Doing the Hill Climb Ourselves ?

I fired up the Talbot first thing, it started first press of the button - using the choke and a couple of dabs on the throttle. Easy when you do it correctly. Then I filled the boot with 2 cases, a smaller bottle of antifreeze mix, jump pack and pump, tools, cleaning kit and finally the crook lock.

I finally finished packing and around 9:45 and we set off - we battling with the first set of roadworks - well the ones outside the house.

The traffic was light as it was Saturday and we made good time so I decided to pass Cambridge services and stop for very expensive petrol at the site on the A428 - only discover the new road is bypassing it - although it's still accessible at the moment.

So after an expensive 37 litres - and a chat to a chap with a VW van who liked the car and another with a Caterham SV who was not interested - we set off again about 11:15. I noticed the water temperature had dropped significantly even in the 10 mins we were at the station.

The next leg is the worse with the colossal engineering and roadworks at the Black Cat interchange (which we passed fine) and the 250 roundabouts through Milton Keynes. I'm not sure who needed the rest more after those - me or the car - but by the time we made the lunch stop at the farm shop just over an hour later I was happy for an hour off.

The next leg was slow but not that hard going on the car - if you ignore the constant 20 mph limits through the villages - until near the end when the steep hills really kicked in. I did notice the oil light come on a few times when we were stopped in traffic and very hot again so I'll monitor that.

Arriving in Blockley at last it was as a picture postcard Cotswold stone village as you would see anywhere. Also blessed with the narrowest streets TAS has seen in a long while.

Finally we spotted the hotel. The entrance was as narrow as expected and very hard to get the turning circle to get lined up for it - specially as it was very steep too.

So steep it felt like I'd done the hill climb by the time I reached the top - but we made it.

I parked badly three times and then gave up. I was more knackered than the car but after 169 miles we were there. Checking the car over later we used the new tool kit to help a cyclist undo his valve so that is already earning its keep.

Going for a walk around the village and in to the church we spotted that Blockley had been the setting for the 'Father Brown' TV series. No me neither but I did think I recognised the Sunbeam Talbot in it.

Finally as I was checking the car again a Massive Mercedes Tank arrived and had to park next to us. It was a hire car he said, excusing himself and then nervously backed into what little space I had left for him while I watched.