Rally GB advice

reps4

Anybody been to this previously and would you reccommend. May possibly go this year.

Is it possible get a few stages each day or is driving between stages with crowds/traffic impossible. Also, is there a long walk from parking points to the action.

Is it any benefit having a 4x4, is it better fly over + rent transport or get ferry across.

Thanks.

De Hipster

I've been a few times, most recently last year, flew to Bristol, picked up rental car & headed for Cardiff.

Great weekend, access to stages not fantastic as they are forestry based with limited access points. Get a detailed map & a few additional access points can be located as opposed to simply following the official routes.

Expect rain (depending on the weekend forcast), mud & plenty of traffic.

reiger

you can move between stages it may involve a bit of a drive but i never encountered the traffic been too bad but it would be heavyish at times,
i would advise you to bring a jeep the last time we were over we brought the jeep for two reasons head over on the ferry and you just through all your wet gear in the back not dragging it tru an airport,also the second reason most of your parking on the stages is done on forestery roads and well you can go and park in alot more places with a jeep.
its like every thing if you get to the stages with an hour to go you will have a fair auld walk in but go on time and the walks aint too bad.
if your looking for any more info sure PM me id glad to be of help

cian1500ww

Went last year, be prepared for lots of walking and try and avoid the dedicated spectator points as they're crowd magnets. Bring lots of wet gear !!

reiger

yes cian1500ww if you can at all move down the stage away from these spectator points most of the time there are poor veiwing and over crowded.
just go in time to your stage and you will be ok

De Hipster

reiger wrote: »

yes cian1500ww if you can at all move down the stage away from these spectator points most of the time there are poor veiwing and over crowded.
just go in time to your stage and you will be ok

...or buy/bring an ordnance survey map, you'll find additional access points for a lot of the stages that steer you away from the pay-parking & crowds

reiger

i have tought about that in the past but never chanced it,you sound like a man talking from experience is it hard to to get into stages with just the OS maps

De Hipster

reiger wrote: »

i have tought about that in the past but never chanced it,you sound like a man talking from experience is it hard to to get into stages with just the OS maps

To be honest, I've not had a problem between the OS maps, satnav & obviously stage location knowledge, I transfer the stages onto the OS map & avoid rally route and spectator routes as much as possible.

You might still get delayed by the odd bottleneck on route to the stage locations but parking and access haven't been a major problem.

The main motivation was following a trip to GB in about 1996 where as poorly students we got charged for parking the cars and still had over an hour's hike up the side of a forestry 'mountiain' to discover on the way back down there was alternate stage access about 500yrds down the road with a <10min stroll on a forest trail.