Keith Adams
Time to fess up. I have a guilty secret. Every year, I look forward to Christmas Day to enjoy one of life’s little pleasures: the lonely, early morning drive. This year, it was a case of digging my long-termer Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion off the drive (not difficult really, as we’ve not exactly been inundated by snow here in Northamptonshire) and heading for one of my favourite sections of driving road – the B660/B645/B660 triangle. Admittedly it’s no Route Napoleon, but this plunging piece of blacktop is one of the UK’s nicest cross-country routes, offering a little bit of everything.
However, on Christmas Day, it’s especially magical. Especially this year, as the scenery is predominantly white, the air is crisp and there’s a fresh frost on the ground. Hit the road before 8.00am and it’s perfectly possible to run fast and hard without encountering another soul. That’s just what happened this year… a nice 25-mile run with no interruptions, no passive aggression from others – just me, the road and the car.
Admittedly, the Golf’s not the last word in driving excitement but, on this piece of road, where you have such a wide mixture of corners, clear sight lines and fantastic conditions, it’s the easiest thing in the world to truly enjoy the experience. That’s exactly what my Christmas Day sojourn was all about – reigniting my love for British back roads, something that I need to explore further in 2011.
I guess it might seem odd to you, chosing to go for a drive on Christmas morning instead of eating mince pies and opening presents, but don’t worry about me… it’s what I do and I love it. Anyway, if you love driving and have yet to experience the joys of Christmas Day driving, don’t worry – you have just over 360 days left before you can find out for yourself!
Is the Editor of the Parkers website and price guide, formerly editor of Classic Car Weekly, and launch editor/creator of Modern Classics magazine. Has contributed to various motoring titles including Octane, Practical Classics, Evo, Honest John, CAR magazine, Autocar, Pistonheads, Diesel Car, Practical Performance Car, Performance French Car, Car Mechanics, Jaguar World Monthly, MG Enthusiast, Modern MINI, Practical Classics, Fifth Gear Website, Radio 4, and the the Motoring Independent...
Likes 'conditionally challenged' motors and taking them on unfeasible adventures all across Europe.
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I hope you gave OEG 622R a little pat on those David Bache flanks and wished her a Happy Christmas on your way out, Mister Adams…
@Magnus
Oh, so that’s what Keith really meant when he referred to his guilty secret! Not taking the SD1 out for his traditional Christmas morning drive…
@Magnus
Yes, of course :).
Wow, Northamptonshire looks fantastic – I never knew it was so pretty. Why are you driving a German-registered VW?
@Ianto
I’ve now changed the picture…
I used, for a few years, to make a dash from Stourbridge to Telford early on Christmas morning and then back late in the afternoon.
I always looked forward to the ‘challange’. My charge? A Discovery V8 manual. The inside front wheel used to spin the power away if you weren’t careful and, if the thing slid on the red mud, I’d be prepared to use a fair bit of road up! Still, it was surprisingly well-balanced.
That’s even better than last picture – where exactly is this?