After my tour of the Ellesmere Port Factory, I had just a short drive down to Chester where I found a great little B&B for the night. Thankfully, I had a good night's sleep as the following morning I ventured into North Wales for another intensive day of driving in the Astra GTC.
The sun was out, and the roads clear as I crossed the border into a country I knew very little about. The biggest challenge facing me that morning was not so much the roads, as the road-signs. In Wales, it is important to know exactly the name of the place you want to get to, as it is remarkably easy to confuse them with the very similar names of other towns, nowhere near where you want to go.
As I was not in any particular rush, I decided, in the Spirit of Adventure, to ignore most of the signs, realising that at some point I'd come across somewhere interesting, and possibly even near where I was supposed to be going.
About an hour and a half into Wales I arrived at the astonishing Lake Bala, a beautiful long lake, extending south from the picturesque village of Bala, to … somewhere less pronounceable. I stopped at Bala for fuel, and asked a local gentleman how to get back on track to my hotel in Llandrindodd Wells. I will never forget his response:
“Just carry on along this road for about 20 minutes and at the big roundabout follow the signs to Newtown…” “…Unless, of course, you want to take the Hell-Fire Pass.”
Well, you should know me well enough by now, to guess what my response was...
In the local lingo, this pass is called “Bwlch y Groes” and is the highest motoring road in Wales. The Astra GTC took on the start of the tree-lined hill-climb, with enthusiasm, despite this road being used, in the past, to put prototype cars through their most extreme testing. In reality, it tests the drivers more than the cars, and I came across one driver in the middle of a 3-point turn (on a tight single track road) who had clearly seen something up ahead that she didn't like. Fearlessly, I continued up the road, the GTC's engine in full song, right up until the trees stopped.
What I saw to my right literally knocked the breath out of me, as I slammed on the anchors, trying to keep the car steady on what had suddenly become the ragged-edge of an impossibly steep hillside. From the driver's seat, I could not see the bottom of the valley beside me, and for a brief moment, I felt a bit nauseous from my first ever experience of vertigo. This road suddenly commanded my respect, and had clearly earned its fearsome nickname.
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| Hell fire Pass |
Progress to the summit of this pass was far more sedate, as the Astra GTC slowed to a crawl. I had been stunned by how high I had climbed in such a short space of time, and I wasn't keen on the idea of taking the quick way down. On the other side, there was a fantastic moment when I came round the last bend of the summit and saw the vista open up ahead. The road descends far more steeply through this valley, and dropping into 2nd gear, to assist the heavily-used brakes, the Astra GTC screamed its way down the hill to the village of Dinas-Mowddwy.
After another hour on both main roads, and superb country lanes I finally arrived in Llandrindodd Wells where I checked into the impressive Metropole Hotel. Owned by a member of the Sporting Bears, this fantastic hotel is an ideal base for touring in Wales. I was given a warm welcome on my arrival and, to give me a flavour of the country, I was even treated to the Metropole's superbly prepared 6-course taster menu.
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| Tasty taster! |
The Metropole Hotel's owner, Justin Baird-Murray, is not only active with the Sporting Bears, he is also putting a great deal of effort into raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. This year, he will be running the London Marathon to try and raise awareness of the condition which affects his own young nephew, and you can support his tremendous efforts through his donation site: virginmoneygiving.com/JustinBaird-Murray
The following morning I had no time to waste.
The Astra GTC (which, some say, would make the ideal car for a certain anonymous racing driver) had an ambitious deadline. As the sun came up it was powering towards the Brecon Beacons with, sadly, no time to stop for pictures. By 10am I was crossing one of the enormous Severn Bridges, and into Southern England. By Noon I had passed Reading and was about to head south to Guildford. By 12:30pm I was well and truly lost in Guildford. Was Sat-Nav out of the question? Really? I quickly stopped in at a restaurant to “borrow” their WiFi, and use the map on my ageing, newfangled phone, and by 1pm I was arriving in the village of Dunsfold, Surrey, for lunch with Huw, from the South-East region of the Sporting Bears.
Huw had been my “fixer” in the South and had done a great job organising a very special stop on my journey. With our bright orange “Dream Rides” sweaters on, Huw led the way to Dunsfold Park, home of the BBC's Top Gear test track and studios.
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| Dunsfold Park |
But I wasn't here to set a time in the Astra GTC. I was at Dunsfold Park to visit one of the most remarkable schools in the country. The Jigsaw Trust has set up a fantastic environment for children affected by Autism-Spectrum Disorders to learn and develop important life skills, to prepare them for the reality of independent living.
Like Derian House in Chorley, The Jigsaw School is now having to look to the challenges of catering for young adults, as the children grow up but still need support to learn these valuable life-skills. While the trust hope to become as self-sustaining as possible, the refurbishing of a separate building on the other side of Dunsfold Park to cater to young adults, means they still rely heavily of the support of donations, both from individuals and organisations like the Sporting Bears.
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| Sporting Bears |
I was amazed to see that the pictures the kids use to identify basic car parts in their “mechanics” classes are of the Vauxhall Astra GTC, so it was great that they could come out and see the car for real.
You can follow @jigsawtrust on twitter to keep up with some of the events they are getting involved in to promote autism awareness, or you can donate directly to the trust via: justgiving.com/jigsaw
That weekend I pointed the nose of the GTC towards the West Midlands, and stayed at the charming Haseley Coach House Motel, hidden down a small lane just outside Warwick where I could park the Astra GTC right outside the door of my room. On the Saturday evening I even managed to track down an old friend - my old Vauxhall Astra - which is now residing in the leafy suburbs of Royal Leamington Spa! It was great to see her again, and was a nice, nostalgic way to end the week.
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| Old vs. New |
