey was a 305 mile jaunt which we had discussed at some length prior to
leaving. It involved single track roads, numerous cattle grids and Plenty of
Sheep. We left Fort William with its views of Britain's Highest mountain (Ben
Nevis) and headed up country. All the Bugs were behaving themselves and the
weather was fine. For those of you that have considered a trip to Scotland I
would heartily recommend this part. The views are spectacular, the roads are
free of traffic and what's more there's not the usual pot holes, cable trenches
and general tat that's all to common in Britain. During my youth "Oh happy
days" I had spent some time camping in the area and it was great to revisit
Durness with its beautiful beach and craggy outcrops.
Durness is situated on a north west tip of Scotland- the journey from there to
John o Groats is right across the top. This Journey was the best I'd ever done
in a Bond Bug. The views were staggering, all the cars were running like clock
work and to top it all we never saw another car for 1/2 an hour. The road
although a main road is single track and runs right along the coast through
Thurso and then to John o Groats. We arrived at our destination just as night
was falling. Photos were taken of the JOG sign then we hit the Bar. Well you
can't go to Scotland and not try out the local beverage especially as the Sea
view Hotel had a vast array of the stuff.
Day 4
September 11th -A Day of Rest.
September
the 11th- A day that will not be forgotten in the chronicles of world history
and for 4 Buggers way up on top of Britain it started fairly laid back with a
drive through the country side to Wick. On route we called in at Duncansby Head
and also Dunnett Head. While here I climbed over a fence and took some pictures
of the rocks below (I tried to persuade Ian to take a look so the Photo below is
for him).
On arrival at Wick we called in a Cathness glass who seemed to be rather quite.
It wasn't until we reached the center of Wick and we were back among
civilization that we heard about the days events on the twin towers. The drive
back to John o Groats was a lot quieter then our normal jaunts and watching
world events unfold on TV miles from home was a little unnerving.
The Evening was again spent in the bar..
