The internet and the telephone lines between Seattle and the Cotswolds (not to mention Google Earth) are burning up right now as we assemble the Sunday Navigation Rally and parallel Scenic Tour. This year we will be heading from the Prescott Paddock, up over the Cotswold escarpment to take in the incomparable views across the Vale of Evesham, the Malverns to the rolling Herefordshire countryside beyond. The route for the day is falling into place incredibly well this year with some tremendously interesting and thought-provoking stops along the route, including locations that are not normally open to the public. And of course, a quintessentially English pub has been selected for our lunch stop. We will be concluding with cream teas, results and awards at Stanway House where we will have another private demonstration of the spectacular 300 foot tall gravity fountain.
Pre-War Prescott 2016 on Saturday is going to be an incredible day. We are delighted to announce that our Guest of Honour for the day will be Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton GCB ADC LLD BSc FRAes CCMI RAF who recently retired as the Chief of the Air Staff – that’s the number one position in the RAF and was the position held by Lord Trenchard, founder of the Royal Air Force. As of this week, entries for Saturday are about to hit the 100 mark, with a total of 308 climbs allocated so far. Because of the enthusiastic take-up of climbs this year, we have had to limit climbs to three (two plus a free one) per entrant, and we may have to reduce this even further as the day approaches, so we STRONGLY encourage you to get your entry in if you have not already done so and you wish to climb the hill more than once.
Saturday planning is in full flight – in every sense of the phrase. The Vintage Air Tour will be visiting us around lunchtime, followed by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Avro Lancaster that will be with us at 1415 hrs precisely before heading off to display at the Farnborough Air Show. And we’ll be paid a visit by Tim Williams, flying his 1930 de Havilland Puss Moth to mark the reunion of the Gilg and Kay families who will be our special guests for the day. Cameron Gilg and Walter Kay drove their brand new 1933 Morris Minor from Liverpool to Cape Town in 1933, achieving the first ever crossing of the Sahara in a light car. The two families have not met for forty years. Gilg picked Kay as his co-driver for his expedition because the previous year, he had flown his Puss Moth to the Cape to film the inaugural Imperial Airways flight from Croydon to the Cape.
From this point forward, I will be posting more regular news here as our plans develop and the weekend approaches. See you soon!