(21 Jun 2021, 1:42 pm)Ianthegoon wrote It's going to be a bit of an odd year for rallies, given the current situation!
I've only managed to visit a couple of rallies around the north-east, Howlands a few years ago and one at, I think, Seaburn. Of the two, I preferred Howlands; nice mix of vehicles on display, combined with the shuttles to and from Durham city centre. the folks I talked to were quite friendly as well, although one "enthusiast" let forth a stream of invective at something I'd allegedly done ..... I guess there's always one!
The thing I did notice, however, was that both were smaller events than the ones on the south west that I've done. I guess at Howlands they're limited by the size of the venue, although the one in Chippenham has a smaller "base venue" but gets round it by using the bus station as a secondary venue together with being the start of the heritage services, with a shuttle between the two sites. Seaburn, of course, was a slightly different situation, as it was a vintage vehicle rally with a fairly small selection of buses - wasn't really quite my thing, but I guess it would work for others.
Anyway, hope you make it to a rally, and that you enjoy yourself. And, in the unlikely event that you find yourself in Gloucestershire on 11th July, I gather the Stroud rally is going ahead - usually a good one, so I may well pop over and see how it goes this year!
I quite like Seaburn; if you get the weather, it's perfect, but if not then its awful as a soft-standing event. The only issue with Seaburn, is that the attendance in the last few years has been pretty dire. Probably because its at the tail-end of the North East rally season, and personally I think we've got too many events, instead of focussing on say two larger affairs.
Howlands is an OK venue, but the Sniperley Park & Ride side would be a better place to have a Durham rally. All 3 P&R sites sit empty on a Sunday, so I'm sure the County Council would agree to it if asked. Sniperley is laid out in a horseshoe formation and the sun is in a perfect place pretty much all day.