Blats!!
The car passed its SVA on 9th July, and has been road legal since 19th July! This page will document any Blats, and give some details of any meets or trips out in the Caterham...
- 6th August 2008. First meeting at the Devon area at the Warren House Inn
- 8th August 2008. Just capturing a Caterham 7 moment!
- 17th August 2008. Our first organised blat with the Lotus 7 Club, across Wales.
- 17th September 2008. A run out across North Devon, following more bad luck with the car.
- 19th October 2008. A blat up to Dorset and on to the New Forest.
- 26th October 2008. A 3 day break based in Rhayader, Wales. . Had a few laps of the EVO Triangle!
- 15th November 2008. Exeter Kit Car Show.
- 7th March 2009. Early morning blat with the Devon 7's.
- 3rd - 5th April 2009. WightBlat 2009!
- 31st May 2009. Cream Team Run
6th August 2008
Before I talk about the Meet, here is a quick summary of since the car has been road legal. The car has been on the road for nearly 3-weeks and I've been enjoying every minute of it! I've been out for quite a few drives in it already and on Thursday 31st July I took it for its 500-mile service at Midway in Barnstable, where there were no problems.
I haven't made any major changes yet. I have installed a car accessory socket to power Sat Nav etc. Also, I've moved the car tax tisc to a tamper proof and water proof holder and fitted it to the left side of the car. Finally, I've installed a Momo Quick Release steering wheel, which is something I should have done at the start anyway!
Regarding the Meet, it wasn't great weather to be honest, but I was looking forward to meeting some of the other 7 owners from the area. I've been in contact with a number of the members by email, and borrowed the hub socket and wrench from a member, which I was able to return at the Meet.
At the Meet, there were 5 7-owners (including Claire and I), but only 3 braved the weather (and all three were yellow, surprisingly). The Warren House Inn (WHI) on Dartmoor is the meeting point for the Devon area and meets on the first Wednesday of the month in the summer, and the first Sunday of the month in the winter.
It was really good to meet up with likeminded people and chat about 7's! I've been whittering on about the car to friends for about a year now, but it's somehow difficult to describe the 'draw' of the 7's to people who may not have an interest in them. All the people at the meet (there were 9-people in all, which wasn't bad bearing in mind the weather) were enthusiastic and I learned a few things. A car turned up with a half-hood on, which is something I'm interested in. Also, Claire and I have been having a think about how best to store and pack clothes if we go for a driving holiday, and there were a few tips shared about that too.
I've said elsewhere on this site that I'm a member of the Lotus 7 Club, which run a very active forum called BlatChat. Up until now, I've been using the service for technical questions/queries/advice, and for that it has been invaluable. However, there is also alot of activitiy in terms of organising meets and blats. Locally to me, there is a regular "Cream team Run", which looks like it should be good (Claire's eye's certainly lit up at the mention of a Cream Tea...). In a couple of weeks, there is an organised "Fish And Chip Run", which runs from Wales (100miles or so away for me). A couple of people from the Devon are talking about going up for that, so I may well tag along for my first proper Blat and enjoy some of the best driving roads in the UK!
8th August 2008
13th August 2008
Had a whole blat planned for today - the first whole day out, hopefully of many. Looking at the weather forecast, it wasn't great but we decided to go ahead anyway. The forecast was for showers all morning, and then sunny spells in the afternoon. This is more or less what happened, and we were lucky that we didn't get caught in any showers in the afternoon
The route we had planned was:
Travel from home towards Slapton Sands . It involves a great drive and the roads were quite quiet. Slapton is known locally as 'the place to do the tonne', but I hasten to add that I didn't break the legal limit! It is a great road though, because it is probably about half a mile long and quite straight.
On towards Plymouth From there, we carried on towards Plymouth on the A379. This is normally a great drive, but on this occasion we were caught behind some slow moving traffic which was a bit frustrating.
