Touring: The County of North Yorkshire

st4

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The weather has been particularly good of late. A fact borne out with my millage for this month exceeding 2000 and all of these bar sixty have been leasuire ones gained by a tour.

Last weekends tour, was of the County of North Yorkshire, which for me, isn't exactly next door....which the below shows


_DSC1058 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr

One of oldest friends lives in York and I dearly love York. A Gentle run down the A74M, a cross country dash taking advantage of the C class sports firm and sporting driving characteritics and a moderate pace limited by speedtronic on the A1M saw me arrive in York mostly pain and ache free. This is a good car on a long run, not a great one.

York has its usual sights and it was lovely, pleasant and warm, if overcast. Shorts and T shirt weather, but not fine photography weather. So we ate a lot, and after departing York, I aimed the skip for Sutton Bank.

Sutton Bank is a great little stretch of driving road with steep hair pins. It could almost be Scotland, except it leads you into the Yorkshire Moors and you can let rip on the main section into Helmsley, and I mean let rip. No 47mpg here...LOL

Nice run that, but the real reason for going out here was for the run between Hutton Le Hole and Castleton and to repeat a section of a run Messrs Corned and BEJ etc and I did last year. Only, just me, and less traffic so a faster run.

Why here, for the run up "Blakey Ridge"...


_DSC1100 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr

A nice uphill road that is reminicent of the run through the Lecht in the Cairngorms. More sweeping turns here offset with a bumpier road surface. The max speed in 3rd gear is appropriate for my car here and a good chance to clear the manifolds out after a slug down a motorway.

In a word, one of the finest drives I've ever had as I swung the C class from turn to turn, enjoying that lovely feeling you only get from a car thats not putting drive through the front wheels, and enjoying the poise and reasonable balance on offer.

It was getting dusky by the time I was getting close to Whitby and I had a huge photographic fail: an epic sunset developing and too far from the sea or interesting landscape to do it justice. There is a windfarm on the coast that would have provided the perfect foreground to it all, but I couldn't make it fast enough.

So this will have to do...


_DSC1112 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr

I stayed at a Hotel I like, Ruswarp Hall. The owners always make you feel welcome and put on a top drawer Breakfast.

But I got up before that and did a pre breakfast mini tour.

Whitby:


_DSC1120 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr


_DSC1153 (1) by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr

Nice place, even before the chippies are open. Afterwards it was the skips turn to entertain. The idea was to tackle Blakey ridge down to Hutton-Le Hole and then drive over to Pickering and back to Sleights and then to Ruswarp.

A good idea.

The roads here are born entertainers. But you have to watch out for sheep. Hitting a sheep at a ton (kmph:lol::lol:) would do a lot of damage.


_DSC1188 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr

The bends are classic 3rd gear ones, with 3rd giving good engine braking, and useful drive out of the bends once you can get the power down. The cars size is an asset, anything too large here you would be afraid to push it.

Near Castleford you get a nice view East over the moors.

Bleak isn't it


_DSC1196 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr

Back attacking Blakey Ridge the next day. Watch for sheep, look ahead, and be observant. Its a well sighted road, but you share it with looney tunes sheep. They can hurt you if you get it wrong. Otherwise, enjoy this run.


_DSC1204 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr

Back off the Moors nr Pickering the Landscape changes to a classic English agricultural one.


_DSC1226 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr

The run up to Sleights was epic. A) you don't share it with sheep b) its a fair bit better surfaced so in a firm car this is a blessing as you are not bounced about. If I was to go really fast on Blakey ridge, I would be bounced off. Lets just say here, despite actually a few tighter turns, I kept up with a committed motorbike enjoying what a modern turbo diesel can do. Use it torque to accelerate rampantly on to make the white lines a nice big blur....

All this before Breakfast.

Afterwards, the traffic was out and I pootled onto Scarborough.

What a dump.!!!!


_DSC1231 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr

I was due to meet friends (forum and MB related chaps) at Tritons fish and chips, lets say, there is no finer fish and chips restaurant than Tritons of York. Lovely flaky haddock but isn't soggy. Nice thick cut chips, and the swiss chocolate icrecream afterwards.

Sadly, the tour was a run back via Skipton to Glasgow. Been a busy car this C class. Long distance comfort, its alright, but nothing special. I don't get what all the fuss about it is:lol::lol::lol::lol:


_DSC1232 by stephentaylor4@hotmail.com, on Flickr
 

Benz17

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Steve you do get about dont you. Have you done a tour of London, plenty of top notch curry houses, oh you can also take snaps of all tge traffic jams:D
 
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Theres a tour tomorrow, but it ain't London.

Then there is a Wales tour, then a Lake District tour etc.

