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Euroadster ’23
  • Peter Dannock
  • Rob Dannock
  • Peter Dannock
  • Rob Dannock

Euroadster ’23

Combining a desire to travel with a passion for the world's best-selling convertible sports car, my brother and I are embarking on a ten-week journey through the United Kingdom and Europe in a Mazda MX-5. Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 17, 2023
  • Euroadster ’23
    1

    Day 1/2 - Travel to London

    June 18, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    After spending 27 hours travelling to London, I now understand why my wife says she will only fly to London in future if she flies business class. It was a torturous trip being stuck on a plane for more than 14 hours. We had a six-hour stopover in Singapore and explored the vast expanses of Changi Airport. It is enormous with its four terminals. Rob was impressed by the self-driving trains that took passengers between the terminals. We arrived at terminal 2 and had to depart from terminal 3, which was quite a distance.

    We arrived early at Heathrow Airport, and our accommodation provider was happy to allow us to check in early. So we jumped on the train from Heathrow and used my City Mapper app to plan a route to our accommodation in SW16. Once we had dropped our bags, we went back into Central London on the Tube for a look at Piccadilly Circus, House of Parliament and Big Ben.

    We collected some food at the supermarket on our way back to our accommodation and we were feeling really tired. I think we will have an early night’s sleep tonight.    Read more

  • Euroadster ’23

    Roadster collection

    June 19, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Thanks to my man in the UK (Ed), I got to collect the Roadster today.
    Roof was down for the drive back to London. I have to get used to miles on the speedo and the indicator stalk on the wrong side, but I am sure I will adapt.
    Very happy with the purchase.    Read more

  • Euroadster ’23
    GPX

    First drive - Liphook to London

    June 19, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Today was a logistics day for me. I had to travel 1 hour from London to pick up my roadster. My man in the UK had been extremely helpfulin assisting me to purchase a car, and the time had come to pick it up.

    As soon as I started driving the car, I had recollections from my previous NC model about how different they are from the newer ND model. The clutch and steering felt very different, and the indicator stalk was on the wrong side. At the first corner, I turned the wipers on instead of indicating that I was turning left. The speedometer was all ilk in miles, though it does show kilometres on the inner ring. It didn't take me long to acclimatise myself to the differences in the car. I was soon on the road with the roof down, heading back to London.

    The roadster was easy to drive at 70 miles/hr on the A3 motorway, though a 6-speed would make motorway cruising a little but easier. It also doesn't have cruíse control, but given most of our driving won’t be on motorways, then it won't be an issue.

    Now that I have had a chance to drive the car, my first impressions are positive. I think we have a car that is suited to the trip.    Read more

  • Euroadster ’23
    GPX

    South East Loop

    June 20, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Though we were not due to set off on the UK leg of our trip until Thursday, my brother and I couldn’t resist getting out in the roadster for a drive, so we made a 300-kilometre loop around the southeast. We set off from our London location and travelled through Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Brighton, Worthing, and then back to London.

    When we got to Sevenoaks, there was a big summer storm, which resulted in some flash flooding. I wasn't expecting so much rain, but it was refreshing. The roads were quite in Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells, as we had left quite earlier and got caught in their peak hour.

    Our route kept us on the A and B roads. The British have been credited with inventing the road roundabout, and it was not surprising to see so many of them on our drive today. The big roundabouts on the A roads kept the traffic moving, but I am sure they could quickly become gridlocked. The small roundabouts in London streets can be hard to notice, and you can find yourself in a bit of bother if you get it wrong.

    We both felt comfortable in the car over the 300-kilometre journey. That is a good thing as we have many more kilometres ahead of us.    Read more

  • Euroadster ’23
    GPX

    Lap of London

    June 21, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Today's plan was to drive from the south of London to the north to visit the Royal Air Force Museum. Only a distance of 30 kilometres, but a one-and-a-half-hour drive.

    Most London roads now have a speed limit of 20 miles per hour (approx. 30 kilometres per hour). Apparently, the implementation of 20 like per hour speed limits was put in place to increase safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users. Nevertheless, a drive through London can be a demanding task.

    We enjoyed the Royal Air Force Museum, with many planes and tales of heroics over the past 100 years of the air force. My favourite plane was the Vulcan Bomber, a huge aircraft with massive wings. The Vulcan bomber was a jet-powered aircraft used by the Royal Air Force during the Cold War. It was a strategic bomber, which was used for long-range bombing missions.

    On our return journey, the navigation system offered a route home through the centre of London. Being the fool I am, I thought it would be a good return home. It would have been okay if I didn't turn left at Hyde Park to do a lap of Piccadilly Circus. For some reason, driving around Piccadilly Cross has been on my bucket list for a long time. It was congested and slow progress. But all you need to make sure you do when driving through the centre of London is to have plenty of patience, stay out of the bus lanes, and pay the congestion charge.    Read more

  • Euroadster ’23

    Sue and Jos

    June 22, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Nice to catch up with friends, Sue and Jos, in Poole. We will be back to stay with them after Wimbledon.

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