Hiring from Williams Horton, any suggested routes

[Wayne95]

Hi,

My journey to ownership continues with a hire of a car from Williams in Horton near Chipping Sodbury.

It’s a 4 hour hire and I will share with my son, 120 mile limit.

I’ve studied a map and the B4040 to Malmesbury looks interesting, but anyone driven round here with suggestions would be great .

At the end it’s decision time…

Thanks
Wayne

[Tupwood]

This would be my use of 4 hours… the road from Bilbury to Burford is good fun, and Burford to Charlbury is Harry Metcalf's test road – so worth a drive if you are in the area. The return section includes part of the Lambourn loop, another decent stretch of road and a PH favourite, but you could just stop at Charlbury and then head back the way you came for another very enjoyable drive. There will be some in-town traffic, but that's part of Caterham life too, so good to get the experience.

If this is your first ever Caterham test drive, then perhaps just an hour out… have a coffee break, then an hour back would be better… there is also the chance you won't like it.

[Master Bean]

Head north. Wootton under Edge, Dursley and Nailsworth all have hill climb style roads. Great fun in a Caterham. The route above as a first timer would be too much imo.

[Wayne95]

Thanks for the ideas

I think a bit of both routes should do us. We are sharing the driving and navigating, probably a few coffee stops too.

Here’s hoping it’s dry for the day ..

[Wayne95]

Had my morning driving the Cotswolds this week. Hire car was a lovely yellow SV.

First up, main concern was fitting Ben into it. At 6'5" he's a big lad, but the SV with lowered floors was just fine, footwell was a bit cramped but entirely workable, and 1.5 hours at the wheel was not an issue.

So having fitted in, we were off along the B4040 to Malmesbury and on to Cricklade. The roads were clear so we could drive at our own pace, (brisk once we learnt the car), and then headed back.

Our first experience of a Caterham, and we were quite surprised about the general comfort of the cabin, seats and ride. 3.5 hours of driving and we didn't feel any aches. The ride was a particular surprise, going over some rough road surfaces it was firm, but not crashy, and better then my Mini JCW. So next question answered, yes its very useable on the roads and we could do some good miles without feeling abused. Yes the weather would get in if it rained, but it didn't !

Performance was good, but being low down you really feel the speed, so we enjoyed the roads at modest pace. I'm sure once you get used to it speeds will grow, but as everyone says, it's easy to enjoy driving without staring at a license ban, and the control it gives you means you can play quite nicely. The small size perfect for the roads around us.

When we stopped we had nothing but nice comments and smiles, not always something I've found in all my fast cars.

And after over 3 hours fun, stuck in £25 of fuel - bargain!

Conclusion, the "SV" is for us, well an essential, so we are not excluded from Caterham ownership. Might not be "ideal" circuit spec, but its better than no Caterham by a long way. For road fun and enjoying driving its a great option, and one we are now looking seriously into. I get my garage back in January, and there's a Caterham (SV) sized space in it to fill