On Sunday, 8 July Lancashire Region organised its Red Rose Run. As well as being a scenic tour of the area, it was a fundraiser for Rosemere Cancer Foundation.
View Gallery
Planning of the route had taken several months and many runs through the area were made to try and make the run as scenic as possible. The Trough of Bowland was avoided due its large number of potholes and deteriorating roads. On the Wednesday evening before the event we did what we thought would be the final run through. Unfortunately, around Chipping, where we had chosen a suitable road to take us out into the country, there was a sign to say that the road would be closed the weekend of 7-8 July for resurfacing. Panic set in, as we then had to re-plan an alternative route on the Thursday and Friday evenings. We did manage this and hope that entrants found the new route acceptable.
The event started at Garstang Golf Club where, after a driver briefing, Garstang Mayor, Councillor Leah Hynes, flagged off 50 Porsches from Lancashire, Yorkshire and as far afield as mid-Wales. At the request of last year’s Mayor, Councillor Peter Ryder, the route took in a circuit around Garstang town centre, where crowds were out to wave to the cars, before heading off through Barnacre, Bleasdale, Chipping, and Clitheroe to the halfway halt at Hoghton Tower.
On arriving at Hoghton Tower we were greeted by Sir Bernard de Hoghton who was sat on a bench at the Tower entrance with a guidebook. Judy casually asked him if he was one of the guides and got the reply “No, I am actually Sir Bernard de Houghton”. Sir Bernard and his wife, Lady Rosanna, were delighted that we were visiting their home and remembered the PCGB National Event held there in 2000 during the fuel crisis.
After parking on the sloping lawn, many entrants took a tour of the Tower and learnt about its 400-year history. Hoghton Tower, a Grade I listed building, is the ancestral home of the de Hoghton family direct descendants from Harvey de Walter, one of the companions of William the Conqueror and, through the female line, from Lady Godiva of Coventry, wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia.
Over the centuries many royal guests have been welcomed and entertained here including James I, William III, George V and Queen Mary, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Other distinguished visitors include William Shakespeare, JMW Turner and Charles Dickens.
It was at Hoghton Towers that James I, having enjoyed an excellent piece of beef, decided that it should be 'knighted', and so it was fromhere that word ‘sirloin’ originated.
Mid-afternoon entrants made their way back to Garstang Golf Club via Brindle, Salwick, Whales, Inskip and St Michaels for prize giving and a meal. Thanks to Alan Ridehalgh for putting this return route together. It was a pity Alan couldn’t be there - he had been invited to the British Grand Prix instead.
Thanks must be given to our sponsors, 9-Apart, for the rally plaques and to Garstang Golf Club for the free use of the room. Thanks go to Lancashire members who enter a monthly raffle, which raises funds for the Red Rose Bags containing the rally plaque, route instructions etc., and for supplying the wine, roses and chocolates for the prize winners. Thanks also to Jo Diamond for putting the quiz together, which kept entrants occupied at the lunch halt. John Hodgson, a PCGB member and volunteer at Rosemere again ran the Porsche ‘pick-a-straw’ draw, which raised £91. Finally, thanks go to PC Bolton, and Lancashire members for their donations of prizes.
The prize winners were
-
Highest age of car and entrants - Norman and Mary Stansfield
-
Best family entrant – the McMillan family
-
Car with the most flies – Graham Bath
-
Competitors choice of car - Phil and Nora Sewell’s red 356
-
Furthest travelled - Andrew Scott (all the way from Nigeria)
-
Quiz winner - Sue Jordin
There is no entry fee for the event - all that is asked for is a donation to Rosemere Cancer Foundation. This year we raised £1,000, which will be put to good use for the benefit of at Rosemere’s patients.
We are now looking for suitable half way halts for our 2019 event. Any suggestions would be most welcome.