If you're ever there, I can thoroughly recommend a place called "Miss Marples". There doesn't appear to be a website for it, but it is a great place. We had a Cream Tea here, then wondered around the town for a bit. Finally, we went to The Swan pub where Claire beat me convincingly at pool....
Looe to Tavistock, and onto Dartmoor Looe is in Cornwall, but we drove up to Tavistock (in Devon) without crossing back over the Tamar Bridge. There is a great campsite which we stay at regularly when out and about in the campervan. The campsite is called Woodovis and there are some great roads around there. By this time, the weather had cleared so the roof came off and it was great to be able to open it up again.
Tavistock is just on the West edge of Dartmoor, so from there we decided to go to the Warren House Inn, which is the meeting place for the South West Lotus 7 Club Meets. The WHI is pretty much right in the middle of Dartmoor, and again they are great roads for Sevening. We stopped off for some refreshments and some photo opportunities...
This is the car on the lay by with the open road ahead!
In the same layby, with a view across the moors from WHI.
Dartmoor (via home), onto Torquay and Shaldon/Teignmouth and back home. We left WHI and headed home quickly to pick up some things. From there, we took a drive into Torquay for some fish and chips, which we ate at Daddyhole Plain, overlooking the bay.
We when took a drive around Torquay and out along the coast road towards Teignmouth and Shaldon (this picture is in a layby, facing back towards Torquay etc).
From there, it is just a 15min blat back home...
We had a great day out, and I'm very glad we didn't let the morning weather put us off of going. Must have covered nearly 200 miles, and it was well worth it.
17th August 2008
Today was our first organised run out with the Lotus 7 Club. The run officially started at the Piercefield Pub near Chepstow and took a very scenic route across to Aberystwyth, taking in the fabulous Elan Valley (known as an Evo Magazine test route).
We left at around 7am and the conditions were absolutley fantastic! Blue skys plus drying and very quiet roads! My first impression on driving through the first part of Wales was how quiet the roads were again. There are some great roads through there - great corners, long straights, undulating - and for alot of the journey to Aberystwyth there weren't many other cars on the road.
Including getting to the Piercefield and driving home again we covered just over 500 miles, which included a 'minor' diversion as we got slighlty lost on the way to Piercefield. We latched on to 3 other 7's who I assumed knew where they were going, but it turns out they didn't really ;-)
There was an organised route and Tom Tom POI's sent out before the blat, and we stopped part way at a place called Halt Cafe, which is just 3 or 4 miles from the start of the Elan Valley. At the Halt Cafe there were a few 7's parked up, including a fellow South West club member, so we left with him on the way to Aberystwyth.
We ended up at Aberystwyth for a lineup on the seafront and for some fish and chips! The run itself is known by
the Lotus 7 Club as the "Famous Taffia Fish & Chip Run"....
There were about 40 cars who made the trip, helped very much by the weather I think.
All in all, another great day out in the 7..... A rough route is below. The key part is between points G and H....stunning roads and scenery!
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17th September 2008
I've recently had a bit more bad luck with the car! I noticed a small oil leak from the sump plug on the engine, and although the car was still driveable it needed fixing. I called Caterham and they sent me two new washers and plugs, but that didn't fix the problem. Eventually, they told me that they had been having problems with sumps so sent me a new one under warranty. I decided to get it fitted by the Caterham agent as I didn't want any come back on me, and it turns out that the original sump had a couple of small cracks on the inside of the sump where the plug is screwed in. Anyway, it's all sorted now which is good news.
Today was the first proper run out in a while, and as I was in North Devon to pick the car up, I decided to make the most of it and had a run out towards Lynton and Lynmouth. There are some great roads around there and there wasn't much traffic around so it was a good run, although the weather was overcast but dry. It's good to be out blatting again!
19th September 2008
I'm getting a couple of runs close to where I live that are becoming favourites of mine. I feel really lucky in that I live very close to Dartmoor, but also very close to the sea and there are some great drives around both.
