Trip to the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum
with Reg & Wendy – October 2011
Our trip to the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum in Hampshire had been eagerly awaited for several months and here it was at last – after meeting at Jayne’s Place for a hearty breakfast we were on the road by 10am with full tanks and tums, and riding to a route we’d planned taking in the lovely Nottinghamshire countryside and the Cotswolds.
Picking up the A1 from Blyth it was a decent pace to Clumber roundabout where we joined the A614, passing the beautiful Clumber National Park and Sherwood Forest – it had rained during the night but now the sun was shining and glistening on the gorgeous scenery around us...perfect bike riding weather!
Then it was onto the A46 to Leicester Forest East services for the first refreshment stop, and back on the road fairly quick as we still had just under 200 miles of riding to do; thus we take the M69 for a couple of miles, joined the A5 for a short distance then at Copston Magna we take the B4455 Fosse Way scenic route to Morton-in-Marsh where we’d made previous arrangements to meet up with another couple at a garden centre, and a light lunch.
We enjoyed a good hours’ chat and food, and all the lovely goodies the garden centre had to offer that we couldn’t get in the panniers! On the road again and the A429 riding south to the lovely Cotswold market towns of Stow-on-the-Wold, Burford and Lechlade on Thames – A346 via Swindon and Marlborough.
The weather is still kind to us and we’ve kept up a good steady pace and we’re now heading towards the New Forest National Park and at Easton we pick up the A338 towards Salisbury, the cathedral city in Wiltshire we can now see in the distance, just sitting on the edge of Salisbury Plain and at the confluence of five rivers which are tributary to the Avon which flows to the south coast and into the sea at Christchurch in Dorset.
Now riding on the edge of the New Forest, we pass through the pretty village of Fordingbridge, and within a few miles Ringwood in Hampshire, where the television series The Brittas Empire was filmed. Incidentally, Ringwood is noted as the second most expensive market town in England to live, with average property prices of over £380,000 – won’t be moving there then!
With traffic now building up in the area, we did a bit of dodging and diving but we were soon at Hotel Collingwood in Bournemouth where we were staying for the weekend, and excellent underground parking for the Pans – check-in was quick and efficient and we’d had a fabulous ride to the south of England but all of us were ready for a shower etc, then into the bar...some sooner than others! Well, why not...
Evening dinner was superb, and around 8.30pm we joined the rest of the guests in the ballroom for the singer and musician who was our evening entertainment – dancing, laughter and merriment was pursued with gusto!
Although there had been some rain overnight, Saturday morning dawned dry and sunny, and after a fulfilling breakfast we were soon geared up for our ride to the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum at New Milton in the New Forest.
Having done a recce in 2010, Reg and I were familiar with the route we’d chosen to the museum, it would give us a pleasant ride of
about eighty minutes or so, depending on how many New Forest ponies were ambling along on our route! They do have right of way in the forest as do cattle and deer and that has to be respected, but we were not held up and had an excellent journey from our hotel taking in the pretty village of Burley Street and Bransgore on the A35, then a short hop on the B3055 to the museum, the scenery as beautiful as ever.
Because we were a large group from a club, the admission fee was greatly reduced, and an enjoyable few hours ensued, including lunch with steaming bowls of gorgeous soup and a scrumptious white chocolate and raspberry gateau in the courtyard café – also various other craft and attractive shops that suited the girls! Well, after viewing over 400 rare and restored bikes, a little respite was in order I think! Seriously though, the museum really is worth a visit...and I’ll be back for the gateau!
With everyone refreshed, it was back on the road riding northwards to join the B3055 and the start of the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive and Brockenhurst village – this is one of the most attractive routes in the forest and here we encountered plenty of ponies, sheep and cattle roaming free; however, rather than holding us up, it was a joy to see them in their natural surroundings...after all, they were here first.
Now riding south from Beaulieu on our return journey, this delightful route would take us onto the B3054 through Boldre Wood, lovely Pilley village, Everton and Highcliffe – Christchurch ring road then the A35 arriving back at our hotel in Bournemouth late afternoon. This gave everyone time to stroll into town if they wished, which some of us did – Reg and I walked back through the beautiful gardens and the sea front then up ‘cardiac hill’...no explanation necessary!
By around 7pm we were all arriving in the bar and enjoying the chit-chat of the day’s events, then into ‘Pinks Restaurant’ for dinner which again was excellent – later on in the ballroom evening entertainment was a singing duo. Most of us had a few dances, jiving and ‘Strictly’ as we did Friday night – but by about 11pm most of us were ready to retire to bed as we’d had a very busy and active couple of days, including using the hotel swimming pool and snooker room etc. Just never enough time!
Again, Sunday morning was dry and sunny and after yet another great breakfast, we were on the road for 10am with one couple riding off back to the New Forest and a cottage for the following week – the rest of us taking a swifter route home via the M27, A34, A43, A5 and M1, stopping en route for fuel and refreshments. From comments received, everyone enjoyed the trip, the hotel and it’s facilities, scenery and each others company...what could be better than that! Until the next time...
Best Wishes - Wendy & Reg