Crank Up - April 15th
Photos and report by Stephen A. Carr

The season begins! Because this was the first big run out for "Jessie the Jeep" since the winter ignition and starter overhaul, I decided against travelling on my own to Tadcaster for the big convoy to the Castle. Instead I arranged to meet up with some friends near Croft and travel with them. It was an early start for me, leaving Washington, Tyne & Wear at 07:40hrs to meet up with the rest of the northern contingent a little before 9am. A Champ and M38A1 joined me there and we then continued south to Northallerton where our despatch rider joined our little convoy, leading the way into York. We made good progress, maintaining a fairly steady 45mph, and getting to the castle about 10:15. Some vehicles had already arrived, but the Tadcaster convoy didn't get there until nearer 11am.
Once everyone arrived, there were almost sixty vehicles parked up including two motorbikes and two folding para-bikes. It had been a misty start to the day, but got out quite bright at times and wasn't cold ( Brian did promise sun, but I never believe him ). There was also a good variety of vehicles in attendance, mostly Jeeps and Land Rovers, but plenty of different types mixed in. It seems a long time since the end of last season, so it was good to catch up with familiar faces and make some new friends too. People started drifting away from mid afternoon, and with a long drive ahead of us, me in particular, and the threat of the rain spreading Northwards, we set off around 3pm. I got home about 5:15pm using just under a full tank of fuel on the 160 mile round trip.