This year we thought we would do the Isle of Man trip for a change and fortunately the timing of this event, for once, didn't clash with the Club's sprinting calendar.
A group of us from the South East made the trip to Liverpool together and practically everyone who was travelling across on the Friday catamaran all met up and stayed at the
Premier Inn in Runcorn. On arrival in Douglas we were met by the local seveners and after a brief photo opportunity on the quayside we all headed off to our respective hotels.
We were staying at the Mount Murray Hotel where most of the L7C crowd were staying.
Most of the lads unpacked quickly leaving their other halves in the hotel and immediately we headed out on the TT course, sadly the weather was not too kind and over the top of the mountain
it was pretty foggy! We all met up again at the Creg-ny-Baa pub for a fish 'n chip supper, but again as the weather didn't look too promising we hired a minibus to get us there.
Saturday was a full-on day. Everyone came to the Mount Murray car park as a meeting point and we all set off for a tour of the south of the island taking in Cregneash, The Sound and the
Southern 100 Course. This was followed by a blat to The Hawthorn pub for lunch.
After lunch a group of us headed to the north of the island and its most northerly tip, The Point of Ayre. On the way back it was felt by all in our party that a stop at The Bride Tea Rooms was in order. Here, we all split up
and made our way back to the hotel. We decided a quick blat over the mountain was required and for our sins we got a right drenching!
Saturday night was a great BBQ at Rob's house in Laxey and as the weather, again, did not look good so another minibus was organised.
Sunday was designated group blat day around the course. With organised times at 7am, 8am and 10.30am. The majority of us at The Mount Murray elected for the early bird blat and we were rewarded with
a completely car free lap of 37 miles only having to stop or slow down at the traffic lights at Ballacraine and Ramsey. Having completed
a lap of the TT course in its entirety it's not difficult to see the attraction of the island to bikers and sportscar drivers alike!
Anyway, back to the hotel for breakfast and afterwards we drove to Laxey to take the Snaefell Mountain Railway train to the top. It was sadly quite a misty day at the top
but at least the clouds parted whilst we were there to offer fantastic views.
No time for rest, as we needed to head for sunday lunch at Glen Helen which was followed by fun and games at the grandstand along the start/finish straight and, of course, the
obligatory photo shoot. Having visited the North, East and South of the island all we needed for a full house was a trip the the west so
it was decided that we should head from Douglas to Peel to visit one of the ice cream parlours and stroll along the seafront.
Sunday evening was a quiet affair in the hotel as many of us had to be up early to catch the 7am ferry back to the mainland. 'Twas a great weekend and we look forward to another vist in the years to come.
