Katy goes to Blackpool Rd!!!

This post is for Ceris and Jim

Excellent hosts with s drive that is JUST big enough!

Katy is in a lot better condition and was a lot better behaved than last time she was in Preston, the day after we bought her

Preston Again

Leaving Scarborough we decided it may be time to head West over the border to Lancashire again.

We had picked Katy up last February and headed over to see our friends Ceris and Jim who live in Preston and share our first adventures in Katy with them

We picked a route across the A64 and then M62 before heading off through some fascinating landscape and industrial areas talking the words through Hebden Bridge and then to Preston

Last year Ceris had taken some really fun pictures for us on that first night of ownership and it was a good opportunity to share where we had got to in our refurbishment with them over a bottle of wine or 4 (ouch!)

Here she is parked up around the corner where we'd left her that first night she's definitely a lot cleaner and with less flaking paint work she's more acceptable to be in the neighborhood

This time no problems like last time and we were able to come back to Katy in the afternoon (after a nice walk at the Ribble Valley Sculpture Trail (which I'm sad to say has only 2 highlights, the Otter and Sika Deer - below ) and find that she started first time and was ready for off back southwards, and with a good tailwind we were finding she cruised really well down the M6

 Frightened Steel Deer - must have seen a Land Rover (steel dog ?)

Down to Preston

So setting off in a "Brand New Land Rover" in the dark, up a farm track and on unfamiliar roads was quite a 1st step given I was now a little unsure on how she was to drive. The state of the track was such that nothing other than a 4x4 would make it

The first discovery was that the instrument lights were not working so I had to rig up a torch to see what speed I was doing and then off again. The next discovery was that trees are too short and I clipped a few branches.

We had luckily managed to stay with friends that night in Preston. so headed off on the A666 and then down the M65 to Preston.

The well known artist Ceris Jones (Sloane) and her husband Jim who almost by tradition are the people we see when we buy cars were putting us us up for the nice in their fabulous house which is one of the best Art Galleries I know !

After a brief warming up because I was frozen (In the excitement I had neglected to work out how to use the heater which was actually fully functional) we stepped outside to share the experience with our friends.

Ceris kindly recorded the event for us both in stills and video so some pictures of the event

Katy herself

Rhian and Katy playing together


 Jim looking on longingly at somewhere warmer than he is


OK... I may be a bit overexcited at this point

 Proof if needed that it's a Land Rover



And with that.. off to bed at the end of a very exhausting day