This How Is We Did It

16/06/08 - London to Chalons en Champagne 
17/06/08 - Chalons en Champagne to Chamonix
20/06/08 - Chamonix to Genoa
23/06/08 - Genoa to Lecco
24/06/08 - Lecco to Munich
26/06/08 - Munich to Nurburg 
27/06/08 - Nurburgring Nordschleife 
27/06/08 - Nurburg to Brugges 
29/06/08 - Brugges to Spotted Cow (Farnham)











'We left England on a high, queuing up to get onto the ferry feeling proud of our cars. Our recently christened cars Mildred (my Maxi) and Edward (the Dolly) looked resplendent in their sponsors stickers and the sun shone down on the beginning of our epic roadtrip. Sadly for us we had chosen the same crossing as a large group of original Blower Bentleys were taking to head to Reims for a vintage car run. While these were superb pieces of engineering and produced a marvellous noise it did kind of detract from us we felt!
 
The crossing to Calais was smooth and we soon headed out along the autoroute towards Reims our campsite for the first evening and despite keeping a steady 60/70mph we were blown into the weeds as the Bentleys sped past us. Despite getting lost around Chalons-en-Champagne we did eventually find our campsite; the only issue on the drive being a horrendous misfire and occassional stalling from Mildred's engine. I changed the rotor arm and dissy cap the following morning and this cured the problem.
 
We continued south towards Chamonix and having decided that the autoroutes were extremely dull turned off onto one of the national class roads and were instantly rewarded with a stunning drive that twisted through stereotypical little French villages, hills, gorges and rivers. After a brief trip through Geneva (which in my opinion goes down as cleanest capital city in the world) at rush hour we were on the route-blanche that heralds the start of the alps. The autoroute into Chamonix heads up a bridge that seemingly never ends and both cars were struggling to do more than 50 up it. Eventually we made it and met our friend and looked forward to a couple of days rest.
 
Having not used the cars for a couple of days it was great that they both started without any fuss and we headed to Genoa to meet my wife at the airport. Our journey there involved using the Mont Blanc tunnel, which both myself and Dom decided had to be done. Having seen Jeremy Clarkson drive the tunnel in a Bugatti Veyron, we were expecting two prime examples of BL tin to create a similar impression on other motorists. Needless to say it didn't transpire that way. Maybe we were too discreet with our opinions. Following the tragic fire in the tunnel, the incredibly tight safety rules that are now applied means that everyone must travel at a precribed speed and at a certain distance. It didn't turn out to be the highlight we had hoped for.
 
The Mont Blanc tunnel deposits you directly into Italy and the route down to Genoa was easy and passed without any incident. Italian autostradas were a welcome change to the French autoroutes in that they are more direct and offer far better views including vineyards that were suspiciously missing in Burgundy and Champagne. Maybe the French think that putting vines next to high traffic roads effects the quality of the wine or something...
 
We met my wife and set up our tents just down the coast from Genoa in the town of Bergliasco. We had now travelled 800 miles and were feeling confident in our cars. Having got to the southern most point of our journey we felt that there was nothing that we couldn't face. With hindsight this was perhaps a little premature!'
'A few days spent in Boglisco by the sea and exploring Genoa itself was most welcome, made all the better for having my wife along as company. It was a little unusual to find that the flag of Genoa is the cross of St. George, for a time I think we convinced ourselves that the streets were decked out for our arrival! But it all went too soon and having thrown the missus out at the airport to return home it was time for Dom and I to continue our journey.
 
