We did a 500 mile round trip yesterday to Moffat, Scotland for lunch with four Barchetta owners plus guests in the form of one Ferrari and a former Barchetta owner (me).
The company, as ever, was good and after a reasonably short lunch we headed off for a drive. And what a drive! Sorry, I don't know exactly where we went, I don't have a large-scale map of the area. The route took us the full length of a reservoir (loch). The road was two-lane but very narrow and, although nominally at water level, was seldom flat. Continuous crests and corners required concentration at max level, particularly as we were'nt hanging about. Far from it. Recent snows had left a lot of gravel on the road and it sounded as though we were doing a rally stage. Gavin in the 328 was hanging back a bit because I was spraying him with stones. There was also sheets of water on the road. No-one slowed for this and it was spectacular when the cars went through. Apart from us the road was virtually deserted so it was play time. Apparently my Ragazzon exhaust sounds really good. I couldn't hear it myself, induction roar and stones drowning it out. The Ferrari is fitted with a Tubi and sounds amazing. Gavin, who owns it, is not the least bit precious about it and uses it to the full. We stopped in a car park for a photo opportunity and I didn't take any notice of the steep exit until I grounded the front of the car. I didn't lose too much paint. We then turned off onto a single track road, narrow with small boulders fringing the surface. You really didn't want to go off road here. This was taken a bit slower but there was even more standing water on this stretch so the local sheep got a lot wetter as we passed. Back on to a wider road and the pace increased somewhat. Then a lot more as confidence grew. The road twisted continuously, nothing much in the way of straights with more dips and crests. No traffic so we could use all the road. Low gears, foot to the floor, seldom up to fifth and never cruising. What a road.
All too soon we were back to Moffat and went our separate ways.
This is the third time we've met up in Scotland and, as ever, the driving is magnificent. I live in the Peak District and it's just a crawl here but hopefully I'll organise something in Wales next year. Can't wait.
Thanks to Steve and Dorothy (www.barchetta-scotland.com) for organising this and to Paul, Ricky, Colin and Gavin for the company.
Finally, apologies for the quality of the pics, I really must take a camera instead of my phone.
The company, as ever, was good and after a reasonably short lunch we headed off for a drive. And what a drive! Sorry, I don't know exactly where we went, I don't have a large-scale map of the area. The route took us the full length of a reservoir (loch). The road was two-lane but very narrow and, although nominally at water level, was seldom flat. Continuous crests and corners required concentration at max level, particularly as we were'nt hanging about. Far from it. Recent snows had left a lot of gravel on the road and it sounded as though we were doing a rally stage. Gavin in the 328 was hanging back a bit because I was spraying him with stones. There was also sheets of water on the road. No-one slowed for this and it was spectacular when the cars went through. Apart from us the road was virtually deserted so it was play time. Apparently my Ragazzon exhaust sounds really good. I couldn't hear it myself, induction roar and stones drowning it out. The Ferrari is fitted with a Tubi and sounds amazing. Gavin, who owns it, is not the least bit precious about it and uses it to the full. We stopped in a car park for a photo opportunity and I didn't take any notice of the steep exit until I grounded the front of the car. I didn't lose too much paint. We then turned off onto a single track road, narrow with small boulders fringing the surface. You really didn't want to go off road here. This was taken a bit slower but there was even more standing water on this stretch so the local sheep got a lot wetter as we passed. Back on to a wider road and the pace increased somewhat. Then a lot more as confidence grew. The road twisted continuously, nothing much in the way of straights with more dips and crests. No traffic so we could use all the road. Low gears, foot to the floor, seldom up to fifth and never cruising. What a road.
All too soon we were back to Moffat and went our separate ways.
This is the third time we've met up in Scotland and, as ever, the driving is magnificent. I live in the Peak District and it's just a crawl here but hopefully I'll organise something in Wales next year. Can't wait.
Thanks to Steve and Dorothy (www.barchetta-scotland.com) for organising this and to Paul, Ricky, Colin and Gavin for the company.
Finally, apologies for the quality of the pics, I really must take a camera instead of my phone.
