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Shelsley Walsh 14th August 2021

Shelsley Walsh 14th August 2021
Championship challenge
Saturday
For the first time in possibly four years I finally managed to get to a meeting at Shelsley Walsh hill climb in rural Worcestershire. It seemed a lifetime since I used to compete there myself yet the atmosphere and excitement never changes.
29/08/2021
The weather was cloudy and overcast though thankfully no rain. The slight humidity can be an advantage and times were very quick throughout the day. (Little did we know that the Sunday would see the hill record broken on more than one occasion!) Sadly we were not there to whiteness it.
We started our day with a paddock walk round, thankfully now possible thanks to the easing of COVID regulations and we were able to have a good look at all the cars. Some I remember from my days competing and some that were new and what a varied selection there was!
After a visit to the burger van next on the list was walking up the hill. Those who know me will understand I had some trepidation about this as four years ago I broke my hip and it has not recovered well. We made it to the first seating area and while I freely admit my fitness is way off what it should be I was surprised to find the leg held up better than I thought it would! This is a good spot for watching the cars/bikes in the first part of the hill but not the best for getting decent pictures so after resting a while we moved on.
Our next stop was just before the very steep part of the footpath that leads up to the bottom “S.”
This gives a seriously good view down the track so I seized the opportunity to shoot both video and stills. I have stitched the clips together to form this YouTube videoClick here. Again suitably rested we moved on again to the seating between the esses. By the time I got to the top of the path I was totally chin strapped! If anyone reading this saw a bloke in his mid fifties looking like he smoked 80 a day it was probably me! The good news is despite this I DID IT!! This was my first serious attempt post accident at walking and climbing a steep path and though it was hell on the day the sense of achievement was immense. At this point I must say a massive thank you to my long suffering friend Mark for his words of encouragement and support.This was as far as we got up the course, I was so chuffed to have got this far at a first attempt and anyone who knows Shelsley Walsh will know how steep it is.
Throughout the time we were there the action was good, no serious incidents thankfully and its fair to say a good day was had by all.
If you are reading this and have never been to Shelsley Walsh or any other hill climb I strongly suggest you give it a look. Fast cars and bikes, you can get seriously close to the action and it won’t break the bank to get in.
For more info on Shelsley Walsh Click here.

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