Kentish Hop Rally

The first Kentish Hop rally was organised by the Burnt Ash MCC in August 1977. It was in a field next to a wood just off the A21 near Pratts Bottom as I recall. It seemed an appropriate name for a rally site!

It was a long walk back to the rally site from Farnborough hospital on my own at 5am on Sunday.

- Kim

Later rallies were near Plaxtol. I was there with a bunch of mates from the Dover 69 MCC. I had not long since passed my test and I was with my fiancee Lynne and we'd ridden up on my CB250. Details of exactly who was there with us are long lost in the alcoholic haze!

We missed the end of Saturday night because Lynne was taken ill. Everyone put it down to alcoholic poisoning at the time but it turned out to be something else altogether! It was a long walk back to the rally site from Farnborough hospital on my own at 5am on Sunday, with Lynne still tucked up in a hospital bed where she was to remain for several days!

Lynne and I are still together. We've just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary and we are still rallying on our 1977 model Beemer.

- Kim Hall


Start of quotation Me & half a dozen people had formed the Burnt Ash Bike club a couple of years before. When we organised the first Kentish Hop Rally I don't think any of us knew what we were doing, but it all went ok - from what we could piece together on the Sunday morning anyway!

The Pratts Bottom site was in a small wood, which meant everyone had their own camp fire.

I had moved on by the time of the Plaxtol site.

At 53 I have just bought another bike (74 Commando) End of quotation

- Terry