PRE-WAR MINOR NETWORK
The online magazine for enthusiasts of the vintage Morris Minor 1928 -1934...
Please note that the rally will start from the Bell Inn in Rickinghall and NOT the 100th B.G Museum at Thorpe Abbotts!
Minors (and an Aston Martin!) touring the Suffolk lanes in July 2008, a further 'dose' is planned for June 2010
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June is a good month to get away from it all. The days are at their longest while late spring temperatures and sunshine coupled with earlier spring rain ensures that the countryside is looking its best! The Norfolk/Suffolk borders are without doubt East Anglia's hidden gem, with gentle rolling farmland interspersed with stretches of unspoilt fenland running alongside a young river Waveney that rises in a 300 acre restored fen betwean Redgrave and South Lopham. Very few major roads pass through the area and the lanes are quiet, save for the inevitable tractor. A journey along these lanes today in an 80 year old car is probably not too disimilar to how it was back in 1930.
In July 2008 the VMR held a rally in this same area, also based upon the 100th Bomb Group Museum at Thorpe Abbotts. That rally was themed upon the area's recent wartime history and the tour took in visits to many of the airfields that were built between 1941 and 1943, all of them within a stones throw of the small market town of Diss. In order to cover as much 'history' as possible, many of the beauty spots and other historic monuments and buildings were deliberately ignored, missed or simply driven past in haste in order to get to the next wartime monument.
The 2010 PWMN Tour has been planned to correct that anomaly. The tour is significantly shorter at 65 miles and timings are generous at each of the stops. We have called the tour an East Anglian Amble, because that is what it will be, with plenty of time to enjoy the sites. Inevitably the route may take us past an airfield or two, they are difficult to avoid, but the emphasis will be on more ephemeral delights!
For those who suffer withdrawal symptons if denied access to wartime museums or more recent history, they can still get their 'fill' at our base, the 100th Bomb Group Museum at Thorpe Abbotts. This is where we will enjoy our supper together on Saturday night and assemble again on Sunday afternoon for some fun on the airfield's perimeter track.
The whole weekend has plenty in store for everyone including some thirties and forties musical fare provided as after dinner entertainment on Saturday evening. We hope you can join us to share and enjoy a weekend driving our own pieces of history around some of England's finest green and pleasant land! Full details below.
Intoduction...
The event...
The inaugural PWMN Rally is scheduled to take place over the weekend of 11th to 13th June 2010. The itinery will include a Friday evening get together at The Hoxne Swan, a Saturday tour of approximately 65 miles through the (very) quiet lanes of rural South Norfolk and Suffolk, taking in a number of the many local beauty spots and places of interest and will of course include a mid-tour luncheon stop (venue to be finalised) and afternoon tea. All participants will be provided with a set of easy to follow tour instructions plus key 'way point' destination post codes for sat.nav. equipment should instructions or patience fail!
For Saturday evening the trustees of the 100th Bomb Group Museum have kindly agreed to provide the accommodation for the rally dinner and entertainment.
On Sunday there will be a run to Aldeburgh, a quiet seaside town on the Suffolk coast about 35 miles distant from the rally HQ at Thorpe Abbotts. Rallyists will find there own way to to the resort and meet up in the car park to the south of the town.
For Sunday afternoon participants are requested to assemble once again at Thorpe Abbotts where the perimeter track will be opened up for us to enable those who wish to participate in a series of informal driving tests and a short 1/4 mile sprint. For those who don't want to exercise their cars in this manner, the Museum will be open and its facilities and many artefacts will be available to use and to view.
To round off the weekend a farewell Noggin has been organised at The Bell Inn in Rickinghall.
The programme...
'Timescape' Saturday Evening's Entertainers
The full programme and timetable is as follows:
Friday 11th June: Evening 'pub meet' at the Hoxne Swan, commences 7:00pm, where excellent bar food or full restaurant facilities are available.
Saturday 12th June: Scenic Tour assembles at Thorpe Abbotts at 9:30 a.m. Packed lunches served at luncheon stop (venue TBA) 12-30 - 1:30pm. Afternoon cream teas served at The Forge Tea Rooms, Thornham Walks, from 3:30pm onwards. (Tea Rooms close 5:00pm.)
Saturday evening: Assemble Thorpe Abbotts 7:00 pm, Fish & Chip supper served 7:30pm, Evening entertainment 'Timescape' commences 8:45pm. Leave Museum 10:00pm. Please note that there is no bar at the Museum, so remember to bring along your own liquid refreshments! (BYOB)
Sunday June 13th AM: Journey to Aldeburgh, assemble in southern car park at 10:30am. Return at leisure to Thorpe Abbotts, including making own luncheon arrangements.
Sunday 2:00 P.M: Thorpe Abbotts perimeter track opened to Rally Cars only, for informal series of driving tests and short (two run) quarter of a mile sprints. (hand timed). 100th Bomb Group Museum also open to rallyists.
Sunday Evening: Farewell 'noggin' at the Bell Inn, Rickinghall
Who can enter....
Owners of pre-war Morris Minors and other pre-war cars. Minor entries will be given priority as entry numbers are restricted to just 20 vehicles, however no entry guarentees can be provided and all entries received after 1st January 2010 will be allocated on a strictly 'first come' basis no matter which model of vehicle is being entered. All participating vehicles must be fully UK road legal. There is no competitive element to this event - it is simply a scenic tour. There are no prizes or awards for Sundays driving tests and mini sprint - these are 'fun' only events and no results will be published! All participants will be provided with detailed instructions for the tour and a suggested route to Aldborough, our Sunday morning destination.
Accommodation...
There are many B & B's and Inns in the area that will comfortably accommodate you. However it is best to book early. Some suggestions are detailed below:
The eight roomed Bell Inn in the village of Rickinghall has an excellent reputation and plenty of parking for our type of cars. Their breakfasts are wonderful!
Just two miles to the south, the Suffolk Barn (no website but tel. no. is 01359 251251) is a well established Bed & Breakfast venue that has four double rooms and plenty of parking space for both cars and trailors.Their contact details are here.
For those requiring more salubrious accommodation, the Park Hotel in Diss and the Schole Inn located in the village of Schole may suit, while the Four Horse Shoes at Thornham Magna also has four rooms to let. Pansthorne has a reputation of being one of the best B & B's around. It is located in the village of South Lopham just off the A1066 Diss/Thetford road.
What it will cost...?
There is an entry fee of £20 per car which covers the cost of the tour documentation, a donation to the Thorpe Abbotts museum (where we will spend Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon) and the fee for the singing duo, Timescale, who will provide the after dinner entertainment on Saturday evening. All other costs are to be met by the individual entrants unless pre-booked and paid for via the booking form.
What else will you need...?
Although the tour route will be available to read in easy to follow note form it is a good idea to have the use of the local Ordnance Survey Landranger Maps numbers 144, 155 and 156 which are of course available from all good bookshops or directly from Ordnance Survey www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
To enter...
An entry form can be found by clicking upon the blue button...
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