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It's mid Summer and the longest day already and still dusk when we're returning from the pub late at night, with lovely light sunny mornings to wake up to. The weather's been beautiful throughout May and early June, and we've been busy in the garden, but instead of reporting on such boring things as usual, this month the only real news to mention is…..the arrival of the new car! It's fantastic and since it's delivery a couple of weeks ago, we have almost taken up residency in the Aston Martin, dashing up North to The Lake District and touring Scotland, opening up the car on the endless miles of deserted roads around the Western Highlands. So, I've managed to limit the photos on the DB9 to 32 out of the hundred or so already taken, including shots from every angle, every corner, from above and below, in the sun, in the rain, pre and post washings, by a lake, besides a castle, on the drive,….are you getting the picture?!! Well if not, here's the first of many to whet your appetite!
The Aston was delivered by transporter from the dealers in Mayfair, London, and was their first hand over to a customer. Very rare on the English roads, it is attracting a lot of attention, not to mention premium price offers from impatient enthusiasts of the brand. The current waiting list for a new DB9 stands at well over two years, so we really appreciate how fortunate we are to have such a wonderful car to enjoy over the Summer. In fact, next month we are joining a party of a dozen Aston owners on a trip over to France when we'll all be driving our Astons to the champagne growing region of Reims, where super hotel accommodation has been reserved for us by Stratstones, the dealers. It'll no doubt be great fun so watch out for our news on that trip in the next newsletter. As you can see from the pictures, the exterior is a light metallic silver, with black leather interior, creating a good contrast, and a classic choice from the unlimited colour options. The car is loaded with almost every extra, from satellite navigation to Linn sound system, and the handbook is as thick as The Bible, with a few hundred pages dedicated alone to the multi-function operation of the sat-nav, already put to good use as we screamed through The Highlands last week, running from petrol station to petrol station!!
Well, averaging 19 m.p.g. isn't particularly bad when you're running the car in and keeping the engine below 4,000 revs and 120 m.p.h! No doubt the economy will drop when we really open 'it' up. As for gender, most cars are referred to as 'her', but the DB9 is definitely a very masculine machine, growling menacingly on engaging the crystal glass start button, as we're tempted to lower the windows just to listen to the engine scream as we shift up the gears via the paddles on the steering wheel, Formula 1 style. 'He' handles impeccably, pointing wherever I twitch the wheel, accelerating so effortlessly at the blip of the throttle, yet handling so gracefully when idling in 'auto' mode around town or in traffic. The Aston to us is the perfect all round sports Grand Tourer. With the comfort, space, performance, handling, sheer good looks and massive road presence, it is going to be so easy to just get in and go off somewhere a long drive away, the journey becoming the enjoyable part of the holiday….and so it was last week when we loaded up early on Monday morning and joined the rush hour traffic around Birmingham, heading for The Lake District, and, you've guessed it, our favourite hotel up there again, Sharrow Bay, on the shores of Lake Ullswater.
Well I did warn you about the abundance of repetitive pictures this month! This lot were all taken during the delivery day but I'm now up to the photos taken on our tour, the primary intention of the trip being to give the car a perfect run in, pre first service. It was 'mission accomplished'! We covered 1,300 miles over just four days, carefully stretching the engine, constantly varying speed, revs, and driving mode. In perfect Summer sun, we pulled up to Sharrow shortly after lunch, and checked in to one of the newly refurbished bedrooms down the lake at Bank House, where I quickly unpacked and went in search of a bucket, clutching my new wash leather and sponge. This soon became a daily ritual. I have to say, the Aston is the easiest car I have ever washed, because of the clean lines and no 'fiddly bits' to have to do, which is just as well as 'he' is thoroughly valeted every day and has already had a complete polish. (Well, it did rain on us whilst up in Scotland).
