This weekend a few of the site members met up to go for a tour around M-Sport (where the WRC is developed and ran). I hope to give you an insight into what we all did from Friday Morning until Sunday Evening.

I must warn you first to make sure you have a good 15-20minutes to be able to sit down and have a good look through the pictures, if you don't then don't keep viewing this thread until you have the time.

It all started off on Friday morning when Gareth set out at 7am from London and arrived at mine at 8:45am. We then set off to J14 where Chris Sussex and Sheriden (If Name Spelt Wrong Please Tell Me) was waiting for us.

We then set off up the M6 for Cumbria, we got held up through Manchester for quite a while and was moving at about 15mph for miles on end. Eventually the traffic cleared and we was able to get a good run. This is where the pictures start.

Friday

Driving On The A66 into Cumbria



First Good View Of The Gorgeous Scenery



Some Great Twisty Roads



Erm... Yup it was that road miles back!!! Good Job Gareth Had Sat Nav



Driving Around A Lake



Some Nice Towns ~ So Much For Peace And Quiet With My Exhaust.



Now That's What They Have Been Waiting For!!!



Arrived At WhiteHaven Premier Travel Inn



Then Chris Cumbria Arrives With This Showroom Polished Car



Once everyone has relaxed a little and settled down in the hotel we all then took a trip down to the sea front and had a walk around the harbour. It was a really nice day. We were really lucky with the weather. Here are a few shots of the town that we were stopping in.

This is what we called "The Giant Lampost", at night it changes colour. When we went back at night to get some pics of it; it wasn't on

Its Called The Crows Nest



Heres a few pictures from the harbour and lighthouses.









Heres one of Sheriden - Chris Sussex - Gareth and Chris Cumbria



Well there is a story behind this picture. We all walked from the harbour up the sea front a bit and found this car park at the top. On the way up there was a really old lady in a metro (old shape) in the middle of the road revving the nuts out of this car but not going anywhere. We were all waiting for her to do a Racing start and start battering it around the lanes. We reached the top and then yet another old person but this time an old man sitting in his lupo... he was in the coach space and also facing away from the sea, looking at a steep grass verge... with one hand missing, if anyone knows Chris Sussex you know where this one headed!!! I had to get some pics!!!





After this we asked Chris C if he knew of any good roads for us to go on so we all then followed him to some brilliant roads.



... inwhich I got stuck in the town by a stupid women and these lot belted it off down the really great lanes. They came back for me eventually lol.



Then Mr Plod pulled out in front of me and parted me from the rest of the group...



We then stopped at a shopping place just to relax and work out the next call of duty.





After this we headed back to the Hotel then went to the pub next to it and 3 of the people attending (no named mentioned) were a little worse for ware.

I then drove to Chris C's house and washed my car at midnight ready for the next day before getting some well needed kip!!!

Saturday

We all met up at the hotel at 8:30am and headed off for M-sport to make sure we were there early. Unfortunatley to all our dissapointment we was not allowed to take any pictures inside M-Sport due to the secrecy of the Focus WRC Cars which we were able to see from a short distance.

I'm sure some more of the details of the M-sport day will be posted through this thread but the facilities were amazing and the whole set up was just spot on.

M-sport is situated at a Mannor House which was then made into a hospital and the green buildings that you will spot on some of the pictures were then added, they are now not in use but still on the grounds. The Hall itself is still intact but the development center is then built on to the back of the hall. This is all high tech and modern as you can expect.





Nick Heaven ~ This is where he's going to be in afterlife!!!



Parked Up Outside M-Sport's Reception



This Delta was amazing!!! Very Rare being Right Hand Drive!!!





Who can argue that this looks absolutlely amazing!!! Silver is my favourite for this car!!!





As i've previously said, M-sport didn't allow any cameras to be taken into the center so I had to come back at the end of the tour, grab my camera and go into the museum and get some shots for you all the see.

Escort Rally Car



The next car is a Escort 1700 which is the only one left in existance as out of the total of 5 that were made the the road, the other 4 had to be stripped to feed the rally car. I really liked the look of this car, had a certain mean streak about it.