If I have a couple of hours to spare, this is the route that I tend to choose:
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It is a great run out and the route goes right through Dartmoor. If you're lucky, the roads are quiet and enjoyable thanks to the great scenery. You have to be aware of the sheep who, in my view, are the worlds stupidest animal!
If I only have an hour to spare, this is a good route, again taking in part of Dartmoor:
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This is a good route, but has some slow parts. On the return leg, it takes in the A380 which includes a steep hill (Telegraph Hill) which is good driving in the 7
My Dad lives in Brixham, and if I go over to see him and fancy a little detour, this can be a great run if the traffic is clear:
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The return leg from Kingswear takes in most of the same roads as the journey to Kingswear, but when you come around the top of the hill and see Torbay, the views are truly stunning!
19th October 2008
We had a day planned in the car today, but didn't have a plan as to where we were heading. Luckily, the weather was fine so we were up quite early to beat the traffic.
We decided to go up to Dorset, going past Bridport and on to the Isle Of Purbeck. We were going to go across to Sandbanks, but the ferry was closed. Instead, we drove down to a place called Studland, which had a good stretch of road, and also down to Swanage which is a seaside reort. From there, we went past Corfe Castle, on towards Wareham and then followed the A35 into the New Forst. There was quite a lot of traffic around Lyndhurst, but we stopped for a bite to eat and then headed back towards home along the A31. We stopped again for some refreshments just before Bridport, and from here the roads got noticeably quieter and we got home before 4pm, where we then went to the pub for food and drink!
Another good day out! A rough map of our route is here:
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26th October 2008
Claire and I had a three days off work, so we decided to go back to Wales to take in some more of the spectacular roads. We based ourselves at The Horseshoe B&B in Rhayader, which was a great place to stay, with plenty of parking. The reason we chose Rhayader is because it is just a mile or so from the start of the fabulous Elan Valley road, which we went for a blat with the Lotus 7 Club back in August. We arrived mid afternoon on the Sunday, dumped our stuff at the B&B and went straight out to the Elan Valley, which was just as good as I remembered.
....and another.
Monday was our main day in Wales, and we had decided to take in the much acclaimed "EVO Triangle", and the journey to
that area takes in some roads with stunning views of the Snowdonia National Park. We stopped at Bala for a little while too,
which is apparentally the largest natural lake in Wales.
This is a picture taken whilst driving through Snowdonia. Quiet roads, great views, fantastic car...that's all you need really!
The main point of this day was to get to the EVO Triangle. Googling "EVO Triangle" comes up with a lot of hits, but we did struggle a little bit to find the exact route before we left home. For the avoidance of doubt, the route is as follows (going clockwise):
- Go to Cerrigydrudion (south of Abergele) and head West towards Pentrefoelas on the A5. This isn't a superb road, but the next two sections more than make up for that!
- Turn right onto the A543. This is the first decent leg of the 'triangle'. It is quite twisty with uphill sections, and to me seemed the slowest of the legs, but was fantastic.
- Turn right onto the B4501. This is the second decent leg of the 'triangle', and heads back to Cerrigydrudion. This seemed faster, with wider roads and more sweeping bends. This was my favourite section.
The A543 and B4501 sections of the triangle were fantastic. There was very little traffic on the roads, and the views were superb which I wasn't really expecting before I left. The route is precisely 20miles long. I did 3 laps in total (1 lap clockwise and 2 laps anti-clockwise) but on the final lap it absolutely lashed it down with rain (and hail, which I can confirm hurts when it hits you in the face when the roof is off!!) so I had to stop and get the roof on quickly! It wasn't perfect conditions for us as the roads were damp, but I'd thoroughly recommend the trip.
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Below are some pictures taken on the route. Notice the distinct lack of traffic... :-)
This shows a relativey steep uphill section, with a sharp-ish corner towards the top.
A great tree lined section of the route.
