The tour was base on the fabulous, family owned luxury hotel, The Commodore in Instow, which overlooks the twin estuaries of the Rivers Taw and Torridge. We had arranged for members to benefit from a special concessionary rate for their 2 or 3 night stay.
The Commodore in bloom!
Lunchtime on Friday 28
th October, a meet-up was arranged for those travelling south on the M5, at Taunton and we had a warm-up drive down to the Hotel on one of our favourite B road, the B3227. Some members had already driven straight to the venue, whilst others extended their stay and had been there for a couple of days. At the drinks reception and briefing early evening in the hotel, we all came together and the roadbooks and 2-way radios were distributed.
DAY 2 (Saturday 29th October)
A full day's motoring today as our convoy wended its way from Instow into Barnstaple, then headed east in the general direction of Crediton before turning back north to Winkleigh and a well-earned coffee break. From here, the crocodile wound its way further north through the villages of High Bickington and Atherington before turning west and tackling the switchback road at Langridge Ford. Not for the faint- hearted this one, as there are 2 cavernous dips in the road with steeply rising sections on either side. Certainly, G forces come into play here!
Snack lunch was taken at the wonderfully sited Hartland Quay Hotel before heading further south to Kilkhampton, Red Post, Bude and the coastal road at Widmouth Bay with its breath-taking views over the Bristol Channel.
From here we headed back east again into the countryside, but not before straying off the main drag and tackling the impossibly difficult hairpin on the spectacular Dizzard road!
After Cranworthy Water, the tour visited Red Post once again, before turning back towards Holsworthy and then north-east to Stibb Cross, picking up the picturesque leafy drive down through the Yeo Valley and back to Bideford for refuelling, then our hotel at Instow for cream teas and to look forward to our evening Gala dinner.
DAY 3 (Sunday 30th October)
Early Sunday morning - 7 am on the dot - except it was 8 am in old money, as the clocks were turned back 1 hour last night.
A "Dawn Raid" - involving a quick nip around some juicy North Devon lanes before breakfast as a warmup to the day's proceedings.
We headed out towards Exmoor for the rest of day, taking in the splendid roads around Challacombe and Brendon with Robber's Bridge being a particular obstacle and Porlock Toll Road a spectacular highlight.
The day started with leaded skies, whilst it rained incessantly, making leafy lanes twice as slippery as they normally would be and all adding to the fun in a Macan!
A little later, skies cleared, the sun appeared with only the occasional shower. At lunchtime some tourers, who had planned to return home said their goodbyes at Ralegh's Cross, Exmoor, whilst those extending their weekend into Monday returned to the hotel on our now famous B3227 for an evening meal, chat over the day and to prepare ourselves for the final leg the following day.
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Recovering after Robbers Bridge Exmoor
Starting with a run through Braunton Burrows and heading out to Croyde and Georgeham, our efforts were thwarted by a road closure halfway along. This necessitated a hasty re-route that didn't really work out either, so we retraced our steps and approached Woolacombe from a different direction altogether. The coastal views coming down Challacombe Hill overlooking the coast into this famous surfing resort were stunning. 🌞
Back on track, it was then on to Mullicott Cross and a drop down into Combe Martin, where the meat of the final day began as we turned into Buzzacott Lane leading us through those winding moorland lanes into the heart of Exmoor National Park, with a coffee break at Hunters Inn in Martinhoe and then some extremely tricky, leafy and rain-soaked narrow roads, known as "Sir Robert's Path" across to the unique Valley of Rocks in Lynton, on to Lynmouth and then up the A39 Countisbury Hill with more spectacular views across the Bristol Channel.
Visiting Porlock for the second time in the weekend, this time we stayed on the main road, which still offers even more outstanding coastel views, we followed the A39 through to Minehead and eventually our final stop-off point in the fabulous medieval village of Dunster.
The Exmoor lanes were certainly mucky!
It had been a long weekend for those tacking all 4 days, clocking up over 400 miles - but a sense of achievement prevails and great fellowship accumulates when a group of like-mined people come together to share similar experiences.
Our thanks go to the managers and staff at our hotel and the stopovers for looking after us and to everyone who came along to give this Weekend Of The Year their support.