Gareth loved this Cortina, it did look very nice!!!



The collection wouldn't be complete without one!



Here's a couple of shots of the walls. They were totally covered in memerobilia. Really set out well.





During the tour we went around the new part of the house where the facilities for the car development are and then through this part into the main hall. I got this picture through the window. This Escort was the Car with a European Driver to win the South African Rally.



During the tour Sheriden wasn't very well so Chris took her home straight after it had finished but Chris C and Gareth stuck around so I could take the photoshoot I wanted to take.

Shoot One - M-Sport Hall

















We then left M-sport and headed back to Whitehaven harbour. We parked up in a carpark and this was infront of me Mmmmmmmmm





Oh... when I pulled back up at the Hotel i looked at my car and found the go fast teradactol poo on my roof, I soon got my cleaning kit out and got rid of that mess!!!



Sunday

We had another early(ish) start. We all met up at the hotel at 9:30 in the morning and then head off to the town just up the coast from Whitehaven to meet Amanda (Fordie) and her partner.





Shoot Two - Coast









After I took the pictures we then decided to make use of the day as best as possible and had a drive into the mountains. On the way we stopped in a town and had dinner. After Gareth had filled his face and Chris S was content with making us starve whilst he decided what to order off the menu (oh and I eventually finish my meal - I'm sure everyone will fill you in on the story behind this) we head off for the mountains. Some parts were so tight, or such a sheer drop that it was impossible to stop and take shots but I hope this gives you an idea on the amazing scenery we had whilst driving.









We had to stop here as Gareth wanted an icecream







Well there you have it... 62 pictures that give you an overview of what we did whilst we were in Cumbria. What you don't see is the fun, enjoyment, jokes and great time people had there. I cannot talk for everyone but I know I really enjoyed the whole time I was there and was sad to leave everyone...

So myself, Chris S and Gareth met back up on BroadStreet in Birmingham (the heart of nightlife in Brum) and had a drink in a bar before I set back off home and they stopped the night.

I would like to Thank

Chris S & Sheriden for organising the M-sport and making the weekend possible and being a constant source of entertainment.
Chris C for giving me somewhere to stay, without him letting me stay I would not have been able to afford to come.
Gareth for turning up on my doorstep whilst I was packing my car and being a really great guy, top ginger man!!!
Amanda & her partner for coming along on the Sunday. I know you didn't have much time to get to know us and we wasn't around for too long but thank you very much for coming along and I hope you enjoyed your time with us. Your a great girl!
Lastly Phil for coming along to M-Sport, it's a real shame you didn't stick around with us and we didn't get much chance to chat but the time we did have you was a cool bloke

I would like to dedicated this thread to Nick who couldn't make it. I promised you I would take loads of pictures and show you as much as possible of what we did and I hope you have enjoyed reading this thread.

I hope you have all enjoyed reading it and have a better idea of what were all about and how we do things. I really hope to see more of you at the Summer Event down in Cornwall. We will have a great time there!!!

Comments are more then welcome.

Kind Regards,

Scotty (Site Admin and Photographer)

Good post, looks like you all had a great time... your photos are great too, all your cars look good together and its good to put faces to names/cars!

gareth, didnt u think to wash your car before you went?

Excellent post
A really good read & great pics, thanks for sharing your weekend with us.
Looks like a good place to vist.
My personal fav's of the car's were the Mk2 escort & Mk1 cortina but then I'm old school

Right where do I start here...

I think I should really start by saying that I really enjoyed the weekend, it was really great seeing some of you again and others for the first time, and I enjoyed the whole thing. Shame the time went so quickly, but there will be other things to look forwards to later on.

Going back to the beginning now and through the weekend in order. Glad that everyone eventually managed to get up here alright on Friday even with the probs with Gareths sat nav sending everyone the wrong way, trying to get people to go to a mysterious fifth exit coming off an island! And also that everyone loved the twisty roads getting here through the lakes. Just looking again at that pic of my car on Friday outside the Travel Inn, just makes me appreciate once more how immaculate I'd managed to get her, the time I'd put in on Friday morning was really worth it. Shame its not quite like that now, especially after doing 200 miles today lol, but always the weekend to clean her up again.

