Boys weekend continues - from Glastonbury to Goodwood

Dick's Off Road driving experience and the Greenpower Initiative

For my 70th birthday last June, Henry very kindly booked a ‘track day’ for me at the Goodwood motor circuit. I was due to drive my Jaguar F Type around the track which would have been great fun. However, I sold the Jaguar when I placed an order for a John Cooper Works Mini Countryman which was due to be delivered the week after my Cancer diagnosis. The JCW Mini would have been great on a track day - but at the time of my diagnosis it was not sensible to continue to spend thousands of pounds on a new car in view of my ‘uncertain future’ - so the order was cancelled.

In the light of this, Henry managed to convert the track day into an ‘off road experience’ and subsequently this was booked for Sunday 29 June. Hence the reason why we both left Glastonbury on the evening of Saturday 28 June to travel to Goodwood where we had booked a table for a meal at a local pub and an overnight Air B&B overlooking a lake.

Driving 4 wheel drive vehicles and off road driving is not new to me. In my farming days I drove everything from tractors to combine harvesters and this included various long and short wheel base Land Rovers. I used to be a member of the All Wheel Drive Club (AWDC) and have spent many a day and night driving ‘Green Lanes’ and also tackling terrain such as Bovington Tank Range. My first 4WD vehicle was a Lada Niva and this was amazing off road - it would go anywhere in any conditions. Then I had an old Range Rover followed by 2 Isuzu Troopers, a Land Rover Discovery and finally 2 Isuzu D Max Pickups.

However, all these vehicles were very different from the Series 2 Land Rover that I would use to tackle the off road course at Goodwood. They all had power steering, ABS brakes, synchromesh gearboxes - none of which were to be present in my Goodwood ‘Landy’. We were going back to basics here with a short wheel base vintage vehicle that you had to drive - and I mean ‘drive’.

Henry and I left our accommodation overlooking the lake and went to the Kennels at Goodwood for breakfast.

After a most enjoyable bacon and sausage sandwich - we headed off to the track where we met up with Marcus, my instructor, and ‘Bilberry’ who was to be my steed.

Then the fun started… negotiating a series of tracks and avoiding trees and other obstacles along the way - it was matter or precision steering and a lot of arm muscle power to keep Bilberry on course. Poor old Henry, as my official photographer, was in the back of the Landy being thrown around as we took on the challenging terrain.

Goodwood is an amazing place. The estate is massive and hosts a huge number of events each year including the Festival of Speed and the Goodwood revival. It is also a centre for a range of activities - plane and helicopter flying lessons, horse racing, golf club and much more. Goodwood offers ‘experiences’ that include driving on a skid pan, a flight in a Spitfire as well as the track days and off road driving experiences. Whilst we were there - we were incredibly fortunate to see one of their Spitfires take off.

This video is a bit long and slow - skip through till the end when the plane starts moving

There she goes !

Whilst at Goodwood, there was an event occurring organised by the Greenpower Education Trust, a UK based charity which gets young people enthusiastic about science and engineering by challenging them to design, build and race an electric car. They supply age appropriate Kit Cars, which can be built in school, college or elsewhere and raced at motorsport venues at Greenpower organised events. Alternatively, older participants can design and build their own car to meet certain specifications and regulations. The Greenpower challenge uses the excitement of motorsport to inspire young people to excel in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). They work with over 700 teams throughout the UK and hold 30+ regional events and an International Final every year. More than 10,000 students take part each year, from primary school age through to university. More information can be found on their website: https://www.greenpower.co.uk/about

The cars compete in several stages as shown on the site map below

This is a photo from the previous years event at Goodwood

It was great to see so many children and young people participating in such a fun event and so important to consider that they are learning about STEM and contributing to a ‘greener future’ for generations to come. Well done Greenpower, a fantastic initiative that I, and I am sure many others, was not aware of.

So after a really enjoyable day at Goodwood marking the end of the boys weekend, the 2 Amigos headed home for a hot tub and a roast dinner before a well needed sleep. Then the next day (Monday 30 June) was my birthday - so cards and cake on the deck in the garden.