Bamburgh, the last VVC rally of 2019, was by all accounts very popular with those who attended. We have two reports of this event; the first comes from the quill of non other than C. Spavento, an eloquent proponent of the written word and very knowledgeable to boot, when it comes to history…
"Our autumn rally was held in the stunningly beautiful area of Northumbria. Based at Waren Park overlooking Budle Bay, close to the ancient town of Bamburgh, dominated by its huge castle. The area offering superb views of the island of Lindisfarne, usually known as 'Holy Island', due to the foundation of a monastic establishment during the 7th Century. The King of Northumbria had invited monks from the Scottish island of Iona to build a monastery in order to Christianise his kingdom and it was here in 698AD that the famous Lindisfarne Gospels were written. Several members visited the island via the causeway available only at low tide; careful timing is required in order not to get cut off on the island.
Our rideouts took place on the Saturday and Sunday with warm sunshine. The routes took us to places where we were treated to the most incredible views of both high landscapes and the rugged coastline, interspersed with wide sweeping beaches of golden sand - truly spectacular! Along the way we encountered many of the looming castles which occupy this part of the country to defend the people from invasion, rape and pillage from folk across the northern waters, and sometimes from incursions by folk north of the border before unification.
Many members visited some of the castles both before and after the official rally dates, having extended their stays thanks to Waren Camping and Caravan Park graciously offering special rates for extensions. One castle we visited as a group was the apparently haunted Chillingham Castle, nobody reported any apparitions but narrowly escaped being caught by the ghoulies! Chillingham is a magnificent castle and where we had a private afternoon tea in the old hall with minstrels gallery, warmed by a huge roaring log fire and the walls adorned by the biggest antlers you might ever see; they must have come from a most gigantic and terrifying beastie! Close by the hall lies the torture chamber with equally terrifying instruments of diabolical unpleasantness and tableau depicting the fate of those unfortunate enough to end up there, good job we had the tea first or you might well have been put off your Victoria Sponge! After tea all the Vespas were lined up at the front of the castle for a photo shoot and what a wonderful sight it was too.
Everywhere we went we were met with the utmost warm and friendly hospitality and such interest in the scooters. Much comment was made by our members not just on the excellent food quality but also on the enormous portions we were served, no sign of any bathroom scales though! On the subject of food some of us visited Craster, the quaint old coastal town where the company of Robson & Sons have been smoking kippers for over 130 years and supply many of the large fishmongers and supermarkets around the country. A few of us dined in the adjacent restaurant partaking in such culinary delights as 'skink'; a haddock soup and their famous kippers, afterwards enjoying a talk from the head smoker who explained the whole process where thousands of kippers and other varieties are smoked daily.
Our gala dinner was held at the Castle Inn in Bamburgh and after speeches from our Chairman Roger Smith and Bob Box, our motorcoach returned to transport us back to Waren Park, a much enjoyed innovation now used when our gala dinners are off site, as it allows those who wish to dress up when the function is 'theme' or fancy dress, although it is sometimes difficult to tell who is in fancy dress or just their normal attire!
This was a super rally, many thanks to our organisers Roger and Veronica Smith. We are now looking forward to our next, this will be the spring rally taking place in the Torbay region of glorious Devon, roll on spring!"
C. Spavento
Bamburgh Rally organisers - Roger and Veronica Smith
A very big thank you to the Capitan - always a pleasure reading his excellent reports!
Thanks also to Alan Springall and Darren Jessop for the photos. The second of our Bamburgh reports will be published in the next issue of the VVC JOURNAL (No.81), due out at the end of October.