REPORT Llandudno Rally

A ride taking eight hours to cover 160 miles, numerous breakdowns, a hospital visit and ‘four-deep’ queues for the bar… but was it all worth it? I think you know the answer….

Jamie fills us in on the wild times in Wales.

If you have ever been to Wales then you will know it has some beautiful scenery and Llandudno is no exception. It was roughly a 320-mile round trip for us and of course it rained there and back while riding, but the weather in Llandudno was pretty much perfect. I have no doubt that plenty of scooterists will be coming back with some interesting ‘tan lines’.

Arrival...

As soon as we arrived, soaking wet, we scurried into the first pub we came across before finding our digs. This pub was called The Kings Arms and it was filled with the Salford Knights Scooter Club cheering and chanting to non-stop Oasis songs playing from the jukebox. After a swift pint and a few hellos we split to find our digs or to sort out our tents. The campsite was located at Bodofan Farm, with its sea views, great facilities, friendly staff and an assortment of animals… baaaah. The animals were a definite favourite with some of the drunken scooterists; they kept many of us entertained (no animals were harmed during this scooter rally)!

Early evening we ventured out to try a few different pubs and a particular favourite for a large number of scooterists was Carltons. This was a sizable pub with a lively bunch of punters spilling out into the beer garden and on to the street. Most people seemed to have already sampled a fair few of Llandudno’s finest pubs; however, you did have to walk a fair distance to the next one.

Friday night came along very quickly (it’s true, time does fly when you’re having fun) so we trekked over to the main do hosted at Venue Cymru on the sea front. There were two large rooms; one for the northern soul movers, and then the main room for the bands and the ever so impressive VFM DJs. I chose to spend most of my time in the latter where the familiar scooterist party and dancing vibe was going on. The dance floor was filled with a lairy lot, and some questionable moves were observed. A little rough at points but that didn’t deter anyone from getting involved. Everyone appeared to be having a great time. Unfortunately, one fella maybe had too much of a good time; Big Ev from the Logistical Nightmares managed to injure his shoulder on the dancefloor, forcing him to visit the hospital and return with his arm in a sling. His dancing isn’t great but I think it might have been the ever so lively mosh pit. He still managed to enjoy the rest of the rally but had to leave his Lambretta on Sunday until he could go back in a van to pick it up.

The day after the night before...

Despite being a very late and rowdy Friday night, it seemed everyone was up bright and early on the Saturday morning. After a quick breakfast, there was a speedy move back to Venue Cymru on the picturesque seafront for the custom show and parts fair. Scooterists who rode down parked in the large designated space along the promenade, making its own little show; known to us at

Scootering mag as the ‘car park custom show’. Hundreds of scooters lined the promenade, of all different calibres, making it an enjoyable afternoon with something to suit everyone.

Across the road was the real custom show, and with the sun beaming all day, it was held outside the venue. The entrants were impressive. We were lucky enough to witness the likes of the Valentino Rossi Vespa, M&M’s Lambretta and what I’m fairly sure is everyone’s new favourite machine ‘Lower Class’. I know I was glad to finally see it in the flesh after reading about it in Scootering. For me, with my gaming head on, I discovered a new potential favourite; The Assassin’s Creed Lambretta, great design! Anyway, mooching on inside to the parts fair and a very busy one at that, there were plenty of stalls to suit everybody’s needs or desires. We even had a Scootering magazine stall there and if you came to see us then you probably left with some free stuff. Result.

Later Saturday afternoon, we tried the Tavern pub for a couple and then went up to the top of the Great Orme. The Great Orme is a ‘prominent limestone headland on the north coast’ or to you and me, a very, very big hill with a belting view over Llandudno. It seemed many headed up on their scooters and with such great views you’d be a fool not to. We took the cable cars up to the top which was a nervous time for anyone scared of heights, like myself (thinking about it, the scooter may have been the better mode of transport). After that, it was back down to the busy pubs before heading to the main event. Saturday night’s band was called Brassneck, a trashy punk cover band from Manchester and the crowd loved them. They came on stage not with water to soothe their throats but with two crates of lager, ready to bust your eardrums and party along with the rest of us! The room was extremely hot but it didn’t

stop them from running up and down the stage or smashing the drums like Moony. Quality performance in all aspects from the Mancs. When Brassneck finished it was up to the DJs to keep the atmosphere lively and the bar staff to keep the drinks flowing. One out of two isn’t bad but it would be nice to see some more bar staff next year. The bar queues were four deep for most of the night, not what us thirsty scooterists need. Although, considering the 160-mile ride home the next day, the slow access to more alcohol was probably not such a bad thing!

Homeward bound...

The journey home was long… eight hours to be precise. The lack of full bike licences, the inevitable breakdowns (at least four) and that one guy running his scooter in at 45mph, made for a long day. I would do it all again though, and no doubt I will. Well played to everyone involved with organising the Welsh National Scooter Rally, the sixth national of the season. Top weekend, see you at the next one…