Pilgrims

31st Pilgrims Rally, August 2006 - Mayflower MCC

On Friday, 4 August 2006, the following participants met for our England tour: Walter Trappe with Jeffrey Reuter, 11 years old (Yamaha XV535 Virago), Hans Mondorf with daughter Anna, 11 years old (BMW K100RS), Wolfgang Daun with son Felix, 18 years old , (Suzuki V-Storm 1000), Jürgen Krechel (BMW K100).

After a relaxed journey to Calais via our well-established route, we ate our lunch on the ferry as we did in previous years.

We patiently got through the usual Friday afternoon traffic on the M25 and especially in front of the Dartford Tunnel. The remaining miles to New Hall Vineyards in Purleigh, via country road, was a welcome change from the motorway drive.

Here is the usual procedure, first register at reception and then set up our tents on the large meadow. The well-known scout team from Basildon provided the food again. We spent the Friday evening partly outside and at a later hour in the beautiful event barn.

After a delicious breakfast with the Scouts on Saturday morning, we drove to Windsor Castle. There we queued in high temperatures in front of the entrance and took a guided tour of the castle. Then we went down to the River Thames and cool off under old trees by the water.

After returning to the "Vineyards" a cold shower and back to the fun with the Mayflowers. With live music and a cold beer, it's easy to endure. This year, all of our participants survived this evening unscathed.

After the raffle and the award ceremony on Sunday morning we said goodbye.

On the Vinyards farm we were talking about pitching our tents at the Hawthorn Farm Campsite & Holiday Park again this evening. Our motorbike friend Jürgen Krechel asked, a bit confused, "are we staying another night in England? I thought we were going home today." Everyone else replied that we have been doing it this way for many years and that he himself has ridden along several times. But he hadn't applied for leave from his employer for Monday. So he drove alone towards Dover to the port.

Another surprise awaited him there. Our ferry tickets were Monday morning saver tickets. This could not be rebooked. Jürgen had no choice but to pay for a new ticket.

The rest of our group took our usual route to Bodiam Castle. There we took a long break in the nearby pub garden.

From here the usual route to Hawthorn Farm Campsite & Holiday Park. As in previous years, we ended the last evening in the nearby pub with dinner and a few pints. This year without technical problems on the outward and return journey.

- Hans Mondorf