Haven't got mine yet. Anyone know if that's a problem with the post or is it that they haven't been sent out yet?
They are on the members section of the MCC Site though. I see that the route by-passes Litton Slack. Wonder what the problem is.
Michael
As I understand it there have been several issues over the use of unsurfaced roads in the Peak District National Park recently and the organisers have been working very hard to get a route. I guess Litton may be one they had to concede on.
ReplyDeleteAs for the route arriving with me, it hadn't when I left for work this morning but our post is awful at the moment. So bad that I am going to have to go to a post office to renew my road tax as it might not get to me before the trial if I do it online.
Posted from Blackberry by Orange, wot a fruit cocktail!
Can't comment on when the mailing may arrive other than there have been numerous postal strikes around the country.
ReplyDeleteGraham is correct in his understanding that there have been many issues regarding access to our traditional sections this year. This was discussed at the MCC AGM. Sections where there have been access/PR issues include (but are probably not limited to) Litton, Clough Wood, Haydale, Great Hucklow and Haggside. Three of these sections run on or close to SSSi's and this is the key issue for Litton. You can be sure that even if these sections do not all apear on the 2009 Edinburgh Trial the MCC will be doing all it can to secure their use in future.
I'm sure this doesn't need repeating but the need for all members to behave responsibly on this event and to ensure that the event is portayed in a responsible fashion on the web and elsewhere probably cannot be overstated.
They were on the MCC website on Monday
ReplyDeleteRobin Barlow
Why is it that access issues have occured this year or is it that they have finally come to a head after some years? How do the MCC intend to overcome these issues then? Such a shame that, in addition to access problems the organisers also have to contend with Marshal shortages. Good luck to everyone who is undoubtedly putting in an immense amount of time and effort to solve the problems as those who only compete, sometimes dont understand just what organising entails.
ReplyDeleteEveryone who got to Litton Slack in last years Edinburgh will remember the drive across the field to get to it. Watching the cars in front of me slipping and sliding and trying not to slide down the 45 degree slope into the ravine knowing that I had to do the same was one of the most terrifying drives of my life, (and I've done a few daft things during 40 odd years of motoring!) The thought of an inexpierianced O' class driver having to do the same was worrying.
ReplyDeleteI've made this comment before reading the others, maybe they have the same thought or the true reason, whatever it is, the state of "that track" needs to be thought about before we have a serious accident or worse, a death!
It's not so much that access issues have "come to a head" this year, more that Derbyshire in general, and the Peak District in particular, is an incredibly sensitive area for motorsport and we're catching the flak from others. I was up in the Buxton area last weekend and saw two "convoys" of mud-encrusted and aggressively-raised 4x4s within one ten minute period. I just hope that they hadn't been "playing" on one of our sections.
ReplyDeleteWe must all remember that the large number of competitors in an MCC event sounds horrendous to the uninitiated who just can't believe that 300 vehicles on road tyres will do less damage than half-a-dozen 4x4s on knobblies.
The true reason that Litton is not in the route is that we have not been given all the relevant permissions to use it and, as my original post states, this is related to its status as an SSSi.
ReplyDeleteSo, why is it that Litton has not "been given all the relevant permission to use it..." What has changed since last year? Dont get me wrong. I am certainly not criticizing anyone. I am interested from the view point of an organiser that may have to cope and alter strategy due to pressures and lobying from an increasing number of NIMBY's or ill informed groups.
ReplyDeleteHi Myke
ReplyDeleteFrom our perspective nothing has changed but for some reason, which we don't fully understand yet, someone in one of the statutory bodies involved said 'no' this year. Until we get to the bottom of it and reach some form of resolution I don't think there's much more anyone can add.
On a more positive note, the Edinboro mailing went out on Tuesday so even with the postal strikes everything should arrive in plenty of time for next week.
