Into The Valley – British Vespa Days Llangollen 2019
In the 37 years that I’ve been riding scooters, I’ve never got around to trying a national owners club event. But, in the interests of trying something new, I broke my duck with the VCB National Rally in the beautiful Welsh town of Llangollen.
In that same period of time, I’d also never attended a rally on an auto, despite having owned a couple, so when a friend offered me the use of his I leapt at the chance. As it turns out, it wasn’t the best idea… On the Friday the rain was already coming down quite heavily and I set myself in for a long, wet ride across country. Years of experience of struggling with spray on motorways stupidly convinced me that it would be a better idea to cut across the Peak District. In the pouring rain. And strong winds. In the dark. On an unfamiliar scooter. Predictably, I had a ‘moment’ as the front wheel washed out, which led to me making an apologetic phone call to the owner the following morning. No major damage, thankfully, and a lesson learned. Motorways next time then. After a five-hour journey, I finally arrived at the site in Llangollen.
The following morning broke way too early, but thankfully bright and cheerful, and a complete change from the night before. It also brought with it the realisation that my plans for following the rideout to the Horseshoe Pass weren’t going to happen as my shoulder and knuckles had stiffened up after my spill, and I wasn’t riding anywhere immediately. With this in mind, I watched around 300 of the 450 people who’d arrived by this time leave the site in an orderly and leisurely manner, wishing I was tagging on behind. As I wasn’t going anywhere, I took the time to have a wander around the well-appointed venue. A magnificent marquee-like structure dominated the site. Plenty of level grass made for a great campsite, with a few smaller areas hidden away making for an interesting layout with excellent facilities.
The afternoon’s activities were soon underway, but sadly these seemed largely under-appreciated. The games struggled to attract more than three teams, with Cockwombles having some very suspicious tactics in the wheelbarrow race, though taken in good humour by their opponents, Valley S.C. Similarly, the talk from Norrie Kerr perhaps didn’t attract as much attention as he deserved as it seemed by now that half the attendees had wandered off to discover the area (and it’s drinking houses), whilst most of the others were sat
in the blazing sunshine swapping stories and relaxing. Settling down to chat to fellow my Vespisti, it took me a while to work out why the rally felt different to any that I’d attended in previous years. It wasn’t until I realised how quiet the site was that it dawned on me. No kids running around, no dogs trotting up and down, and no ‘Scootering’s Greatest Hits, Vol 1 and 2’ blaring out of cars blocking up the campsite. Just scooter owners enjoying each other’s company, something that was commented on regularly by other VCB virgins that I met over the course of the weekend. It certainly made for a very pleasant experience. Another which stood out, was the sheer extent to which the GTS (and to a lesser extent, other auto Vespa models) have succeeded in becoming the rally-goer’s vehicle of choice, with easily 50 per cent of the scooters there being this model. That’s not to say that there was a dearth of other models – the P range still proving a popular model, and if you looked closely there were representatives of most other variants scattered around the site, but all were outnumbered by the big autos. How things have changed!
As a part of the price of the ticket, alongside all the bits in the goodybag, was a sit down, three-course meal. Around 500 rally attendees attended, and received a very Welsh menu of leek and potato soup, followed by braised lamb with local vegetables, and bara-brith for desert, washed down with local beer, all of which made for another pleasant change to the usual routine, especially when accompanied by a harpist. Slightly surreal, but in a good way. At the end of the meal, the grand raffle was drawn. First prize was a brand new Vespa Primavera Touring 125, purchased by the club out of funds as a way of giving something back to the membership. Winner Tony Attwood looked completely stunned as he went up to collect his prize, and I’m not entirely sure he grasped what had just happened at the time! I caught up with him later, and he said that he almost refused the ticket that you got as a part of your goodies. I think it’s safe to say that he’s glad that he didn’t.
The weekend wound up, as any scooter rally does, with music. In a change from the usual selection of soul/indie/ska/reggae/ punk/etc., the DJs from Woolybacks SC played nothing but 70s material, and all from original vinyl. Many attendees made the effort to turn up in 70s-inspired clothing, reminding us just how lousy the clothes were back then! Apart from the complete lack of restraint, many of those walking round must have been a severe fire risk from the static they were generating. Glam 45 put on a brilliant live show, taking quite a wander down the hits, and occasionally lesser remembered songs of the era while capturing the feel of an era long gone. As the night went on, the music got cheesier and cheesier until last orders were called, meaning that there was only one place that the music could have ended. The band that, for many of us growing up in that era, pretty much defined the era. Altogether now… ‘Remember, member, member, what a Womble, Womble, Womble you are’. Wise words, and ones to live by.