So, our first few days away in the car....hopefully of many! I'd definately go back to the EVO Triangle, and the Elan Valley given the chance.
15th November 2008
We went to the Exeter Kit Car Show for the first time.
There were loads of cars there - it seemed to be mainly Cobra's and Westfields and it was good to see everyone out.
I managed to get away fairly unscathed (i.e., I didn't part with too much cash, which is a bonus!). After the show, we went for a blat
around Dartmoor before it got too dark which was great as the roads were quiet. We tagged on to another kit car (not sure of the make...)
and had a blat out towards Princetown.
7th March 2009
It's been a while since I've made an update here, but I've been thoroughly enjoying the car. Clocked up over 5000 miles now, from mainly local drives. I've got a few things booked up this year too, so I'm looking forward to the 7 in the summer!
This morning was a great drive with a few people from the Devon group of the L7C.
The route involved:
A lineup on the at Salcombe, for some bacon and egg sarnies.
A pic on the ferry, and just after leaving the ferry.
A great blat out - looking forward to the next one!
3rd - 5th April 2009
Well - what can I say about this weekend? In summary, it was fantastic!
The ferry crossing was only about 45mins or so, so Jamie, who had been to WightBlat before, took me on a brisk run
through part of the island, towards Whitecliff Bay where all of the club members were booked into. It was
quite strange seeing all the cars outside the chalets we were allocated….there were 92 7's that made the trip
in all!
Saturday morning came around, and after an early wet start, the skies cleared and the weather was absolutely
fantastic and remained so for the whole weekend. The "official" (very rough) itinerary started at 10:30am, but
I tagged along with someone for a morning blat across the downs near to where we were staying, prior to
going back The Waxworks at Brading to have a look around and have a cuppa tea.
On leaving, I was fortunate enough to be behind R500 CC, R400 CC and R300 CC which Caterham Cars brought over
for the event. R500 CC is the very car that blasted around the Top Gear track blowing away the £1m Veyron and
ultimately winning Top Gear's Car of The Year. This is the reason why there were a large amount of people
wandering around the island with "Top Geek" T-Shirts on!
From here, we went down to Godshill for a lineup and a quick bite to eat.
After this was, for me, the best run of the weekend. No photo's of this, but 6 or 7 of us left together and took a spirited run across to Alum Bay. It really was a fantastic road….so much so that I did it again by myself on the Sunday on the way back to the ferry! This section is fast, on quite quiet roads with long sweeping corners and a great uphill section with truly stunning scenery. It's sad, I know, but I can honestly say that I felt a tingle down my spine when I rode this when I was towards the front of a group of around 6 or 7 cars. It is a great view though, looking ahead to a fantastic looking car similar to yours, and looking in the rear view mirror to cars similar to yours all travelling fairly briskly along a great road all in a line. This really was a highlight for me.
Anyway, we arrived at Alum Bay for a lineup and where R500 CC was set aside from the rest of the cars for a quick photo opportunity.
We took the chairlift down for a view of The Needles, before heading back to the site for a few beers, some lively chat and a great hog roast. A great end to a great day.
On the Sunday, I was catching the 12pm ferry back so (after watching the start of the Malaysian Grand Prix!) I headed off for a quick final blat around the island before heading home. I'm already looking forward to the next event!
31st May 2009
This was the day of the long awaited Cream Tea Run. We couldn't have picked a better day for it as the weather was
fantastic, and the prepared route took us over to Mother Meldrums tea-room.
Of course, there was a lot of spirited blatting before and after we reached there!
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We left Lynmouth for the return leg back through Exmoor, with again some more great roads. We stopped
off for a drink at The Anchor Inn, which is a great pub on the river Exe. We will definately be going there again!
In the car park, there were a few classic MG's lined up, and we saw a few of them on the roads too. It was a great sight seeing
those cars out and about and one or two of them weren't hanging around!
All in all, a fantastic day out and it was great to meet some new 7 owners!