La Vie Hillclimb & CovMotoFest Sprint - Midlanders advise me

[greencarfritz]

Hello Gang,

Green Car and I will be competing at the Bugatti Owners Club La Vie en Bleu et Rosso Speed Hillclimb at their Prescott venue on 25th & 26th May and then with any luck at the BARC run Coventry MotoFest Sprint around the city centre circuit there the weekend after 1st & 2nd June..

Now, we're based in Devon and not really been around that area much before... we're driving and not trailering, and looking at staying in the area for the week inbetween.

I've sent a tentative email to Caffeine and Machine to ask about their rooms and an area for tending mechanicals/sticking carbon back together if I've been fully committed at Prescott but am very open to hear of other friendly and fun places to stay where a little fettling wouldn't be too frowned upon.

So,

• Recommended places to stay?
  
• Happy places to fix Green Car at if I break him?
• Cool things to see in the area?
• Great places to drink?
• Awesome places to eat?

I look forward to any suggestions, thanks in advance!

fritz

[greencarfritz]

Any midlander dwelling folk to advise?

[goodoldluke]

You should check on Airbnb and ask the hosts whether they'd be willing to allow you to work in a garage / driveway. That would probably be my first port of call.

[slater]

Yes airbb is always a good bet but assuming you need somewhere to park the car securely overnight might prove to be a bit tricky. You might find somewhere in the sticks tho.

If you get stuck let me know. I'm in Birmingham, have bed, garage and tools lol

[dan]

Some cool things to see in the area

Gaydon
Coventry Transport Museum
National Motorcycle Museum
Midland Air Museum
RAF Cosford
JLR Castle Brom or Lode Lane factory Tour
Morgan factory Tour Malvern
Witley Court & Gardens
Tysley loco works
Severn Valley Railway
XM655 at Wellesbourne Mountford

or if you're into olde world Compton Verney, Kenilworth Castle, Warwick Castle, Black Country Museum are all worth a visit
Birmingham is a 'mare at the moment as it's all being dug up but it's nice around the canals and with loads of places to eat

[kabman]

If you want to stay near to Coventry, roughly the triangle between Warwick, Solihull and Alcester is a good area with countless country pubs with food. Stratford can be a bit touristy and overpriced. Closer to Prescott, there are several quaint towns along the A429 - Moreton, Stow-on-the-wold, Shipston. I can offer spannering facilities in Warwick if you need a hand.

[ChasR]

I'll reply later. kabman and @dantourney are on the right lines.

Some AirBnBs are fine but in Coventry, some are in some very sketchy areas. Earlsdon, Stivichal and Finham are decent places to stay and are close to the town. With a car however, things will change there.

I'm based in Warwick as are a few others if you need a hand. If I'm not tied up in MotoFest stuff, that is.

RetroWarwicK is involved with MotoFest here and can probably give you many pointers here.

As for your questions.

-Kenilworth is a decent place to stop and is very close to MotoFest. It's got decent pubs and restaurants for you to go to. If you take the car back with you, you'll have more chance of parking it somewhere too. Otherwise, I'd be looking to Finham and Earlson for places to stay if a hotel in Coventry City Centre isn't up your street. Coventry does now have a number of decent pubs and places to eat ; it will also have many motoring people present about as well .
-Fixing the car will be interesting. That comes down to the property you are staying at, and if you are happy to fix the car in the Paddock at MotoFest. Further instructions will be emailed to you at a later date via MotoFest.
-It's been covered what you can see in the area. MotoFest obviously .
-Drapers in Coventry is a great bar with a decent history behind it. The Twisted Barrell is a microbrewery in Coventry as well which has tons and tons of different beers on offer. The Broomfield Tavern in Earlsdon is also very good.
Warwick also has a selection of good places including the Old Post Office, Rigsbys, and the Wild Boar. Both places have decent places for coffee besides the usual chains .
-Tons of places to eat. Drapers is good here, as in Basement Browns in Coventry. Bayley Kitchen isn't too bad either. Kenilworth has the Virgins and Castle, also a good pub, and the Queens and Castle. In Warwick, you have 7even, Picollinos and some decent curry houses like Castle Balti and Warwick Spice.
Leamington also has a decent selection.

I'd add more, but I have to dash!

As for the garage, I'll ask a mate. He's a 2CV fan but he is also a business and a pretty busy one at that!

[greencarfritz]

All great stuff, cheers gents!