We left the B&B at ten past nine and had a good run up the coast to Caernarfon. We didn't go round Anglesey but drove onto the island on one bridge and off on the other. From there it was along the coast through Bangor and Conwy. The tunnels on this road were awesome, especially the last one.In Llandudno we paid the toll and drove round The Great Orme and had lunch at the summit. We met some great people there too. Further along the coast old Numbum developed a misfire at medium revs, most irritating. I cheked the points gap, it was a bit tight so I re-gapped it. It was no better. I took them apart, cleaned and dressed the points, cleaned the distributor, cap & leads.Still no better. OK, better check the plugs. Search the tool bag for the plug socket. It wasn't there. "Oh dear", I said and we limped off to find somewhere to buy one. Eventually found a Tool Station and bought a cheap socket and pulled the plugs. The back two were great, the front two were a bit black & sooty but not too bad. I changed them all for new ones and the misfire wasn't so bad.
We passed through the Mersey Tunnel. Wow! that was wild. Eventually we arrived at our hotel in Southport only to find there was no offstreet parking. Pam had rung ahead at lunch time and had been assured that there was plenty of space. She was not amused and finally were were allowed to park outside the front door. It was too public for my liking but there were CCTV cameras so we took what was offered. After a quick bite to eat in a cafe just down the street, we got back to our room only to find there was a nightclub next door, blasting out music at high volume. This went on till two thirty. We didn;t sleep well at all.
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We left the B&B just before 9am in a strong wind and had a fairly good run up the coast on white roads then we ended up on the road to Llangrannog which turned out to be a dead end. It was such a drag turning round and driving miles back that we decided to abandon white roads and stick to yellow, red & green. This turned out quite well as most of the roads closest to the coast were red or yellow. We stopped for lunch in Borth, a lovely place with the wind still blowing. Out came the flask, cups and coffee. Spoon coffee from the coffee jar and put in cups. Strange, no coffee in cups but plenty all over the car. It was windy. The only delays were in towns such as Barmouth, Porthmadog & Pwllheli and we were able to make good time. We eventually made it to our B&B in Morfa Nefyn. We walked down to a local pub for a meal but didn't fancy the menu or prices so we fired up Numbum and drove about 3 miles to a place more suited to us and had a great meal. 175 excellent miles. We had a lazy morning waiting for the exhaust to arrive, but popped into town and the B&B staff watched out for it. Cardigan is a lovely place. The main street is almost devoid of chain stores and is full of local independent shops and cafes. After a quick lunch and a wander along the main street we got back to Coed Y Bryn to find that the exhaust had arrived. Godfrey, our host had recommended a garage who may be able to help out with fitting it. We drove round to see Paul Edwards who took a look and decided it would be easier to repair the old system than fit the new so he did. Thanks, Paul for taking time out of your busy day to help us out and thanks also to Godfrey for your help too. With some of the afternoon still left we decided to backtrack and catch some of the coast we missed yesterday and managed 68 coastal miles before stopping at a pub in Mathry for a meal. We arrived back at the B&B ready for another day.
We had an easy run through Carmarthen and found the road to Llansteffan which is just across the Towy estuary from Ferryside where we had coffee yesterday. We moved on through St Clears and down to Pendine, the historic scene of land speed record breaking in the 1920s. We visited the museum and took a look at the long beach. We got permission to photo Numbum next to the museum and had a chat to some visitors. The exhaust was getting noisy again. Once we got back on the narrow roads the car developed a misfire.With nowhere to stop I pressed on. The misfire got worse and the car started to die whenever I lifted off the throttle. We made it to Saunders Foot and pulled into the car park. Investigation revealed the points almost closed. I'm not too happy about the quality of replacement points these days. This was a new set fitted before we started this trip. All properly installed with grease on the cam and worn to the point of needing resetting in just over 2000 miles. I also checked the noisy exhaust and found that all the putty & tape I used yesterday had vanished. Pam found a local motor factors and we headed there to pick up some more repair stuff. This time I chose the metalic strapping to hold the putty in and spent an hour fixing it all up, with the kind help of ex AA man, Huw Adams. Thanks Huw!. All sorted and quiet again we set off for the coastal roads again. All was fine till just outside Castlemartin when there was the loud roar of an unsilenced motor. The joint repair was fine but the downpipe had dropped through the support plate again. I had some fence wire that they gave me at Killagorden so I wired the exhaust up and smeared some putty round the joint. All was pretty quiet again but by now I was not prepared to risk the lonely coastal roads with things the way they were. We took the most direct route to our B&B where I rang Moss Motors and arranged for a new front pipe to be delivered to the B&B. We also managed to secure another night so we would have time to get the exhaust fixed properly. Only 67 miles today Once that was all sorted we walked up into town and found a super Pizza place. Pizzas freshly made and cooked by a large tent filled with tables and heated by a log fire in the middle. Lovely pizzas and a great atmosphere. The first port of call today was Bridgend Motor Factors for exhaust putty and bandage to try to keep the manifold to downpipe quiet. They were very helpful and allowed me to carry out the repairs in their car park. Great guys. After a few wrong turns we found our way out of Bridgend and were back on the planned route with a much quieter exhaust. We passed through Porthcawl and round Port Talbot & Swansea. Port Talbot wasn't the most beautiful place on the way in. We reached Mumbles Head after a long crawl in traffic due to roadworks. We lunched on a bench in lovely sunshine. It's a peaceful relatively uncommercial place, a real treat these days. From there it was along some lovely roads up to Llanelli. We passed the 2000 mile mark in Pembrey.
