DFR4

Thanks for those points Rob. I am almost certainly not going to do Eroica this year anyway. I will perhaps do London, but as you say, it wouldn't work for a DFR4 combo for various reasons.

So, if there is enough interest, we can start to look DFR4 locations. Thanks for your offer of help with planning.

In August I cycled just south west of Solihull with a friend who lives in Dickens Heath area. I was surprised at just how rural and quiet it was around there. The had some lovely rides in the Ledbury area and then round about Tring which is a very nice area too but slightly busier.

I think the Birmingham/Warwickshire/Stratford area has many advantages in terms of transport for the majority of people though.

Can we provisionally put a date in just to give us an idea of how it might work and if campsites need approaching? We generally go end of June early July.
I personally cannot do 25/26 June.
18th/19th June is Eroica

So 11/12th June?
2/3rd July?
9/10th July?

Please chip in with thoughts.

In terms of camp site.

Going rates (in my experience)

Tent - between £5-18 per night depending on what facilities site has
Van - £10-25  per night ,again depending on whether it has electric hook up.(and grass or hardstanding which Kev would need if he is coming in his motorhome)

The site manager last year when I went to discuss said that in busy season they require 2 night weekend bookings even if only wanting one night. (this wasn't actually the case when someone booked it nearer the time and I am not sure if they would really turn away custom in most cases?). But I think some people who wanted just Fri liaised with those who just wanted Sat night and worked it out between them to prevent over payment.

Then the facilities - toilets & showers essential for those staying over and anything else is a bonus.

I can live without electric hook up too.

And ,it is nice if they let us block book an area of a field and can all be together. But again it isn't the end of the world. And a bit of space in general is good- the only way you really know weather they cram folks in, is to take a look. 

Oh, and one last thing - The riders who just turn up for the day, some will need parking (generally never more than half a dozen), but some sites would not allow it or want to charge.

I approached a couple of sites last year and explained that we were a vintage English bicycle club and were organising a weekend Rally. In almost all cases their eyes light up at the word 'vintage bicycle' as they think it's very sedate and quaint activity, likely to be very quiet, with old folks attending. Some of them go on to tell me about how they had a scooter Rally and it was hell with all the noise and drinking etc.
Then they might say "well we can open up the back field for your group" or "we can give a group rate". 

DFR2 camp site was held in a field at the back of a Scout hut and the price was very reasonable and they were keen for us to return, but on the DFR3 dates , they had a scout camp.

In my experience , I would't worry too much about looking for local B&B's etc as no-one has ever stayed in one during a DFR that I know of?

Thanks for the help Rob. Much appreciated

Jem, the Mousley House farm rates look a bit higher than you quote, but I'll try to visit next weekend if the owners are available to see if they are friendly and what the washrooms are like. If anyone does requires four solid walls and a comfortable bed (possibly four-poster), Wroxall Abbey Hotel is just around the corner from the campsite.

There are plenty of places to eat and drink (including the intriguing nearby pub!) around Hatton and Warwick, with a good cyclist-friendly cafe at the head of Hatton locks on the Grand Union canal. We could put a 'Castles, Country Houses and Canals' route together, and there are many local family-friendly attractions for those whose nearest and dearest can't bear to be without them (or vice versa) for the weekend.

I looked at availability for Broadwater Scout campsite in Meriden, which I've used for our Cubs' pack camp, but it's fully booked for our weekends.

If folks can express any preferences for dates, it might help me to negotiate some advance reservations. It's a bit early in the year for many forum members to log in regularly, so do you think it would be impertinent to e-mail all registered members directly with our outline proposal? I don't know if your administrator rights allow you to do that, Jem.

I know it's a really long shot, but if any of our international members are tempted to join us, Birmingham International (BHX) Airport is close by. DFR4 could be part of a pleasant summer trip to Britain. I'm sure we could source enough bikes and tents etc. to avoid you having to bring your own with you. I'll be happy to sponsor a pint of local ale for whoever travels the furthest to join us! (Jim, Expedia is currently showing return flights between BHX and Bakersfield in early July for about £1000 - it has to be worth it for a free (warm) beer! )

Oooooooooooh! Warwickshire!!

The Case is Altered is probably my lifetime favourite pub! (Too many exclamation marks: stop it at once.)I'd certainly be up for revisiting some of my old stamping (and cycling) grounds. There are indeed some very nice rides around that part of Warwickshire.

