The Cynghordy Viaduct in Llandovery “with eighteen arches built in sandstone and lined with brick, is 259 m (850 ft) long on a gentle curve, rising to a height of 31 m (102 ft) above the valley“. We passed under this impressive structure on our final approach to Llanerchindda Farm which would be hosting our group for the weekend.

We were due to arrive at around 16:00 ready for tea and cakes at 16:30, so setting off at 9.00am, we aimed for the A40 route south of Cheltenham, expecting a bit of traffic delay. As a result, despite my best efforts to get lost in the middle of Cheltenham by ignoring the sat nav instructions, we arrived after 186 miles, at 15:00hrs.

We were greeted by our hosts, Martin and Lynn Hadley and their two sons Andrew and Mark. Martin showed us to our accommodation in one of the cottages and pointed out our route books and rally plate. As the first arrivals I took the opportunity to clean the car after its journey before the others turned up. That plan was thwarted when Lesley and Jeff Abrams, who organised the whole thing, arrived shortly after us in their 3.6 XJS, so my clandestine attempt at cleaning was foiled.

The hotel provides buckets and hoses etc. should you wish to wash the car and some took advantage of this facility. By 16:00 most of the cars had arrived, one or two stragglers turned up at 16:30 but by 17:00 we were all sitting on the terrace with cakes, coffees (or teas) and a special birthday cake for Richard, who celebrated his birthday on the day.

We were a party of 20, in 11 cars consiting of; 3 XJS; 1 Jaguar Series 3 Sovereign; a rather interesting Suffolk SS 100; an E Pace; an F Pace; two F Types; an XKR; and, a Saab. The Saab was a stand in for an XK150 that had suffered a misshap just before the tour so it ensured our group would be complete.

A convivial dinner followed, because if you drive cars as a group, you have to have good dinners with good company, at least that’s my rule. And as we all headed for our rooms, thoughts turned to breakfa…………….. [sorry], the first tour that we would undertake the next day.

Tour 1

The weather was less than optimal, to coin a phrase. It was damp and drizzly when we awoke and generally stayed that way all day. We would be following two routes one each day. Each route was to be approximately 100 miles and allowed for coffee and lunch stops before returning to the hotel.

Our first road book took us on a westerly route and would find us driving through the Welsh countryside to the Cardigan Coast at Aberporth and Llangrannog then back via Lampeter. We were given a briefing which included directions to parking places and coffee shops. On the face of it an easy route, until exiting Aberporth on the way to Llangrannog, we encountered road closures and diversions. We attempted to find a way around the problem but eventually I put google maps on the phone and headed towards Lampeter. After the diversions our 109 mile trip finished at 125 miles.

We were using a Rally Trip app on the phone and the difference between the trip meter and the GPS app was noticeable. Indicative of the undulations on the route because gps is 2d and therefore doesn’t account for hills and valleys.

Another friendly and entertaining evening followed a dinner of welsh lamb kebabs and of course a couple of glasses of wine. I tried Welsh Whisky for the first time and found it very pleasant.

Tour 2

Day two dawned even wetter than day one. There was a hope of improvement but unfortunately it seemed to get worse, until we returned to base that evening.

We headed towards Llandrindrod Wells, where there was a cafe by a lake, for coffee and (in my case) Welsh Cakes.

Then it was off to Knighton via (for some of the group) a trip to the Thomas Shop which is a step back in time. We continued to the proposed lunch stop at Hergest Croft Gardens in Knighton, where our host met us and organised our visit. Not being a massively keen gardener I took the opportunity to use the excuse of the heavy rain to avoid a walk around the grounds. That said, others in the group enjoyed it and of course the operators must be applauded for keeping the gardens in such pristine condition.

A mildly humorous issue arose when I couldn’t find my wallet. Normally I use this excuse when in an expensive restaurant but on this occasion it meant I couldn’t pay for my ham sandwich! My wife Pat stepped up to the plate and paid for us both. I found my wallet at the very back of the drivers door pocket where it nestled in invisible comfort. Phew!

The Fuel Scare

Now, fuel started to be a consideration. Super unleaded is not very popular in Wales so only a few garages on our routes would be able to quench the Jaguar’s thirst. We had filled up in Builth Wells about 15 miles from our destination before arriving at the hotel on Friday. But, having zeroed the trip meter as instructed by the route maps, I had no immediate idea of mileage and of course fuel gauges (ours was showing a quarter at this point) are never totally accurate; I was assuming around 180-200 miles range.

We were heading to Builth Wells for the final leg of the tour when the yellow light flashed on, then as we went downhill and on the flat it went out. This happened a couple of times with (according to the route map) 19 miles to go.

Finally the light came on and stayed on, about 1 mile from the garage in Builth Wells and having covered 235 miles (as I later calculated) since the previous fill up, I poured in 70.55 litres of fuel. That was 15.52 gals and equated to an average of 15.14 mpg. So now I know!

Feeling slightly more relaxed we headed back to base while the odometer clicked over on 79000 miles. Afternoon tea and cakes was had, accompanied by tales of derring do, well actually how we stayed out of the rain and on this occasion, failed to get lost!

The final evening found everyone smiling and happy to have joined the tour. Lots of discussion about the weather, of course, but also lots about the places we’d seen and the roads we’d driven, some of which were nothing short of spectacular with dips and rises, twists and turns, including proper hairpin bends, and very little traffic. In fact it was noticeable that the towns we travelled through appeared to be quite empty.

Time to go home

After breakfast we said our goodbyes to our friends, thanked our hosts for a great weekend and headed under the viaduct for the final time. We decided (well google maps decided) that taking the northern route via Worcester and the A44 would be best, so following the nice lady’s instructions, that’s what we did.

The route took us through Stratford-on-Avon, so after topping up the tank at a Shell garage, we decided it would be rude not to stop at Caffeine and Machine for lunch.

An excellent weekend arranged by Lesley and Jeff Abrams finished with us covering a total of 588 miles. We arrived home at 15:10.

Thank you to everyone who joined in, and the Hadley family for hosting us, we fully expect to return.

Driving Impressions XJR-S

I once had an electric car (sold very quickly) that was unfortunately totally impractical but it was quiet and very comfortable, in fact a great driving experience. I was therefore surprised to discover that the Jaguar is almost exactly the same driving experience in terms of quietness and comfort. It scores better though, because it is also quite practical. I enjoyed every mile.