London is a possibility once I get my CLS SB. This car doesn't quite do the 8hr run comfort thing as well as my old 211.
 

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Yorkshire Tour

Glad you enjoyed Yorkshire its great place i live in Harrogate :)
 

Benz17

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Theres a tour tomorrow, but it ain't London.

Then there is a Wales tour, then a Lake District tour etc.

London is a possibility once I get my CLS SB. This car doesn't quite do the 8hr run comfort thing as well as my old 211.

Is that an admission that at times you miss the 7g shed:D

Would be a fun drive down to London in the cls sb, that is for sure.

Would you say that those drives you do on those bendy roads, a manual would be a touch more fun, then an auto.
 
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Is that an admission that at times you miss the 7g shed:D

I miss my old E220cdi, 211 seats but half leather/cloth but the shed had the sports ones with extra bolstering and heating. If those seats had the heating and bolstering of the 211 sport, they'd be perfect.

Bad backs and heated seats are a match in heaven. The 211 had a better shaped seat but the head rests stuck out too far. In this car the lumbar support comes out fine, but its not at the right height for my back so consequently I get a dull ache after a long drive in it

Its not uncomfortable, but its not as good a seat basically and on a 7hr plus run, you do notice.

However, compared to most cars, its really good car and the driving characteritics off the main roads are very postive. It feels more playful and you can feel the car move around underneath you when pushing on, not sliding around or nothing, just a slight feeling you get. The E class didn't communicate this as clearly, and it makes you really grin.
Would be a fun drive down to London in the cls sb, that is for sure.

I don't know about fun, theres only so much M6 and M40 I can take, but it would be a lot more comfortable.

Noise has a lot to do with it. A C class is a louder car at speed than an E class one, and an S class once even quieter again.

At 80mph indicated you cannot here the engine in my 204, at 100mph indicated you can. Put it this way, at 150mph indicated in my old V6CDI E class, you could not hear the engine. On a long dull motorway cruise, thats what you want. Thats probably as much to do with cylinder count than anything else, as my 211 220cdi was quite roudy above 3 digits indicated but calmer at speed than the 204.

Me, I think a 6 clyinder 350cdi C class is overkill. I think it would be too much engine for the car and the mass of the engine, and all the torque on those relatively skinny 245 tyres (the ride would be intolerable on the 18s) would overwhelm it too easily and you'd be a bit too scared to really push it.

A CLS 350cdi SB will be more torsionally stiff than an E350 and I really don't like the seats in the E350cdi, or the trim which is really just makes it feel like a fat C class. The CLS will handle better and is trimmed better (i.e. like a 211). It will be my next car despite IMHO the reservations I have about its size on the twisty roads, its not so big it cannot be hussled.



Would you say that those drives you do on those bendy roads, a manual would be a touch more fun, then an auto.

Yes. And if I didn't have a damaged back, I would drive a manual. Despite being override the automatic, the manual would be a great fit for the C class on these roads.

I don't do that much town driving, but enough to make a manual a PITA with my back sadly.


As my Indie said to me a C class is like a 3 star hotel, a E class a 4 star one and an S class a 5star one. a CLS SB is probably a 4.5star one.
 
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turbopete

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having spent time down that area on a holiday almost 3 years ago with a 1.7 ford puma, i can agree that there are some GREAT roads down there, especially with plenty of power and a manual gearbox! the puma handled brilliantly, went like stink where it mattered (0-62 was a second faster than my 203, for example) so assuming the 204 handles better than the 203, it will have been great!
 

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Can you tilt your seat at all?
It may help if you can raise the back and so help keep your pelvis better aligned with your spine ;)
 

properwounded

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Scarborough is no where near a bad a place to be labelled a dump
 
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st4

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Can you tilt your seat at all?
It may help if you can raise the back and so help keep your pelvis better aligned with your spine ;)

I've fiddled with it and its ok, I have got it reclined by about 10degrees but still can reach the top of wheel with a slight bend in my arm. Legs supported.

It's just not as good a seat.

Cars great though and on the twistier stuff its wonderful and because you are moving your arms/hands and legs the backache goes away, its sat on the mway the body gets so little movement I think thats when the aches set in.

Next time I want to see

1. Whitby Abbey
2. Robin Hoods Bay, I did see it, but didnt get the right photographic conditions
3. Theres a wind farm you can see from the road up to Redcar from Whitby, a sunset there.

I'll do the Dales, but on a separate tour.
 

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Steve, I've just come back from a tour of Wales. 675 miles in 4 days at an average 30.6 mpg. (In the SLK, not the Citroen)
If you want some epic routes and scenery, pm me or give me a call.
 
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^^^^

Do a thread like this. Wouldn't object to you sending on some routes and pointers of where to go, hopefully getting a Wales weekender in before month end ;)
 

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