TRIALS SCENE EXTRA
Originally published in Restart, the ACTC magazine.
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THE STROUD MECHANICS TRIAL 2003
As most of you know, the revitalised Mechanics Trial is a close relative of the Stroud Anniversary Trial which was organised by Rich Welsh and myself but which fell foul first of the weather, then of foot-and-mouth restrictions, and finally of Rich’s accident and my exhaustion after two false starts. One of our reasons for wanting Stroud to run a second road trial, to supplement the Cotswold Clouds, was that we were aware of a number of historic sections which were still potentially usable but which didn’t fit neatly into the format of the current Clouds. We were also sure that there were a few more sections to be ‘discovered’ in the Cotswolds.
When the Haywards took over the event, and changed it to the format of the 2002 Mechanics, I promised to write a historic supplement to the route card. But it didn’t get completed in time (even for the 2003 event!) so here it is, somewhat expanded, to provide some background on the sections used.
Section 1 - Tin Pan Alley
This innocuous little starter section, also known as Tramps Paradise, was used for the MGCC Abingdon Trials of 1937 and 1938 and the only reason it hasn’t vanished into total obscurity is that it features in one of the few photographs in Austen May’s original ‘Wheelspin’. I’ve no idea whether it was ever used between 1938 and 2003.
Section 2 - Alf's Delight
Believed to have been used PreWar and was definitely used by the Bristol MCLCC for the 1950 Fedden Trial when the Fedden was still a road event. It may have been included in the Fedden for a few years after 1950 but then fell into disuse for nearly fifty years before being 'rediscovered' by Rich Welsh and myself when planning the Anniversary Trial. There’s certainly no one in the Stroud club with any recollection of it being used in living memory. Alf’s Delight was the name used for the 1950 Fedden - but we’ve no idea who Alf was.
As most competitors know, the exit route from Alf’s Delight passes the tops of Crooked Mustard and Axe as used on the Cotswold Clouds. But how many know that, immediately after joining the main Dursley to Tetbury road, you also pass the top of Old Hollow - yet another well-known PreWar section?
Section 3 - Boxwell
Used, in this direction as Boxwell and in the opposite direction as Scrubbetts, on the Falcon Guy Fawkes, and Stroud Cotswold Clouds, Trials in the 1970s and 1980s but it hadn't been used for many years before the 2002 Mechanics. I’ve no record of any PreWar use.
Section 4 - Wood Lane
A quite amazing 'discovery' by the Haywards, considering its geographical proximity to Nailsworth Ladder in the heart of Stroud’s trialling country. There are, however, no records of any use for trials before the 2002 Mechanics.
The route between Wood Lane and Ferris Court
The Mechanics Route Card instruction “L into Knapp Lane, SO at Unsuitable for Motors sign” might have alerted you to the fact that Knapp Lane was used uphill as an observed section in the 1930s, most notably for the NWLMC Gloucester Trial. What you may not know is that shortly after turning left into Knapp Lane you pass the top of Iles Lane, also used for the PreWar Gloucester and Abingdon trials and last used by the MGCC for the Kimber Trial in 1995.
Section 5 - Ferris Court
A famous PreWar section used through the 1930s on the NWLMC Gloucester Trial with a well-known photograph in Austen May's 'Wheelspin'. The steep tarmaced descent to the start of the current section was used, PreWar, as both an observed section and special test under the name Bismore. A typical mid-1930s Gloucester Trial descended Ferris Court and climbed Bismore in the morning, then travelled in the opposite direction (i.e. the same direction as this year’s Mechanics) in the afternoon. It was also used PostWar for the Falcon Guy Fawkes Trial and, more recently, for the Stroud Cotswold Clouds although it hasn’t featured on the route of the Clouds for some years.
Section 6 - King Charles Lane
This has been used previously on the Cotswold Clouds, although no one is quite sure when it was first used. The descent to the start was, of course, down the PreWar Catswood section and passing Merve’s Swerve as used on the current Cotswold Clouds.
