What Shaun and I did on Saturday

[Dos_Box]

As we had a day spare between work and the Crooked Vultures gig last weekend I decided to show Shaun around the Lake District as he'd never been before, so I decided to take him first to Grasmere (to get some of their amazing gingerbread) and then wherever we had time to go after that. It was a beutiful day and the place was deserted! We got to Grasmere in half the time it usually takes! As I'd left my sat-nav at home I brought a road map of Cumbria, and on opening it on my car bonnet I immediately saw Hardknott Pass screamign up at me from the map, and not too far away either

For those that don't know, Hardknott Pass is one of the most 'challenging' road in Britain. It is single track, has a 30 degree gradient and teh AA and RAC will refuse to recover you from it should you get stuck or break down. Apart form a Ford Fiesta full of students going paragliding who crawled along in front of us at 10mph and kept randomly stopping\breaking and generally not letting us past even though there is a surplus of passing places on the route we did eventually get past them and get to the top, withteh problem now being that we couldn't go back teh way we came up as the 'S' bends were all covered in a very thick shhet of ice! So we had to go the long way around. Anyway, I've included some pictures of me and Shaun on the top and some of the nice view from the other side. Oh, and a pretty good link off YouTube of someone doing the route in a Smart Roadster. And yes, you really can't see the road ahead of you it's that steep!

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJEpB6xAb7g&feature=related]YouTube- Hardknott Pass in a Smart Roadster[/ame]

[GrumbleDook]

After seeing Picture 3 do we now start having to call you Biggles (and does Shaun become Algernon?)

 

The lengths you go to so that we stop calling you Mr Loaf!

[Dos_Box]

Oh yes, please note the haircut everyone!

[GrumbleDook]

Haircut duly noted, Biggles.

[BTCC_Fan]

When on holiday with my Dad a few years ago we went on hard knott pass. We were half way along when we suddenly came to a stop up a steep slope, woman in front got out of her car so my dad went along to see what was up.

 

Turns out she was from London with her partner and had rented a car but got 'stuck' and scared half way up. She kept on trying herslf but couldn't get car to move off on the slope and didn't want to damage car (the clutch didn;t smell nice at all) My dad had to drive her car up the hill and turn it round so she could go back the other way. Then for the rest of the way back we had an old Rolls Royce following us!

[Dos_Box]

Someone took a Roller up there! It's hard enough in anything larger than a mini!

[Dos_Box]

Oh, nad it was so cold at the top that Shauns hands wouldn't stop shaking!

[ZeroHour]

Sounds like you had lots of fun. Awesome views but why is the plane out of shot?

 

[edit]

 

Found one of the plane

 

LMAO!!!

[maniac]

I've driven that road before in a very knackered 1983 VW golf which had virtually no clutch and brakes - now that's an adventure! Somehow we made it, never quite worked out how thou.

[broc]

Someone took a Roller up there! It's hard enough in anything larger than a mini!

 

I drove a Volvo T5 estate over Hardknott, the biggest problem going up was keeping weight on the front wheels for traction going round the curves, the traction control was going spare.

 

My wife wouldn't speak to me for at least half an hour when we reached the Roman Fort near the top, I am not sure if it was because she was admiring the view, or shock! (As we have been over that road a few times previously in a Land Rover Discovery II I supect it was the latter).

[Dos_Box]

I once took my wifes old VW Polo Saloon up there. It was never the same after that!

Good job the Scenic is a 4x4, with the ice on the hairpins we would have never made it in a standard car!

[tom_newton]

What next? Winnet pass?