brit butt rally 2012
This was my first Brit Butt Rally. I’d decided to enter a range of rallies for the first time this year, and had already completed the South West Peninsular and Welsh, but this was my first experience of trying to plan a route with so little notice! Over and above the basic points for each bonus location, some are combined with others for additional points. There are also points for keeping a fuel log, taking at least a 3 hour rest, sending texts to the rallymaster at specific times and final points for bringing a 1.2m long piece of string. No idea what to we were to do with it though.
Since I was travelling all the way down from sunny Edinburgh, I always like to make the most of the journey and pick up some checkpoints from various other rides like the Round Britain, IBA Irelands Two Wheel Poker or Grim’s various rides. As a result, what could have been a 4 hour journey to Castleford, tends to turn into a 7 hour wander down. The stops this time round were:
A: Home
B: Preston Market Cross (Round Britain Rally)
C: Hume Castle (Round Britain Rally)
D: Alnwick Castle (Grim - English Counties)
E: Angel of The North (Grim - Sculptures)
F: Durham Castle (Grim - English Counties)
G: Apollo Pavilion (Grim - Sculptures)
H: Battle of Marston Moor (Grim - Battlefields)
I: Castleford (Rally Start)
A: Home
B: Preston Market Cross (Round Britain Rally)
C: Hume Castle (Round Britain Rally)
D: Alnwick Castle (Grim - English Counties)
E: Angel of The North (Grim - Sculptures)
F: Durham Castle (Grim - English Counties)
G: Apollo Pavilion (Grim - Sculptures)
H: Battle of Marston Moor (Grim - Battlefields)
I: Castleford (Rally Start)
However, I got to the hotel about 15:00 and set about checking in and going through the various checks. Once that was done, I laid everything out in my room that I thought I’d need and then it was downstairs for something to eat and the rookies meeting. Despite being armed with a plethora of useful information I still went into the “main”meeting with a feeling of unease…what on earth was I
doing here? Nothing major leapt out to surprise me so once the meeting closed it was back to the room to begin planning. I was told that each year's rally has a theme and this year, it was linked to the dates of the rally, 26th and 27th of May. In some cases, very
loosely...
Early on I had decided to not to go to any of the French waypoints in the book. I didn’t have my passport and it’s not very easy to “pop in” and pick it up from the house when your house is in completely the wrong direction. So with that in mind, I split the checkpoints into very rough low, medium and high scoring, then filtered out the low and medium and concentrated on the high.
I ended up with a route that took me up the East coast, then across to the West and down to the South East. In order to pick up a combo bonus, I decided to head all the way up to Cruden Bay.
I have a tank range of about 180-190 miles so I always like to find petrol stations at the relevant points on the route, so by the time I’ve factored those into the route, it’s now 12:30 in the morning. No time for trying out a range of alternatives for comparison sakes, but since this is my first rally and my aim is to finish (hopefully with a respectable score), that’s fine with me. Maybe once I've honed my planning techniques and got a couple under my belt, I might aim for the more competitive end of the results table…
The next morning came all too soon, but adrenaline had kicked in and I was raring to go. Before I knew it we were off and heading
for the first checkpoint.
doing here? Nothing major leapt out to surprise me so once the meeting closed it was back to the room to begin planning. I was told that each year's rally has a theme and this year, it was linked to the dates of the rally, 26th and 27th of May. In some cases, very
loosely...
Early on I had decided to not to go to any of the French waypoints in the book. I didn’t have my passport and it’s not very easy to “pop in” and pick it up from the house when your house is in completely the wrong direction. So with that in mind, I split the checkpoints into very rough low, medium and high scoring, then filtered out the low and medium and concentrated on the high.
I ended up with a route that took me up the East coast, then across to the West and down to the South East. In order to pick up a combo bonus, I decided to head all the way up to Cruden Bay.
I have a tank range of about 180-190 miles so I always like to find petrol stations at the relevant points on the route, so by the time I’ve factored those into the route, it’s now 12:30 in the morning. No time for trying out a range of alternatives for comparison sakes, but since this is my first rally and my aim is to finish (hopefully with a respectable score), that’s fine with me. Maybe once I've honed my planning techniques and got a couple under my belt, I might aim for the more competitive end of the results table…
The next morning came all too soon, but adrenaline had kicked in and I was raring to go. Before I knew it we were off and heading
for the first checkpoint.
