Those wonderful folk in the SWSC certainly know how to find a great venue and how to put on a great event, Dawlish proved to be another to add to that list.
Since the sad demise of the excellent Teignmouth rally, which many looked forward to as the start of their rally season, we had been waiting for its replacement to arrive, step forward Dawlish. Andy, Stuart and the SWSC crew found another holiday park that embraced the rally and the potential cash influx a few hundred thirsty scooterists can bring.
Solo blast
I had to ride down on my own on Friday afternoon due to work and after being greeted at the gate by some happy faces despite the drizzle, I soon found my mates’ scooters lined up outside our weekend abode, a caravan complete with hot tub…….how times change!
The one danger with a caravan and chalet rally is the temptation for scooterists to do what they do best, drink and chat shit with their mates in their digs. Time flies by when you’re having fun, but we made sure we headed into the do to catch the Friday night fun, band and DJs.
Smaller Woolie
The venue was like a smaller version of Woolacombe and also similarly the dance floor and bars remained busy all night. The park had listened to the advanced warnings and put extra bodies behind the bar to keep us thirsty punters happy. I spoke to a couple of the bar staff who were a bit unsure what to expect from a load of old people riding Italian shopping bikes, but they were kept very busy over the weekend and they really enjoyed our visit and hoped we’d go back next year.
The band on Friday were The Underground and went down well playing a mix of mod and indie faves.
Thankfully a late bar meant late drinking and another bonus of a chalet rally is the drinking can continue even when the bar shuts.
Thick head
Saturday morning eventually appeared when my head cleared, as one negative to a chalet rally is the thick head that follows the bonus late-night drinking.
The weather was a bit of a mixed bag all weekend, blue skies then a few showers and even some hail (when we were sat outside a pub in town, which was nice). The timing of one of the heavier showers meant the ride out was unfortunately cancelled.
Custom show
A number of scooters had assembled for the custom show with something for everyone to admire. You can see most of them in the gallery above.
The Grass Skirts and Button Down Shirts
Inside there were a few stalls set up and amongst them, Alison and Henry were there promoting their epic charity ride they have planned for August this year to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society. To give it its full title ‘The Grass Skirts and Button Down Shirts; The Before We Forget Tour.’
The ride will cover approximately 2150 miles, visiting the 28 rally destinations where we created many happy memories during the 80s. Please take a moment to visit their Facebook page or website www.beforeweforget.uk to find out more and if you can afford to donate it would be very much appreciated.
Shaun’s childish gallery is above…
Gay’s Creamery
As we’d not visited Dawlish before we decided to wobble into town to try and walk off the night before and prepare to top it all up again. So we missed the Saturday afternoon tunes from That Brit Pop Band.
Dawlish seemed a nice place and the highly recommended Gay’s Creamery is definitely highly recommended, their pasties and cakes were worth the walk alone. Their carrier bags also gave much merriment.
After the medicinal pasty, a medicinal cider was required, so we found some mates sat outside a small pub and settled in for an enjoyable afternoon of sun, hail, humour, giant white rabbits and alcohol, oh and another pasty.
Ageing crowd
We joined the other bus wankers for the trip back to the site – rather than facing the uphill slog and were soon freshened up ready for the evening’s shenanigans.
Saturday night can be a bit quieter on the rallies these days, particularly on the chalet rallies as many pace their drinking in the digs before the ride home. Let’s be honest, we’re not getting any younger, so some may be feeling the excesses of Friday night.
Sold out
I’m not quite ready to switch my JD for a cocoa just yet, so ventured out to catch up with many other like-minded souls on the dance floor. Saturday night had sold out so it was a pleasant surprise to see so many out partying.
The band on Saturday night was The Navarones and offered a set of ska tunes to keep those interested on their feet.
The night was soon over and the usual slow start to Sunday morning was made a little easier without the camping kit, etc to pack up. Scooters loaded we said our goodbyes and thanks again to the SWSC crew for another great preseason rally.
Let’s hope we get to go back to Dawlish again next year, who knows we may even get to use the hot tub next time.