Like Scotty said, it was a real shame that the crows nest(lamppost) and wave(wavey thing) wern't switched on for everyone to see. Hopefully some time I'll get my tripod taken down and manage to get a few DECENT shots of them.

As for that man in the Lupo, that was just hilarious. Whether we was right or not in what we was thinking I'll never know, but he certainly seemed to be very happy about something!!

Oops, we did then kind of lose Scott at the back of our convoy down the back lanes (St Bees to Beckermet for anyone that knows the area), whilst the rest of us was enjoying the drive too much. I know you're all a bit envious of the 2 choice I've got driving to and from work - those back roads or the other way with the fast dual carriageway heading up hill.

Brave man there for talking a pic of PC Plod on the way back. I'll tell you what though when we pulled into the retail park just after that and Scott didn't immediately follow us(he'd simply been held up at traffic lights as it happennned), my first thought was that he'd been pulled for having his foggies switched on!!!

Like Scott I won't mention any name as to who was worse for wear, other than to say that I wasn't one of them! Washing a car afterwards at midnight was madness in a way, I know one of my neighbours certainly wondered what was going on, just lucky that neither of us got run over by the taxis going VRMMMMMMMMM inches from us.

Onto Saturday and m-sport was amazing, you got to find out a lot of real interesting information there on the tour. Such as the fact that a clutch for some of the cars costs £12,000, or that they are only built to run for 600km, so you need a LOT of money to be able to buy and run one.

It was a real shame that we wasn't able to get any pics taken inside the facilities. Understandable in a way since the current cars will need to be kept secret, but given they were off limits for going near just a shame that they couldn't have covered the 2006 cars up. Of the cars that we got to see, the highlights for me were the Super 1600, and also the Fiesta with the style kit on it. I think everyone knows by now how much I love the Fiesta RS, but had never seen one up front, seeing that made me appreciate just how great it would have looked and how menacing it would have been seeing that in your rear window. Damn Ford again for not bringing it out.

The museum was great also, loved that RS 1700T. If you hadn't known the history then you might think it was simply a modified Escort, but it did look real special. Heres a pic also of one of the wheels in the museum, its been well damaged!



The Focus parked outside really looked special. I've got to admit that it is something that I've questionned a few times as to whether and how much I like that car, but seeing it in silver I do think it looks awesome, and out the colours I've seen is definitely the best for it IMO.

Was nice that we was able to get a load of pics taken outisde the hall, even if we did get the attention of security, who was getting worried as to what we was doing with the amount of time we took to get them all done.

Onto Saturday evening, and I'll fill in now that story as to Scotty finishing his dinner. Basically everyone had finished their meals before him, in fact the waitress had come and taken away everyone elses plates while he was still eating. We was all making comments about how slow he was. Anyways, he finally finished his now very cold pie, like an hour after everyone else, and then the waitress came up and cheered and applauded him for finally cleaned up his plate!!

Moving now onto out last day Sunday. We did get some nice shots there by the coast and also in the mountains. It was good that Amanda and her partner was able to join up with us and I hope they both enjoyed their day.

I know that everyone really enjoyed the drive through the mountains, with it mainly being single track roads, and also with the sheer drops that are experienced going down one side. I think here I should make a confession to everyone. I had got things planned out as to a route we would take from Harrington (the coastal town where we started that day at), going into the mountains (and which would have taken us the opposite way to the way we eventually went on). Now when we decided to go for something to eat instead straight away, which was an epic in itself lol, although I was leading us I wasn't entirely sure where I was going. It was just fortunate that I managed to fairly quickly get everyone on the right road so that you could all experience that scenery, and also the amazing drives that you get there.

It was an odd place to have an ice cream van, though glad everyone enjoyed the stop there even if it was freezing by that point. Was also a good place for us all to test out our s alarms!!