I had gone for the closest one first, the Ryedale Folk Museum. A few others had the same idea, so it nice to get someone to take the picture for me. There were extra points if you got some of the staff in period costume in the photo, but at stupid o’clock in the morning, there wasn’t much chance of that.
Then it was off to The Endeavour pub in Whitby. The link here was that on 26th May 1768, Captain Cook’s ship, The Endeavour, was commissioned. The combo bonus I was getting had a Dracula theme and I thought that, since he lived at Carfax Abbey here, that it might have been part of that bonus. A couple of others were still on the same route (which would continue for a few stops yet). Even for a Scotsman, it was a bit early to pop in for a drink, so onto the next stop, Underhill House (Joseph Wilson Swan’s address; died 27th May 1914, invented the light bulb & was 1st house ever to have electric light), in Gateshead. Nearby was the school where Gazza (born 27th May 1967) went as a kid, and not far from that was Bedes World at Jarrow. Bede (who died on 26th May 735) was an English scholar and theologian whose writings established the use of BC and AD with date.
After here, it was a saunter up to my hometown of Edinburgh and Surgeons Hall. James Bell Pettigrew (born 26th May 1832), was the curator of the Surgeons Hall Museum. I was a bit wary of heading into the centre on a Saturday afternoon and one of the other riders that had been heading on the same route was heading elsewhere and planned to come back in the early hours, However, the advantage of knowing the place, was that I could picture a route in and out without going through the busiest part of town. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for Joe Fisher, who managed to get caught up in the tram works and two (!!) demonstrations that were going on.
He managed to extricate himself from those and we met up again at the next three stops, Glendevon Church (Glendevon is the home of
Explorer Pen Hadow. His efforts enabled the 1st British female team to reach the North Pole on 27th May 1997), Scone Palace (Malcolm IV of Scotland was crowned here on 27th May 1153), and a graveyard in Kirkton Monikie, to photograph a gravestone of James Fell who died on 27th May 1887.
Explorer Pen Hadow. His efforts enabled the 1st British female team to reach the North Pole on 27th May 1997), Scone Palace (Malcolm IV of Scotland was crowned here on 27th May 1153), and a graveyard in Kirkton Monikie, to photograph a gravestone of James Fell who died on 27th May 1887.
It was at this stop that I tried to send in my call in text for bonus points…and sod’s law meant that I couldn’t get a signal. I decided to head for the next stop, Monboddo House and check again there. Thankfully, all was well again with the world and the text had went through en route between the two. Lord James Burnett Monboddo (died 26th May 1799), he was a Scottish jurist and pioneer anthropologist.
Dunnotar Castle seems to be a regular stop for me as this would be the second photo I had of the place. The previous one was for Grim’s Castle Ride and Scottish “Counties” Ride (2008). Dunnottar was under siege from Cromwell's armies, and a scratch, aged garrison of seventy men held out for eight months against the invading might of Cromwell's army, until heavy cannons arrived. Following ten days of heavy fire, surrender was made on 26th May 1652. This was not however before the Honours of Scotland were smuggled out of the Castle and taken to Kinneff Church, where they were buried in the Church. They remained there for eleven years, until the King returned to the throne and the Honours were returned to Edinburgh Castle.
The next section was a run up to Cruden Bay for the first part of the combo bonus, Slains Castle. The castle was the inspiration for Dracula's Castle in the Dracula novel by Bram Stoker (which was published 26th May 1897). We had been told at the riders meeting, that all of the locations had been visited to make sure that they were accessible and that the photos should be from the same spot as those in the rally book…and that’s where the troubles began. I pulled into the car park and could just make out the tops of the castle towers in the distance, certainly not anything like the photo in the book. There was a “track” that went towards that castle but recent heavy rain had turned it into a series of puddles and narrow ridges that went between them.
