So, I thought I’d share with you all how the day went down for Emma and I. Excuse the phone pictures. An unfortunate incident, involving a dog and some spilt coffee, has left us without a half decent camera
5:30 am and we’re at the Pit Stop Cafe.
Sadly, we were the only ones to turn up 6 ‘o’clock came and went, so we decided to pop down the road to McDonalds and grab an early brekkie before setting off for Bristol. I’m not a big McDonalds fan, but their breakfast, in my opinion, is on another level to the cheeseburgers and fries!
After getting some McCoffee and McBreakfast McWraps down our necks, we hit the M5, bound for Bristol. It’s very strange driving round at this time in the morning. Most people are in bed, very few people are on the roads and the air still feels moist, and fresh with the morning dew. At first we honestly thought the dawn was a bit of a disapointment. The clouds seemed to mostly cover up the first of the days rays, however, after half an hour or so of not-nightness, the big orange circle broke free of the cloud cover in rather spectacular fashion.
At around 7:45, we arrive at our second set of Golden arches, in Bedminster, where the car park is also completely empty! Luckily, after 5 minutes or so, Bruces big ol’ Daimler comes rumbling through the gate, and is soon followed by a small selection of cool old motors. We’re in good company! After a second coffee, and colouring in some smurfs with wax crayons, we left for Queens Square.
The cars on show really were fantastic. All sorts of cars were parked up around the very posh central square. The weather, location, and the quality of vintage metal on show made for a very enjoyable morning, with plenty to look at and talk about.
After another two coffees, and several hours mooching round the classics, we made our way to the Diner. What can I say. It’s a seriously cool little place, and the food was top notch. They weren’t doing the burgers that the Area 52 guys had been raving about, but the Chilli Dogs were tasty enough. I managed to get a few more shots of the diner and surrounding streets.
For those hoping to make the next meet, beware of the speed bump at the top of the hill. It has those horrible one-way spikes on top, and everyone with a lowish car was cringing with dread as they crept over it. It actually ripped one side of the exhaust system from Bruces Daimler, which unfortunately meant he had to cable tie it back up and put the beast back to bed for the day. The V8 did sound incredible with no exhaust though
With our bellies full, and after a trip to Sainsburys, we headed south, to finish the day at Cheddar Gorge. I’d never been there before, but I’ll definitely be going back. It’s really rather spectacular, and a fantastic backdrop for some photos of some tatty old motors! This is where the battery in the phone ran out, so I only managed to capture a couple of shots. Everyone else took loads though, so expect to see more elsewhere.
Emma and I didn’t stay long. We’d already been up 12 hours, and a restless night meant we had only gotten 2 or 3 hours sleep. We were walking zombies for most of the day, but we really were crashing by the time everyone else wanted to head up to the cafe. We said our goodbyes and headed home.
In all, a properly good day out. Apart from the horrendously early start, it’s everything you could possibly wish for in a car meet, and I sincerely hope a few of you join Emma and I next month.
I told you, you missed out!
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