RtG Cloverleaf West Country - Daily Dispatch - www - Flipbook - Page 5
24 to 27 October 2022
Day 3
“Cornish Curiosities” (153.3 miles)
26 October 2022
Photo: gerardbrown.co.uk
Graham and Marina Goodwin’s 1925 Bentley Supersports
The distinctive 1929 Chrysler 75 Roadster of David and Jo Roberts
Today we drove the longest day of the rally, enjoying
four Tests and three Regularities. The route toured
Bodmin Moor and included not one, but two, trips
to the seaside as we broke out of Devon and set a
course for Cornwall.
The Minibeast of Bodmin Regularity followed hard on
the heels of this industrial thrash, bringing a semblance
of calm. Here the cars climbed up onto the moor on the
narrowest of lanes and rolled past herds of miniature wild
ponies and stylised, wind blasted, hawthorn trees.
Lunch was a real treat, finding the crews tucking into some
metaphorical porridge surrounded by the thick walls of
Bodmin Jail. This one time penitentiary is now a respectable
boutique hotel and restaurant and it was likely the only time
our crews welcomed “doing time”. A well judged lunch of
fish cakes and seasonal vegetables proved to be just the
thing to keep them on the straight and narrow.
With parole granted for good behaviour, the recently
released inmates made their way to the Cardinham Castle
Regularity. Once again a series of impressive sunken lanes
and wide open moorland combined into one epic landscape
as we ran into the day’s final Time Control at The Inn on
the Shore in Downderry.
We were now on the south coast of Cornwall and a brief
corniche section led us into the last Regularity around St
Germans that ran without the customary tulip diagrams just to add a little extra interest to proceedings.
Hotel Endsleigh was almost within touching distance so,
despite the proximity of the Ginsters Pasty factory on the
route home, everyone was keen to get back to the tranquility
of the walled courtyard, the comfort of the plush interiors
and the promise of another fine dinner on this, the last full
day of the West Country Cloverleaf.
Werrington Park was the venue for the first two Tests, the
so called Park Life and Park Life Too, which were closed
road sections run over some slippery estate roads. A narrow
bridge to crest and a hill climb sprint rounded things off.
From here the road turned towards the north coast of
Cornwall with a quick Route Check at Crackington Haven
before the mid morning Time Control in the impressively
situated Camelot Castle Hotel. Perched high on the cliffs in the mythical realm of King Arthur - the crews sat down to
a superb selection of coffee, cakes and home made cream
teas served in a beautiful drawing room overlooking a
dramatic Atlantic Ocean.
Next, echoing yesterday’s custard factory flirtation, came
a Passage Control in Davidstow, home of one of Britain’s
finest Cheddar cheeses. Although there was no time to stop
off for a tour of the factory, Gill and John Cotton were on
marshal duties with a supply of dairy delights so, with the
smell of curds and whey left hanging in the air, we pressed
on to the Royal Cornwall Showground for two Tests. The
Show Rings and Show Stalls tests again allowed those with
heavier feet to push the pace just a little.
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