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Bentley Drivers Run
George kindly organised this outing for us and we gathered at
the popular Wellsbourne aerodrome "Touchdown" café
for tea and coffee. After refreshments at the cafe we set off for a ride
on a variety of scenic routes before arriving at The White Horse at Wroxton for
lunch. We ended up behind Maurice and followed a route that included
some familiar "Banbury Run" lanes and that old favourite, Sunrising
Hill. Some of the party rode a little further, arriving at the pub a
little after the main party. While we waited we were entertained looking
at a rather unusual
birthday cake that had been prepared for one of the pub
regulars. Lunch was the usual mixture of food, chatter and one member of
the party using his wiles and charm to get both cream and ice-cream with his
apple pie. 
A short ride from the pub took us to The Bentley Drivers Club headquarters where
the archives and memorabilia are housed in an impressive modern building.
We were welcomed by Alan Bodfish who is the club archivist. Alan gave us a
very interesting talk on the early years of W.O. Bentley. Walter Owen or
"WO" as he was always known, was involved in motor sport from the
early 1900's. I was surprised to learn from Alan that WO and his brothers
competed on motor-cycles, in many types of events, riding Quadrant, Rex and
Indian machines. WO rode in the Isle of Man motor-cycle TT and also
competed in the I-o-M in a car TT. Best known for his cars we also found
that WO designed a very successful rotary engine that was fitted to several WW1
aircraft. WO was best known for his cars and in his slide presentation
Alan showed us some fine pictures of this famous make. There was also an
example of a beautiful Bentley on display in the room where Alan gave his
presentation.
Thanks to George for a really good day out and special thanks to Alan Bodfish
for making us so welcome and entertaining us at The Bentley Drivers Club HQ.
Eddy
Some of the team outside the café.
A fine example of an early Bentley on display at the Bentley Drivers Club
headquarters.
WO was very impressed by the Indian motor-cycles and competed on one himself.
This nice example of an Indian is on view in the foyer.
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