Section 7 - Greenway Lane
This was used PreWar, at least once, for the 1936 SUNBAC Colmore Cup Trial. We don't think it was used for the Falcon Guy Fawkes Trial before being used through the 1980s for the Cotswold Clouds. The 2002 Mechanics was its first competitive use for many years and we assume that previous events didn’t include the now infamous deviation.
The route between Cheltenham and Winchcombe
The B4632 which climbs Cleeve Hill out of Cheltenham must have been one of the most-travelled Cotswold roads during the PreWar trials seasons. Immediately after the sharp left turn in Prestbury, to the right and parallel with Noverton Lane (see below), is Mill Lane which featured in many PreWar trials, is photographed in 'Wheelspin', and is still used for motorcycle trials today. Unfortunately it has a short section which is impassable to cars without a lot of work. Further up the hill there are three more historic sections, all now tarmaced: Rising Sun Lane, opposite the Rising Sun pub and now called Gambles Lane, drops down to the left from the B4632 and was used uphill in the 1920s; Post Office Lane, on the left shortly after the garage, was used downhill as a special braking test in the 1920s and 1930s Colmore Cup and Colmore Trophy Trials; and Bushcombe Lane, at the very top of the hill opposite where you will rejoin the B-Road after the Postlip section (see below), was used as an observed section through the 1920s and early 1930s after which it became a timed special test. Even today it is still sufficiently steep and slippery to practise tarmac restarts.
Section 8 - Laverton
Laverton was used in 1929 and 1930 for the SUNBAC Colmore Cup Trial, then intermittently through the 1930s and the immediate PostWar period. There is a photograph from the late 1940s in Austen May's 'More Wheelspin'. We believe that it dropped out of use during road trialling’s low-point in the 1950s and we're not aware of any more recent use before the section was 're-discovered' when planning the Anniversary Trial. It was included in the route of the 2002 Mechanics but the section was cancelled so 2003 was probably its first use for fifty years.
Section 9 - Postlip
Before writing this article I had always thought that Postlip was a PreWar hill but a quick scan through both ‘Wheelspin’ and ‘More Wheelspin’ has revealed nothing, so maybe I was mistaken. It was used during the 1960s and 1970s for the Falcon Guy Fawkes Trial then was, as far as I am aware, unused for car trials until the 2002 Mechanics although it features on the route of most of the local motorcycle trials.
Section 10 - Noverton Lane
Although it has been in regular use for motorcycle trials for many years, I’ve found no evidence of any use for car trials prior to the 2002 Mechanics when it was cancelled to save time lost by delays on previous sections. The deviation into the woodland at the top was not just a cunning ploy to give the section ‘a sting in the tail’ but actually to avoid a horrendous rock outcrop which the motorcyclists love! PreWar sections in the immediate area include the parallel Mill Lane (see above) and Piccadilly, which joins Noverton Lane at the top near the quarry. Both were used extensively in the 1930s and there are a number of famous pictures taken on Mill Lane.
Section 11 - Burcombe Lane
'Discovered' when planning the Anniversary Trial. Not known to have been used before, certainly not by SDMC within living memory. A lovely classic lane with a surface that varies depending on how much logging activity there has been - although awarded special test status for 2003, we’ve seen the start area 18” deep in mud in the past.
Section 12 - Viaduct
Also 'discovered' when planning the Anniversary Trial although we then found out that it had been looked-at, and rejected, over the years as too-easy for the Cotswold Clouds. It might be easy when dry, as this year, but we’re still convinced it could be a stopper in the right conditions.
So there you have it, and I make the score: Brown and Welsh - 2 (Burcombe Lane and Viaduct); Haywards - 2 (Wood Lane and Noverton Lane - we’ll let them have Noverton Lane as they were the first to use it); History - 8 (the rest).
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