Hello All

I am Kelvin Woodard and I will be running the BLAT on the 7th September.

The first thing to mention is that this BLAT comes under the heading of a "Social Gathering" as far as the Caterham and Lotus Seven Club's regulations are concerned. So, there is no compulsion for anybody to follow the route if they don't want to and can just turn up to "Socialize". 

 

So, the meeting point is Northrepps Airfield for the start of the BLAT. It is situated on the A149, North Walsham Road to the east of Cromer approximately half a mile from the junction with the A140 in the direction of North Walsham. Postcode is NR27 9LF.

The Cabin Crew Diner opens at 10am for allday breakfasts etc etc.

Please be aware that the track down to the airfield is a bit rough. There is camping on site, this needs to be booked with the airfield operator.

I propose to be there by 9:30am. Setting off time 11am.

 

The BLAT principally follows two roads the A149 and the B1145 with some country lanes in between. The A149 is the coast road and the B1145 is the back road from Kings Lynn to Norwich.

For those who do not know these roads, the A149 in parts is a reasonable width but goes down to narrow sections through two or three of the villages. There are also some sweeping bends and some straight sections as well. Beware the Coast Hopper bus in the narrow parts, you will have to back up! It also affords views across the marshes to the sea. We will follow the A149 to the B1155 which is about a mile and a quarter past the entrance to Holkham Hall. On the way we will stop just outside Wells Next The Sea and catch up so that we can drive in convoy along the harbour at Wells before rejoining the A149.

The B1155 takes us to our first stop, the Bircham Stores cafe. Time approximately one hour thirty, distance travelled 38 miles, arriving at approximately 12:30pm.

We will plan to leave Bircham no later than 1:30pm. Being so close to Sandringham we will deviate slightly to take a photo opportunity outside of Sandringham's main gate passing through Anmer, which is where Will and Kate have their country home, on the way.

From Sandringham we will get ourselves onto the B1153 which will get us to Gayton and the B1145.

The B1145 is what might be termed as a "drivers road". It consists of some reasonably long straight sections and some interesting bends. In some parts it is quite wide, in others it narrows down. In a few places you will need to stop to cross over dog leg cross roads. We continue on the B1145 until it meets the main Norwich to Fakenham road. If you hit the chequer board sign you will not have stopped in time enough! Turn right here for approximately half a mile to the garden centre, turn left and back onto the B1145 heading towards Reepham. Before going into Reepham market place we turn right and head for Whitwell railway station which will be on our left.

Whitwell is where our "Social Gathering" finishes, having driven another 40 miles in approximately one hour thirty minutes.

More detailed directions will be given out on the day.

Please remember that the event will be raising a few quid for Prostate Cancer Research and a collecting tin will be available for any donations. Any person making a donation (min £10 is suggested) will receive a stainless steel laser cut club badge in return.

See you all on the 7th September. Fingers crossed for good weather.

Thanks

Kelvin