Looking good and sitting pretty besides Bank House, we dragged ourselves away from the car and jumped on the ferry down to Glenridding, taking in the magnificent views of the surrounding fells that border the lake. Dennis opted for a return ticket on the boat but I decided to get a good walk in before dinner and so hiked and occasionally jogged back to the hotel, taking the very scenic lakeside path back to Howtown, and even managing to ascend Hallin fell en route to enjoy the panoramic view of Ullswater below. The evening meal was as tasty and delicious as ever, and we watched the sun set from our table, casting ribbons of colour across the still lake as it sank below Helvelyn. Up bright and early again the following morning, Dennis took it easy over a pre breakfast cup of tea in the bedroom as I donned my running shoes and took to the fells once again, determined to work up an appetite for the full 'Sharrow' breakfast of porridge and a plate load of eggs, bacon and all the 'extra' bits. All the eating over, we packed and headed North on the M6 in to Scotland, our destination a small country hotel and former ferry house by the shores of Loch Linnie (I think!) . We drove through lovely open mountain and lake scenery again in bright sunshine, enjoying the quiet country roads of Scotland as I started putting the car through it's paces, opting to use the manual gear change paddles to accelerate through the gears as I wound around the caravan and camper vans. We reached 'The Airds Hotel' by mid afternoon, again quickly checking in and requesting a bucket to once again wash down the car and remove the flies and midges plastered to the front and windscreen.
It was first time in 'bonny Scotland' for me in 30 years, and the countryside was magnificent in the Summer sun, the prettiness of the colourful coastal fishing ports contrasting to the grandeur of the wild mountains as we screamed through Glencoe at a highly illegal speed, rapidly catching up the far distant horizons as the car raced along the snaking road. The 'Airds' hotel was fully booked, and our bedroom wasn't one of the best, but adequate for a night. Dinner, however, was excellent, helped by the availability of fresh local seafood. Guests consisted mainly of American tourists; we overheard one asking one of the staff if she knew whether the Queen's corgis bit any of her guests. I can't quite remember what her answer was but I think it was a polite one! With plenty of light still remaining in the evening sky, we strolled down to the local pub after dinner and chatted with the ferryman who piloted the boat to a nearby island inhabited by 100 residents. We ambled back late, full of Scottish beer and whiskey, and ready for bed after another eventful day. Next morning brought drizzle as we set off for the very short journey along the coastal sea lochs to Fort William, and our next destination; the famous Inverlochy Castle Hotel. We pulled up to the magnificent stone castle, nestling at the foot of Ben Nevis, by mid morning, as the hotel porters rushed out to help us unpack and hopefully request a 'valet park' for the car!
The castle sat amidst mature grand gardens within it's 500 acre estate, and truly lived up to it's reputation as Scotland's finest hotel. Our room was lavish and the whole castle interior was absolutely opulent. We were very happy and comfortable there, as we sat enjoying after dinner fine malt whiskies in front of the open fire in the grand reception hall. The meal was faultless, and, lo and behold, we even found time to stroll down in the twilight to a local pub for even more alcoholic refreshment before retiring to bed! During the day, we planned yet another decent drive, having checked in and had morning coffee, heading off towards The Kyle of Lochalsh and the pretty coastal village of Plockton. It was once again an invigorating drive along the winding roads, weaving in and around the ever present camper vans. We found a delightful seafood restaurant overlooking the peaceful Loch Carron for lunch and stopped off for some photo opportunities on the return drive, besides Eileen Donan castle and one or two wet and wild mountain passes.
'Errrrr,..well it's like this, Officer…' Even with a 'road angel' device fitted to the Aston, I'm going to have to be careful to keep within restricted speed limits! The last two photos above were taken on our return to The Cotswold the following day when we called in to an hotel on Ullswater for lunch. We decided to make the return trip of 500 miles from Inverlochy to home within the same day, and it was easily done, and also again very enjoyable. What a great few days we had just had, and pleased that the car was well and truly 'run in'. In fact, tomorrow we are getting up early to drive down to London to drop the DB9 off at the garage for an oil change. Well that's enough on our new baby so I'll just finish off with half a dozen completely different photos without a car in sight. The first two are of my little sister, Janet, and her husband John who came down to enjoy a day with us and escape her rabble of three children who were away at a theme park for the day. Dennis put on his chef's hat and made us all a super lunch, after which we did a tour of the neighbouring countryside.
The last four pictures were taken in the garden one beautiful evening in May. I'm sure previous newsletters have illustrated similar shots but I'm just including them for their colour content in the glow of the evening sun.
……..and so with the sun setting over the rolling Cotswold hills, we'll say goodbye for now and hope you weren't too bored with the car, because I think the subsequent report next month will be much the same with this imminent drive over to France! Best wishes to everyone, Colin & Dennis. |