Along these lovely roads towards Carmarthen we saw a sign for a tea room and quickly turned down the lane. It turned out that they were closed. That was on the sign but we didn't see it. They made us coffee anyway. Super people. We arrived at Ty Cassell, a beautiful B&B out in the countryside with a river at the bottom of the garden. 108 miles today. We travelled through Burnham on Sea, Brean, Western Super Mare, Kewstoke, Clevedon, to Portishead where we got a bit lost. Eventually we found our way and headed for the Severn Bridge. We had to use motorways to get to the bridge which was a bit hairy but we managed and got a lot of horn honking and waves on the way over. We stopped at the first service area after the bridge and had lunch & some good chat with people who had seen us on the way across. From there we headed off to Newport to see the Transporter Bridge. It wasn't operating so we couldn't take a ride across the river but we had a good chat to the couple in the visitors centre. We by-passed Cardiff but the traffic was still bad. I can't imagine what it was like in the city centre. From there we headed to Barry Island where we holidayed many years ago. Traffic was still heavy.
Eventually we made our way out and to our B&B after the satnav took us to a pub first. The exhaust was getting noisy again and I spent a couple of hours trying to fix it. The belled end of the front pipe had pulled through its locating plate and I had to deform it to get it back through the plate then try to reform it. I got it as near as I could and bolted back together. It was still noisy but not as bad. We ordered a Chinese takeaway which was soon delivered and demolished. 134 miles. Had a lazy start to the day and travelled along the coast past Bocastle, finding some lovely roads on the way. With little chance of finding fuel on these roads we headed up the A39 but the first sight of fuel was in Bideford. We filled up and picked up lunch. A couple of dead ends in Croyde Bay and Ilfracombe put us a bit behind time so after eating lunch in Instow on the estuary of the river Tor, we took the major roads through Lynton, Minehead and on to Bridgewater for our overnight stop. 152 MIles. Now that I've got a decent internet connection I can post these two pictures emailled to me by Peter Davies. He caught us on Park Avenue, Devonport, Plymouth. Thanks Peter.
It was an easy run from the B&B to Lands End and we arrived just after ten and the car park guy said it would be a sin to charge such a great car and gave us a free ticket. Yeah! We had photos taken by the signpost. As it was a bit chilly as well as misty & damp we didn't stay long. Soon after we set off the wipers went on strike so it was manual operation until the sun came out. We passed through St Just and there was a carnival on and the road through was closed. We followed the diversion signs but the last one was pointing the wrong way. It took all of us, including a double decker bus, down a dead end road. It took 45 minutes to sort it out. The rest of the run up the coast was uneventful. Newquay was busy but moving and we arrived at The Avalon in Tintagel earlier than expected. It was a bonus in that it was carnival night in Tintagel and we spent a pleasant evening watching the parade. 146 mostly trouble free miles.
But first we have to get old Numbum sorted, so it's a few miles up the road to St Agnes to see Tim Kelly, an MG specialist. He soon had the car up on the ramps and the RAC man's temporary repair became a permanent one. They also fixed the exhaust after the battering it had taken over the last few days. The job finished and the bill settled we left at just after 1pm to head for The Lizard, stopping for lunch in a layby on the way. We headed back to Killagorden by way of the cost roads back up The Lizard peninsula, stopping in Tesco, Truro for a bite to eat. Talk about living the high life.
Not a bad day at all. Numbum fixed and 84 miles of the coastal route done. We had a very enjoyable breakfast with George. I have to say enjoyable cos Pam cooked it. A quick check of the car revealed a loose exhaust (speed bumps are savage down here and Numbum is very low) and some adjustment needed to the clutch. Once this was sorted out we hit the road and headed through Paignton to the Kingswear to Dartmouth ferry and the exhaust scraped. An easy drive to Plymouth where we hit heavy traffic and eventually found the Plymouth to Torpoint ferry. Once again the exhaust scraped on the ramps both on & off. Followed the coast as much as possible down to the Bodinnik to Fawey ferry. We got on all right but got severely stuck on the way off. With no help from the ferry staff there was nothing else to do but boot it. Eventually it came free but the exhaust mounting rubber was split so as soon as I could stop, emergency repairs were carried out and we were back on the road again. Eventually we drove through Mevagissey where the roads are very narrow indeed. Much stopping & reversing going on. In Tregony, having negotiated many speed bumps in many villages, there was a loud crack and Numbum ground to a halt.The left hand rear wheel was not in the proper location in the wheel well and I could see some suspension parts out of position. RAC to the rescue.It turned out that the two inner locating holes in the axle plate had split open and allowed the bolts to pull through and allow the axle to move.
The RAC man shot off to his friends place, D L Marine at St Just in Roseland who had some parts to make a temporary repair. The people of Tregony were superb with offers of hot drinks, use of toilet & washing facilities, and generally keeping us from getting bored while waiting. As we set off again the RAC man gave us the contact details of somebody local who could do a more permanent repair. It was now getting dark an I turned the lights on and was surprised at how dim they were. I haven't driven the TA in the dark for ages but didn't remember the lights being particularly dim then. We limped along though Truro and down a narrow unlit road to the Killagorden Cottage B&B. It was very spooky and we were expecting owls hooting or a dog howling to cap it off. Eventually we got there and settled in and Pam told me why I thought the lights were so dim.I was still wearing my sunglasses. DOH!! 129 miles today. |
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Take an old couple and an even older car, add in over 4000 miles of driving and this is the result. This is the story of Numbum's drive round the UK coastline, driven by Owen and ably navigated by Pam. We hope you enjoy the journey. We will. Archives |