Last of the Summer Wine 2023

Last of the Summer Wine Run 2023

John Earp has sent this report on this very well supported run. Eddy.

I'd been checking the BBC weather app on my phone all day so was pleased to see Tuesday would be dry all day and indeed it wasn’t until around 6.00 pm in the evening that it started to rain, just a light shower at first, then a proper shower, then just as quickly it stopped and so in the dry I made my way down to Marston's sports and social club for Burton Section VMCC final evening run of this year called "Last of the summer wine".

There were already quite a few bikes assembled in the car park when I arrived with a steady stream arriving until at 7.00 pm our leader, Richard Ballard called us together to tell us the run would be approximately 30 miles and our final destination was the Doveside Social Club in Hatton where we would be having a chip butty and a drink, we would be using the second man drop off system and back man would be Dave Tagg on his black BMW.

I must admit that knowing all the road closures in and around Burton now Hatton was probably not the easiest place to get to and I'd mentioned this to Richard but he told me he was on the case and had altered his route accordingly.

Mick Dughan then told us that money collected at David Tyne's funeral and donated to VMCC Burton section by his family (a very kind gesture) would be used to pay for the chip butties at the end of the run. (Incidentally, the hot food had been arranged at short notice by Andy Roberts.)

So off we went turning left out of Marston's club up Forest Road/Henhurst Hill and turned right at the Acorn Pub towards Anslow. I was second bike behind Richard up the Henhurst so when he turned right I had to wait in the gutter opposite the Acorn to let the others know they had a right turn.

Isn't it amazing? One minute the roads are clear, the next it was mayhem, cars coming from every direction. I was quite relieved when I eventually saw back man Dave on his BMW as then I could take the turn myself towards Anslow!

From Anslow we rode towards Tutbury and through Hatton (past our end of run hostelry, the Doveside Club) left at the roundabout down Scropton Lane towards Sudbury, turn right and over the A50 towards Boylestone and Alkmonton, then towards Longford and another left towards Hollington and Ednaston where we picked up the main A52.

After a few quick miles on the A52 we turned right to Brailsford, Over Burrows and Longlane towards Sutton-on-the-Hill where I had to stop again as by this time I was second man again. The bikes were by now split into smaller groups but I soon saw Dave approaching and I was on the move again.

Through Sutton village and turn right past the mill and then left onto Longford Lane and back to Hatton. There was a little trouble earlier in the ride when we had to stop to let a rather large green tractor and even larger combine harvester come the opposite way and now those few of us at the tail end found ourselves behind them again. The combine was literally the full width of the road so overtaking was out of the question however the tractor and combine did eventually pull over to let us pass and from here it was only a short distance over the A50 then turn right onto the A511 to the Salt Box, turn left at the lights and back to the Doveside Club …. except, yes you guessed, the railway crossing barriers were down and we had to queue with the traffic until before we could ride the last few yards to the club and the end of the ride.

Thanks first to Richard Ballard for planning a very interesting route which I know he'd changed at short notice, to Andy Roberts for his last-minute organisation of parking and chip butties inside Doveside Club, to Dave Tagg for riding back man and to everyone who took part in the ride (I counted 28 bikes) and finally David Tyne's family for their generous gift. It was much appreciated by all members on the ride and once again it never rained! John Earp.