Just back from a superb round trip in the Beta to visit family down south, then on to see my brother-in-law and his family in France.
We left Stokesley in North Yorkshire on Saturday morning (8 Jun) to head south M1/A43/A34 for our first stop in Winchester. It took just over 5 hours of mostly motorway and dual carriageway roads, but we arrived for lunch and the afternoon before jumping back in the Beta to head for Dorking in Surrey for night stop. Total distance after day one was 355 miles.
Next morning saw a M25/M20 blast to Folkestone and a crossing with Le Shuttle. This worked a treat. Ticket was £111.00 for the car and 2 pax; we arrived 30 minutes early so were offered, and took, an earlier train. On the other side, we headed for our next night stop at Rouen using the Autoroute and blasted along at 130km/h on near empty roads. Our hotel was in the centre, but no emissions restrictions apply to a 'Historic' car (classed as over 30 years in France) and my Waze nav aids made the City a doddle. Day two distance was 202 miles.
Next morning we were destined for the village of Such-sur-Edre and had the choice of a north coast route on a mixture of roads (estimated to be 4hrs 40 mins) or the Autoroute with Peage tolls (estimated 3hrs 20 mins). We chose the latter based on achieving an earlier arrival and that we'd be on the northern route for much of our final leg. That said, it's 59 euro in tolls from Rouen via Le Mans and on to Nantes so worth a pause for thought. Day three distance was 233 miles.
Departure was a couple of days later after a variety of property maintenance, gin, wine and cheese! I was also able to collect my new 123+ ignition system that had be assembled in Tours and sent to my France address but more of that when its fitted later. The next leg was to head north for the ferry port just north of Caen. Good fast autoroutes kept us moving on a three-hour trip of just over 180 miles and the very crossing couldn't have been more pleasant. Not only was the cost just over £70 for the car and two pax - Bargain! - But the weather was glorious and the crossing extremely comfortable. We arrived in Portsmouth in the evening and returned to Dorking for night stop. Day 5 distance was 248 miles.
Finally, next morning (today, 14 Jun) was the final leg and heading north back towards Stokesley; having been ahead of the M25 traffic, the M1 was less delightful. Regardless, we arrived home early this afternoon. Day 6 distance was a 270 mile.
The total distance for our 6-day journey was 1307 miles. I drove every mile, and the Beta was faultless on UK and French roads sitting happily at fast motorway speeds and in rain and shine. When Guy Croft and I talked about the spec for my engine in 2009, I told him I wanted it to be hoofingly quick for track day fun, but I also wanted to be able to drive sensibly across Europe. It worked extremely well, although one of the dis-benefits of the current ‘spring and bob-weight’ distributor, is the inevitable compromise (power vs engine protection) of across-the-range ignition timing.
More to follow on that point when I fit the new 123+ system.