Sadly after that it was all over, but like I said before I did have a great weekend, and it is great that here gives me the opportunity to get everything written down so that the memories can't get faded away.

I look forwards to seeing yous again, and hope also that everyone has enjoyed reading the posts about the weekend, maybe encourage some more of you to come and join us in the Summer, which should be an even better event!!

Take care
ChrisC (moderator)

Thanks for that post Scott, like you say the post doesn't really capture the fun and laughter (remember Chris S and the shiverng dog!!!) or the...erm...lets say "spirited" driving, during which I was MIGHTILY impressed with Chris' Focus TDCi, there was only 1 time I remember him holding me up (at the top of a hill when he ran out of boost).

Now Scotty didn't explain the night he took 2 hours to eat a Cottage Pie, even the waitress clapped and cheered when he had finished (she had cleared the rest of the table about an hour earlier).

Crofty, I was going to wash my car on Saturday after M Sport, but it started raining for the 30 mins we were back at the hotel for (the only rain we had all weekend).

Snakey, that Lotus Cortina was so beautiful.

BTW Scott, it's Sheridan (with an "a") and I hope you got her permission to post those pics

Really nice to finally meet some of the other members of the forum, you're all a great bunch of people. The summer meet will be great fun as well, hopefully this will encourange more people to attend.

Top weekend!!!

OMG, forgot about mentionning THAT dog. It must be something with ChrisS and dogs (remember the one that fell off the bridge in Bourton?? ).

Well certainly more than I was!

o0 Just something else I remembered. There was one particular road sign in Whitehaven which yous all found amusing on Saturday night, but no one had a camera with them at the time. Will go and get a pic of it later today.

Oops i best change her name tomorrow before she comes knocking on my door with a bread knife!!!

Well i thought those pics were not so intrusive, i do have lots of other's but decided to stick to the point and just use what was needed to keep the story flowing. I hope she would approve of the post... took be hours to do.

PMSL @ the shivering dog, sheep, and ginger... damn some of the stuff everyone was coming out with was brill!!!

I'm really glad you enjoyed yourself Gareth and it was great to meet you. My mom actually commented when I got home that you were "one of the nicest people you could possibly meet" as quoted by her so can't be bad.

A really top weekend and something for the records!!!

Another sucessful meet for this site.

Like you say Gareth I hope to see more people at the next meet up. We all have a really good time.

Oh and another thing.

At M-sport Gareth, Chris S and Myself each bought a proper Ford Rally Shirt with really nice stitching. Heres mine:

May I add that I was the 1st to buy that shirt, but when the daft woman in the shop only charged £15 (should have been £40), it was too much of a bargain for the others to pass up.

I particularly remember the amazing roads up there, especially when they opened up to dual carriage ways, maybe not legal but great fun non the less.

There are so many things I can't even remember at the mo, but yeah a really great weekend. It's a shame we didn't get to meet Amanda and her boyfriend (who's name escapes me) for longer.

One more thing which had me in stitches, on the way home from Brum on Monday, Sheridan was waving at everybody in the traffic jam, there was one old lady who really didn't look impressed. Then she moved on to a "I Love Eggs" sign, finally I draw along side Chris S who shows me his "I Love Beaver" sign.

Oh, and there was an Blue Alfa Brera on the M40, that's one seriously sexual car, if it was red I would have shot my load!!

Ooh looked a nice weekend,The weather was nice too!
Cumbria looks a gorgeous place to visit. Your cars do look very clean lol.
My Favourite picture has got to be the one with the cars in the mountains,looks good!
Cant wait for Cornwall

That looked like a fantastic weekend, thanks for all the great pics and very comprehensive write up (I am still unsure what that ginger reference is about though!)

wow!! those pictures are ace! i had a good time on sunday and that picture of my car there in the mountains is sooo good (if you have any more that youve not posted on here could i see?) thanks for making me feel welcome! How scary was that purple rickety house up in the hills! it even had a demolition sign on it - looked something out of a horror film! m-sport looks great wish i could have gone! I'm glad we all tested our alarms to cos the sound is so naff!!! My boyfriends name is john!

p.s. i enjoyed my fish fingers and chips!

