Page 14 - Shining On Winter 2022

there have been other reports of biker visits to Ypres and the area, so I won’t repeat our experience, but
needless to say it was interesting, sobering and very emotional.

Our hotel was just outside Ypres in the village of Poperinge as we couldn’t find one free in Ypres. Arriving
in Ypres it soon became apparent why we could not find accommodation there. We were welcomed to
the main square by the sound of roaring engines and the square filled with pavilions emblazoned with
logos for various rally car companies. We’d picked the very day to visit Ypres when the World Rally
Championship was camped there for the Belgian cross country rally! The town was a bit of a zoo, and as
we drove out from the cobbled side street where we parked, we were followed by one of Subaru’s cars
gunning away. The quiet of Poperinge was therefore welcome where we enjoyed a great meal and drinks
in the town square. In my experience Belgium always offers good food and drink.

The next day was a short run to the tunnel and then back home to Rutland. Arriving back on the UK
roads is always a shock but this time it was the worst I’d experienced. Jams started miles before the
Dartford Tunnel and then once again for miles on the M11 and then again on the A1, most of it stationary.
Alas no parting of the cars like in Germany so weaving and filtering for miles was no joy. Ignoring the
terrible last day though, the long way back from Hauenstein was great fun and I would recommend the
Schwarzwalder Hochstrasse should you have time when in the area. A great biker experience.

Roamin’ in the Gloamin’ - an Autumn Tour in NE Scotland (Colin Hawkins)*

November: renowned for its gale force winds
and rain, plummeting temperatures and a
distinct lack of daylight, surely time to wrap
your pride and joy up in blankets and look
forward to next season’s riding?

However, remembering a great run out in
November 2021 up into the eastern
Cairngorms, I kept a weather eye on the
forecast. The itch to ride needed scratching
again and my last decent trip, from Bridport in

Dorset to my home in Inverurie in
Aberdeenshire, was a fading memory.
The weatherman promised
unseasonably warm sunshine and
light winds. He couldn’t do anything
about the shortening daylight but I
figured “two out of three ain’t bad”.

So where to go? Those that know the
northeast of Scotland will understand
that there’s a lot more to Scotland
than the HIghlands, and I’m spoiled
for choice. The east coast from
Fraserburgh down to Dundee is
brilliant, with fantastic beaches, quaint fishing towns and villages galore, and great and largely empty

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