If something in Yorkshire is being mooted, then that's where I live now: in addition to the Tour de Yorkshire, there's also the York Cycle Rally (June 18-19: yorkrally.org/), when the weather might be a bit better than in April. (Although after the behaviour of the weather in recent years, who knows....?)

The TdY has a Sportive associated with it on the final day (Sunday), using the same route as the race, with 40K, 85K and 115K options (however, this includes some pretty challenging climbs, like Sutton Bank - a real thigh-burner), and the YCR has a number of organised rides (but maybe we could run a satellite DFR ride, open only to Viscounts?)

For those unfamiliar with the YCR, it's based at York Racecourse, and for camping there's a basic charge for the 3 nights of 17th-19th inclusive (£25 with vehicle, £20 without for the first person, plus £10 per extra adult and £5 per extra child) - this is the "early-bird" rate: it goes up a bit (only by £5 for the pitch) after 27th March.

Rob,I think it best to avoid A roads as much as possible. The A 452 through Kenilworth will be busy on a summer Saturday and our gaggle
my find it difficult. The usual distance tends to be 20 miles ish.
Keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Pete.

I am happy for any venue that suits the the majority. I prefer the quieter roads, as it makes the chatting easier to do!

Thanks for your efforts on this Rob, I know it's quite a logistical puzzle to get all things/people/accommodation/route in place for these rallies.

Also just remembered that we have to think about those coming by rail (if any), and how far they have to travel to get to start of ride or camp site

Jem

Jem, I am tragically interested in railway routes (not as a train spotter, but working for the railway just gets to you in the end), so I find them hard to ignore. Mousely House farm is 3 miles from Hatton station and 5 miles from Warwick Parkway station, both of which are on the Chiltern Line, which runs between London (Marylebone) and Birmingham (Moor Street/Snow Hill). Birmingham Moor Street station is a 5-minute walk/ride from Birmingham New Street station, which has direct links to and from most of the Western, Northern and Midland parts of Britain. Leamington Spa is a couple of stops south of Warwick on the Chiltern Line, and is a stopping point for services between the South Coast, Reading & Oxford on their way north to Birmingham New Street & Manchester. If we settle on a Warwickshire route for DFR4.x, I will be happy to provide mind-numbingly detailed suggestions for train access routes from pretty much anywhere in Britain.

For car & motorhome drivers, Hatton is about 15 minutes easy drive from the M40 junction 15 (Longbridge Island) for Stratford-upon-Avon and "Historic Warwick", 30 minutes from the M69/M6 Junction 2 for Coventry/Hinckley, or 45 minutes from the M1 junction 17 (M45), just north of Watford Gap services.

Dracco, great spot, thank you. The Kenilworth Greenway is a perfect alternative to the unpleasant undulations of the A452 out of Kenilworth. I'll try mapping a new route later in the week as an update to the first draft route via Kenilworth and Baddesely Clinton.

This crowdsourced route planning is great fun! All suggestions gratefully received, even if it just gets me a new route to try out at the weekend.

Rob, thanks for all the thought you're giving this. Very helpful and I think there's a promising DFR4 route in there. But am I missing something or is the 4.2 route one way only? Don't we need a circular or at least there and back route?

Looking good Rob. A pub stop near the half way point is traditional!
Cheers,
Pete.

The Brickmaker's Arms in Balsall Common would be about half-way around, in either direction. It does reasonable food and has a garden, if the weather's behaving properly.

There is every chance that Alan Rickman will upstage the Grim Reaper, just as he did Kevin Costner in 1991's "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", for which he won a BAFTA. Was that really 25 years ago?

Dracco, The Brickmakers Arms is a short walk from Berkswell railway station (London Midland service on West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Birmingham New Street) so would be very convenient for anyone who'd like to join us for lunch by train without having to ride their bike at all (?), or for any riders who have to join us late or be back home by Saturday evening. I've incorporated it into the route. The greenway actually goes directly to Berkswell station, but the mapping tool doesn't recognise the through route.

DFR4.x(iv) by RMT@261, on Flickr

A date would be useful. Yesterday evening, I asked my lovely wife "Just suppose we had a bit of a Viscount bike ride around Hatton and Kenilworth in June or July, would you be prepared to act as our support driver, with a bike rack on the roof of the car and a few tools and stuff in the boot?" Her reply was a very encouraging "Hmm, maybe, we'll see."! I could really do with a confirmed date to turn her enthusiastic offer into a legally binding contract. She could also bring riders' 'other halves' from the campsite to join us for lunch at The Brickmakers Arms if desired.