I'm really glad to hear you enjoyed it Amanda, it's a shame you had to work or you could have spent more time with us.

Thanks for the comment on the pictures, I try my best to get everyone good shots and I think they have come out really well.

If anyone would like the big versions of any of the pictures above then please let me know and i'll send them to you.

Here's some more for you Amanda, enjoy









P.s I enjoyed my cheese and onion pasty, even if I was the last to finish (again)

i took one aswell i forgot my camera so its taken off my phone:

Look at how dirty my car is, look at those wheels

What drives? We was parked up and being good i'm sure of it

Looks like you lot had a great time and some awsome pics

As promised heres a pic of the road sign in Whitehaven which some of you loved on Saturday night. Sorry for the camera phone quality, but I realised as soon as I'd driven down I'd forgot my proper camera and couldn't be bothered to go back home to fetch it:

You know what we need to do at a meet, get one of them zs boys, like you Micky, and get some shots mixed in with a silver . That'd be nice!

Whats that sign all about!?!?!? lol

What a wonderful week-end you must have all had. It looks like everyone really enjoyed it and it makes me even more envious that I could not come - arrgh those silly passport people!

Scott I was really touched by your words - I appreciate your thoughts mate, thanks.

I carefully scrutinnered every posted picture and I loved every single one of them. No worries about not being able to take pictures inside the Msport proper rally headquarters - the pics from the museum were fantastic too - I particularly love that Escort RS 1700 T. That is an amazing rarity... and for me that alone would have made the trip worth it.

The 1700 T is somewhat the parent of the RS200 so anyone who knows me a little will know why I would love it so much . It was the first attempt from Ford at building a Group B rally car but the project was binned (ironically something that seems to repeat itself with Ford) and later a new project was started and became the RS200. The 200-odd BDT engines that had been assembled for the 1700 T production cars were stripped down, re-developed and fitted to RS200's in slightly higher capacity form (1800). The sheer rough look of this car is an invitation for "dirty driving". The one displayed there looks like what ought to have been the road going production verion. Even more of a rarity as the other pre-production models were most likely for development of the rally car.

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Nick Heaven ~ This is where he's going to be in afterlife!!!

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Ha ha, LOL, but that ST in the foreground looks waaay too low . Anyway looks like my next car is goign to be Black, but I'll say no more for now...

That Focus looks beautiful in silver... possibly the best colour for the Focus indeed... hang on though, I've not seen one in Diamond White yet...

And who culd argue with Gareth about that Lotus Cortina... it is a beauty... and the Escort Cosworth Group A, OMG...

So many things to see and that was just in the historic section... I can't imagine all that you got to see on the "other" side...

The driving part of the week-end on sunday looked like it was great fun too - the photos out in the countryside are fantastic.

Thanks to all for sharing the stories and all the pictures with us that could not make it. I really am looking forward to the summer event now, I'm sure it will be great... and that I'll have a bl00dy passport by then...

Some really good pics there! Looks like a cracking meet.

Nick, it was a shame that you couldn't make it this time. I know how much you would have enjoyed seeing everything at m-sport, and also you would have loved the drive around. Maybe at some point when you visit Britain another time you might get the chance to come up to Cumbria and experience the scenery and the roads.

I look forwards to seeing you once more in the summer mate, and I'm sure you'll have a great time then.

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Ha ha, LOL, but that ST in the foreground looks waaay too low . Anyway looks like my next car is goign to be Black, but I'll say no more for now...

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I'm intrigued now. It would be a big departure for you to go for black for your next car, wonder what it could be?

WOW! Looks like you all had a fantastic time at M-Sport. The scenery looks amazing. I do like that part of the country. So many photo oppertunities. I bet Scotty couldnt believe his luck! Chers for taking the time to post this thread Scotty, as I know it took you a long time. I'll definately be able to make a the summer event so look forward to meeting a few of you then!