Should I go for it? Well, since it was a combo bonus and I’d come all the way up here, it was going to take more than a puddle to stop me, so off I went. After a few back end slides, I made it to the castle to meet up with Joe again, who was have a quick bite to eat before making the journey back along the track. We decide that we’d head back together, so that we at least had two people to pick up the bike if it fell over. Joe navigated the worst of it first, and I followed. Halfway across the back wheel slid of one of the “ridges” and into the
puddle at the side. With a bit of luck and heavy handed use of the throttle, I kept things upright and got through, although the bike certainly wasn’t pristine anymore! The puddle was a bit deeper than I thought.
Should I go for it? Well, since it was a combo bonus and I’d come all the way up here, it was going to take more than a puddle to stop me, so off I went. After a few back end slides, I made it to the castle to meet up with Joe again, who was have a quick bite to eat before making the journey back along the track. We decide that we’d head back together, so that we at least had two people to pick up the bike if it fell over. Joe navigated the worst of it first, and I followed. Halfway across the back wheel slid of one of the “ridges” and into the
puddle at the side. With a bit of luck and heavy handed use of the throttle, I kept things upright and got through, although the bike certainly wasn’t pristine anymore! The puddle was a bit deeper than I thought.
This bonus was the last one I had planned to get today, with a trek down to Blackpool for the next one. With hindsight, that’s a long way to go without collecting any points, so something to remember for next year. I picked up a sleep bonus at Westmoreland services, and found myself at a deserted Pleasure Beach about 6:00 the next morning. This was one of the compulsory locations, where you had to get a photo of yourself in a mirror ball (you can just about make me out in the picture!).
The next stop was Puddle House Lane (the epicentre of a small earthquake on 27th May 2011), then it was another long trek with no points, to Dunkirk. The bonus location here, was a radar mast that was crucial to Operation Dynamo (the evacuation of Dunkirk) which
began 26th May 1940)
The next stop was Puddle House Lane (the epicentre of a small earthquake on 27th May 2011), then it was another long trek with no points, to Dunkirk. The bonus location here, was a radar mast that was crucial to Operation Dynamo (the evacuation of Dunkirk) which
began 26th May 1940)
At this point, I thought that I would be feeling the effects of the rally, but I was nowhere near as tired as I thought I’d be. Maybe it’s something to do with the focus on where you’re heading, and whether or not you’re ahead or behind schedule.
From here, it was down to Whitstable for the second part of the combo bonus, Peter Cushing’s View (Peter Cushing was born on 26th May 1913). The traffic getting into, and out of, this checkpoint was the worst I’d had all rally. Narrow streets and a bank holiday seaside resort are not a happy combination!
From here, it was down to Whitstable for the second part of the combo bonus, Peter Cushing’s View (Peter Cushing was born on 26th May 1913). The traffic getting into, and out of, this checkpoint was the worst I’d had all rally. Narrow streets and a bank holiday seaside resort are not a happy combination!
At this point, I had a decision to make. There was another checkpoint I could fit in, and still make it back in time…at least I thought so.
However, since I wasn’t aiming at the top of the table, discretion got the better of me, and I turned for the finish and arrived with about 2 hours to spare.
Double checking of the paperwork and it was into the scoring room…and out again with no errors! All I had to do with the string was make sure I had it on me and it was measured to ensure that it was the correct length. So much for the various weird and wonderful theories that riders had before the rally. Final placing was 25th out of a starting field of 38 so good enough for me this year.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my first rally, from start to finish, and there’s plenty of room for improvement. I certainly need to get more efficient at route planning, too many long stretches without points for my liking. But that’s something to aim for next year.
However, since I wasn’t aiming at the top of the table, discretion got the better of me, and I turned for the finish and arrived with about 2 hours to spare.
Double checking of the paperwork and it was into the scoring room…and out again with no errors! All I had to do with the string was make sure I had it on me and it was measured to ensure that it was the correct length. So much for the various weird and wonderful theories that riders had before the rally. Final placing was 25th out of a starting field of 38 so good enough for me this year.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my first rally, from start to finish, and there’s plenty of room for improvement. I certainly need to get more efficient at route planning, too many long stretches without points for my liking. But that’s something to aim for next year.