I haven't driven on the Edinburgh for a few years, but fully intend to again in the future. What a shame about Litton to us 'west country boys' it is the hill of the trial especially now that Bamford is suffering from 'concrete cancer' a virulent MCC infection that spread to Simms a few years ago! Please please MCC fight and fight harder to keep using Litton. Dave H , Keith and myself have recently had to embark upon some major public re-education around some of the hills used in the recent Torbay trial, that had not until the other weekend seen trials cars for at least 10 years.The approach to Litton has always been tricky and I agree has to be treated very carefully .Just one thought and i guess some other competitors will shoot me down for this ,but are some cars carrying much more weight than before, obviously positioned to gain maximum traction when climbing hills but making it more difficult to drive down a slippery slope with a camber?Litton is probably at best when a thick Derbyshire fog has descended and you can't see the ravine and have to drive even more carefully to stay on the track!
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of things appearing in this thread that I just have to comment on.
ReplyDelete"The thought of an inexpierianced O' class driver having to do the same was worrying."
Thank you for your concern for us Class O drivers, but have a look at the entry list and you will see names such as Keith Oakes and Brian Osborne on there. Hardly inexperienced, and as a Class O competitor myself with 30 years of motor sport experience I have to say, go easy old man. There are just as many inexperienced drivers in the main trial as there are in Class O and the Class O section at Litton runs up the top of the ravine, meaning a small error of judgement can result in you ending up in the ravine. As far as I know that hasn't happened yet to any of the inexperienced drivers in Class O.
"We must all remember that the large number of competitors in an MCC event sounds horrendous to the uninitiated who just can't believe that 300 vehicles on road tyres will do less damage than half-a-dozen 4x4s on knobblies."
Do you have any scientific proof of this? As an owner of a Land Rover that has nobblies and a Skoda Estelle trials car on Colway CMTs I know which one would do the most damage on a surface like Litton and most other surfaces. A Land Rover on good tyres in low box will not need to spin its wheels to make progress across the surface and would climb all of the Edinburgh sections in low box first on tick over leaving hardly any sign of it passing.
"I just hope that they hadn't been "playing" on one of our sections."
As far as I am aware the only section on any of the 3 MCC events which is one of our sections is Bluehills 2 which the MCC owns. All other sections are either on private land or are public rights of way. The ones on private land are used with the land owners permission and public rights of way are used with teh permission of several different authorities. The organisers of Classic Trials spend many hours getting the permissions and people like myself spend much of our time campaigning and educating people on their rights and responsibilities in using these rights of way. There is a small minority of people who abuse their rights and bring all of us into the publics eye. Remember when using the public rights of way on a classic trial that they are not ours, they are the publics and we must respect the privelege we have touse them.
There is a growing minority who would like to see all motorised use of rights of way banned. They are growing in influence and in action. Claiming that public rights of way are ours is not likely to endear us to them.
There, said my bit.
Oh and you may get a better understanding of some of the issues in the Peak District if you read this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.derbyshire.police.uk/news/1839.html
I can understand why Graham took offence to my slightly-too-flippant comments above, so perhaps I should expand a little:
ReplyDeleteDamage : I totally accept that a properly-driven 4x4 on knobblies will cause minimal damage to untarmaced surfaces. It's an unfortunate fact of life, however, that many 4x4s do get stuck on untarmaced lanes and cause an immense amount of damage extracting themselves - ask all those trials organisers who've been forced to abandon sections because of 4x4 damage. I've spent an immense amount of time in various ROW PR meetings over the years and virtually all PR "problems" can be put under the twin headings of Illegal or Irresponsible. Under Irresponsible, 99% of the problems come down to two simple issues - surface damage by 4x4s and noise from motorbikes.
Who "owns" sections? : Graham is, of course, totally correct. Maybe I should have said: " ... "playing" on one of "our" sections."
PS - And, before someone else says it, it is generally possible to tell the difference between damage by regular farm traffic and damage by 4x4s getting stuck.
ReplyDeleteMy panic is over. Edinbugh stuff just arrived through the letterbox. The trial will be a real adventure for me. My first long distance road trial in an open car, my original Dellow LOC 827 that I purchased from Richard Shirley last year. Didn't fancy subjecting all that old machinery to Bamford Clough so it will be my first run in Class 0 - Michael
ReplyDelete