Cheers Chris, indeed looking at the pictures I am sure I would have loved the entire weekend. As I have been saying to you previously I have been wanting to come and see the area for a while. What I would really like to do is in the next couple of years to put my hands on a nice FRP, fly to the UK to collect it and possibly have a trip around the UK before driving it back to CH. But that's long term plans and for now it's just about putting the money aside...

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I'm intrigued now. It would be a big departure for you to go for black for your next car, wonder what it could be?

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Humm... I'll let you wonder... at least as long as nothing is defined for sure...

It would be great for you if you were to eventually get an FRP. I know how much you love that car, and how (other than getting an RS200!!!) thats the car you want more than any.

Yup I've been debating it for a while now and have been talking about it with ChrisSussex numerous times in the past. The hold back for me is that they only came as RHD and that they are simply NOT registrable over here. I would have to keep it UK registered and insured but when I really want something nothing holds me back... It's only a question of time (ok... and money too).

Whilst I knew that it was only ever made in RHD (since it was made for the UK market only), I didn't realise that Swiss law meant that you would not be able to register it over there for that reason, so that would be another obstacle for you to overcome. Still, like you say if you want something enough then you'll do everything to get it, and I'm sure you'll get what you want in the end mate!

Oh actually I expressed myself incorrectly there, sorry. It is not because it is RHD that it is not registrable here but rather because Ford never issued a type certificate for this car in this country or for that matter in Europe (which would ultimately have been accepted here). Only domestic UK type approval was issued for FRP's. Some other countries may allow to import cars on a "unit by unit" basis and issue individual type approvals but this procedure is really burdensome in switzerland and frequently leads to a NO NO answer anyway with owners of some classics having to send their pride and joys back to their country of origin. This is what happened to me when I moved here from France. I had a VW passat (ok not a classic by any standards) and it was just impossible for me to register here because it was a model year during which the type approval was different between Switzerland and the rest of the world. Had to eventually sent it back to France when I was given a 1 month notice to take it out of the country. The best would have been to shut up about it and never even attempt to register it here! Learnt my lesson now... ;-)

Thanks for clearing that up Nick. Don't worry mate, I'll keep quiet about it when you eventually get one!

helllo! (at last)! sorry havent been online since the meet!
Was an excellent weekend, well worth the effort! I know Sheridan had a good time too

I must say some of the stuff that tour guide guy was saying about the cataluya rally and the waste gates on the turbos packing up was absolutely amazing, really shows how M SPORT are so committed - absolutely excellent - makes me really look forward to rally Wales in December and of course the 2007 Monte Carlo rally

Some really great pix there Scott, you were a busy boy with that camera. You need to work on your eating speed for the next meet though! - not sure if I missed it or not, but incase it wasnt said - scott got clapped by the waitress for (eventually) finishing his f'ing dinner! lol. that was class!

I couldnt get over how many f'ing dogs there are in Cumbria. nearly as many dogs as people.

that guy in the Lupo was class too - thats such a great pic of him - he looks well perverted sitting there with one hand somewhere else! (remind you of anyone ) ha ha.

thanks to everyone who came, was a great laugh and great to meet a few new people - and the driving on those lanes was great fun... apart from when Chris Cumbria almost side swiped a Dawoo Matiz lol oh thanks for comment Gareth re my car, I was impressed with it too actually. I was so willing it up that hill when I lost turbo boost!

One word on fuel consumption. M6 on the way back. Gareth managed to empty a £35.00 tank of fuel on only 189 miles JEEEEEEEESUS! lol

Hey Chris, welcome back, and glad you felt it was worth the effort of coming all that distance, I know everyone had a great time!

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thanks to everyone who came, was a great laugh and great to meet a few new people - and the driving on those lanes was great fun... apart from when Chris Cumbria almost side swiped a Dawoo Matiz

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yes that was a bit scary, just fortunate that I managed to somehow correct myself and get round the corner alright, I know that from behind you thought I'd actually bounced off that Matiz. So had to take things a little easier from then on.

Wow some cracking pics! Looks like a great weekend