Current options are: 11/12th June, 2/3rd July or 9/10th July, though I have yet to confirm availability at the campsite.

I have emailed Mousely House Farm to query site availability for our dates. Looking at their published campsite rates, the 11/12 June weekend is 'Mid-season', when they allow single night reservations at weekends @£15, compared with the July dates' 'High season' rates that are a minimum of two nights at weekends @£20, i.e. a single saturday night booking on June 11th would cost £15, whereas anyone wanting a single Saturday night in July should expect to pay £40 (and £20 vs £50 for an EHU). Is this a deciding factor for our choice of dates if there are no clear preferences from our current correspondents? See Sooper8's reference above to some to-ing and fro-ing about this kind of thing last year.

Update/Correction: The site owner has confirmed pitch availability for all our dates, including for the glamping caravans and bell tents, with a warning that they book up very quickly.
He also pointed out that the 'two night minimum booking at weekends' rule applies in High Season and June (I should learn to read properly), so the 2-night rates would be applied to tents/motorhomes/caravans for any of the three weekends under consideration. The 2-night rule doesn't apply to glamping reservations, making the 2-bed retro caravans Betty and Daisy a potentially attractive proposition for train travellers at £45 for one night in June or £55 in July with no need to bring and pitch a tent. I'm making a site visit at 2:00pm tomorrow.

Pete, any news on the soap box race dates?

Mousely House rates by RMT@261, on Flickr

I visited Mousely House farm campsite yesterday. It's a field off Case Lane with electrical hookups around the perimeter and a smaller tents-only area off to one corner. The owner, Simon, was very helpful and has responded quickly to email correspondence. The ablutions block is a combination of 2 Portakabin-type buildings with 3 loos for each gender and 2 shower cubicles. Simon was happy for me to look in them and they looked clean and tidy. Simon says they have a reliable hot and cold water supply during the season, though the water is currently isolated for the winter. The field was quite firm underfoot despite all the recent months of rain, and Simon says he mows it very regularly during the summer. I didn't see any specific hard standing areas.

There is good availability at the moment for all three weekends we've listed. Simon suggested we also consider the weekend of 4th & 5th June, when The Case is Altered ('best pub in the county') runs its annual beer festival. This is the only time that 'The Case' serves food - pork pies and cheese or ham rolls. Simon and his family help staff the pub for the festival. It's high season rates for that weekend (end of half-term week) and the small 'retro' caravans are already booked for the Saturday evening. The pub hasn't published the date yet, but Simon expects the site to receive more bookings as soon as the date is made public.

Simon confirmed that the 2-night minimum booking would apply through June and July, but he does enforce the 2pm earliest arrival time 'just as a hotel has to', so anyone wanting to arrive to pitch a tent on Saturday morning before the ride would need to book for the Friday evening anyway. We can book in up to 4 day visitors per booked pitch.

Jem, could you take a look at the site regulations to see if there is anything that would stand in the way of us having a good meet-up? I think that we should assume that Simon will operate to the rules as published, and be grateful for any flexibility he is able to offer us nearer the time. Simon believes his rates are highly competitive for the area. I guess there is a small premium for the proximity to 'Shakespeare Country'. 

Simon pointed out that the farm also operates some barn-conversion 'equestrian' holiday cottages if anyone wants a solid roof over their head or might be considering staying for more than just a weekend, with the opportunity to take some horse-riding lessons if wanted.

If our current group of commentators think it's a goer, I'll be happy to make an initial payment to reserve a mix of 8 or 10 pitches for our favourite weekend and adjust arrangements with Simon as we get nearer the time, to reflect actual enthusiasm. 

I also rode a good part of the proposed route. There are still a couple of fast traffic bits where we'd need to have our wits about us, but otherwise it's mostly well-tarmacked B roads that were quiet yesterday. The Kenilworth Greenway will be perfect for us so long as it isn't filled with walkers, dogs, horses and joggers, but that's a risk with any public footpath/bridleway in the summer.

As Jem says, if people like the idea so far, the next challenge is to agree a weekend.

I'm still happy to consider completely alternative suggestions,

Rob