HOC Visit to Motor Museum

21/11/21

The day started bright and sunny, despite the chill in the wind, but 11 hardy members joined up at Frilford service station for a ride to the Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum at Calne.

Starting off towards Wantage on the A338 and onto Hungerford to meet up with Erica and Colin, plus newbies Jambo and Charlotte.

Off onto the A4 to Calne via Marlborough, we got to our destination around 12:30. In time for Coffee and Cake!!!

After scoffing Erica’s delicious cakes and slurping the tea and coffee that the museum laid on for us (thank you both), it was time to have a look around the collection of cars and motorbikes.

There was an eclectic mix of classic and vintage machinery. Some cars the older members remember buying when they were young, and some of us that are not so old remember as buying as our first cars and bikes! I’m not saying that some of our members are classic or vintage 😊.

When it was time to leave the museum, some went off for lunch at Marlborough, and those that were left with me decided to go a pretty route homewards.

Pretty isn’t the word they would describe the ride home, more rural and rustic – to more honest, we would have been better off on mountain bikes!

The plan was to head towards Devizes and Pewsey, then head to Hungerford and home on the A338.

That was the plan! Firstly we go down this lane (although it was called Hampsley Road – and a road normally leads somewhere) and we come to a dead end in a farm yard.

Doubling back I lost all my sense of direction and ended up on a road that was getting narrower and narrower, with the tarmac breaking up and eventually disappearing altogether. Time to check out where the hell we where. Out came the sat navs and, according to Garmin/TomTom, we were on a road! After a chat with some dog-walkers we were assured we were going in the right direction, just get to the end and either go right to Devizes, or left for Calne.

The dirt track gave way to some firmer gravel lanes, and Jim and I came to a crossroads where we waited for Dave and Kevin on their adventure bikes. Several minutes later, with the thought that they may have turned around and gone back the way they had come, they appeared – not looking very happy with me. I enquired what took them so long, as they were riding off-road bikes, and Dave informed me that he had road tyres on his. So what? Jim and I had knobblies on our road bikes???

Anyhow, back on terra-firma we find ourselves back in Calne and turning onto the A4. So much for a different way home!

Mark Clargo

Runs Leader for the day