We decided at this point to change our route a little and head toward the Italian lakes and in particular to Lecco and a spectacular campsite right on the shores of Lake Lecco itself. The autostrada weaved its way ever northwards, through badly lit tunnels and over huge viaducts. At one point it cut directly through a Roman aquaduct, the centre section obliterated to make way for the road. Imagine that being able to happen in Britain!
Everything was going swimmingly until shortly after Turin and a toll booth. I saw a huge pothole in front of me but too late and Mildred dipped into it. There was a loud bang from the general direction of the front wheel arch and I thought the tyre had gone, we pulled over and looked at the rather forlorn sight of a listing Maxi.There was no doubt that the seal had gone on one of the hydragas displacers. Rather recklessly I decided to carry on, if she absolutely died then I would phone the AA and go home, but I was determined to continue.We made it to the campsite safely and were able to set up camp under a tree right on the shoreline.
 
In the morning we began the trip to Munich and rather unsurprisingly it wasn't long before the other side of Mildred deflated too. I knew it was possible (but not recommended) to travel on the suspensions bumpstops for a little while and by contacting my friend in Munich we were able to rather unbelievably find a MG Rover dealership there. If only Mildred could get there. We left Italy behind us and headed into Switzerland once more, again avoiding the main roads and climbed up through the Alps and headed towards Chur along the Chur valley. This was truely the greatest drive of the trip, the sun shone down on lightly snow covered rocks, the road was twisty and turny in all the right places and we gatecrashed a parade of Bugattis heading towards Saint Moritz.
 
The decent into Chur itself was as steep as the ascent and the road deposits you directly into the town at a roundabout. I pressed the brakes as I headed towards the queue of trafic and was rewarded with no stopping power at all. I had a serious case of brake fade and all I could do was steer down the centre partition of the traffic and straight over the roundabout. I waited for the inevitable crunch and was relieved that it never came and headed down a side street to park up. Dom joined me but I was in a really bad place. I missed my wife and child, had no suspension and had now only just narrowly missed being killed in a car crash. I wanted to go home there and then. After a suitable time Dom suggested that we continue to a campsite and decide on what we would do from there. I begrudgingly agreed and followed him, not taking any notice of where we were going or how long it was taking and it was therefore quite a surprise to me to be drinking a Hellesbeir in Leichtenstein alongside Mildred as night fell.'
'A hearty meal and a good nights kip was enough to perk the old spirits up following the previous days tribulations. Waving goodbye to Liechtenstein (which can be done in little over an hour of driving) our little convoy wove its way through Austria and into Germany, where we were without a shadow of a doubt the slowest things on the autobahn. We still made good time and as my suspension and brakepad-less car finally made it into Munich we were overjoyed to find a Leyland specialist very near to where our friend lives. They were able to get hold of some brake pads and organise a suspension pump up while we were staying there.
 
Giles, our man in Munich, works at BMW and we were able to spend an entire day at BMW Welt and museum which was manna from heaven for anyone with an interest in cars. Despite me wanting to really hate the company for never seeming to help Rover and leading it to it's eventual demise, they won me over with the honesty in which they told their history. Including their involvment with Rover and some slightly less serious stuff involving labour camps during the war.
 
Despite the best attempts of Giles and German hospitality both Dom and I needed to press onwards and we set off to the Nurburgring. Here we were treated to constant drizzle and this combined with the fact we were a little concerned about being nothing more than mobile chicanes on the circuit meant we decided against going around the notorius Nordschleife. We did find a great vantage point and were able to watch some preproduction prototypes hammering around the circuit, including the Porsche Panamera, new McLaren SLR, Lotus Evora and Opel Insignia.
 
Leaving the drizzle behind us we set off to Bruges via Holland. Here we found that far from living up to their boring reputations Belgians are absolute nutters behind the wheel particularly in rush hours on busy autoroutes. The M25 on a Friday at 5:30pm pales into insignificance in comparison! We found a small campsite and made our tents for the last time. After a day of sightseeing we were on our way back to Calais and heading back to Blighty.
 
In total the trip was 2450 miles long, took in nine countries in its 14 days and we were able to raise £2500 for our chosen charities (CLIC Sargent and Marie Curie).

This article was originally published over three issues in the Austin Maxi Owners Club Magazine 'Maximise'