WHEREWEWENT
LeavingCheadle,there’sa gooddollopof motorwaydrivingon
th e M60,M62andM67beforethegoinggetsgreenernear
Mottramin Longendale.Fromtherewe headeaston theA628.
This is oftena busyroad,andat anyothertimethan’three-shot
co ffeeo’clock’you’llbe staringat thebackof manyan
ar ticulatedlorry.Timeit justright,however,andyou’llbe
bl essedwithgreatviewsandwonderfullyflowingcorners.As
yo u get to theWoodheadResevoir,headnorthon theA6024,
whichtightensandbecomespleasantlywriggly.Go through
Austonley,andthenturnlefton to theA635.Thenheadon to
th e wideopenWessendonHeadRoad,pointingtowards
Meltham.ThenaimforMarsdenandtheBleakHeyNook.After
th at jointheA670andmotoron pastUppermill,turningleft
whenyoureconnectwiththeA635,thentheA6018,andthen
re jointheM57fortherunbackto Cheadle.If you’rea suckerfor
a motoringmuseum,theMuseumof Transportin Greater
Manchesteris wellwortha look(gmts.co.uk)
MANCHESTER
ASTON-UNDER-LYNE
STOCKPORT
MOTTRAMIN
LONGDENDALE
WOODHEAD
MELLHAM
MOSSLEY
MARSDEN
A6018 A628
A560
A627
M60
M62
A6
A34
A56
50 MODERN CLASSICS
fewcurtainsarebeingtwitched.Headingforthedeserted
M6 2 at dawn,slinkingpastthedarkenedshopwindowsof
sl eepingCheadleHulme,I’vegottimeto ref lectonthe
TT’sjourneyto classicstatus.It’sironicreally,because
backwhenI waswalkingtheseverystreetsenrouteto
school,I loathedtheTT.
Itarrivedwhenthesports-carrenaissancewasin
fullswing.Provokedby thesuccessof theMazdaMX-5,
almosteverycarcompanywasbuildingsmalltwo-seaters
asa cheapwayof pluggingthegapleftby a departed
generationof power-crazed1980sbruiserskilledoff
byuninsurability,recessionandemissionslegislation.
Deepdown,mostcarmakersknewthata fairfewMGFs,
AlfaRomeoSpidersandBMWZ3swerebeingboughton
looks,butno engineerwoulddareletthemreachmarket
withoutensuringTiffNeedellcouldjoyfullydriftthem
rounda test-trackonTopGearfirst.Withthatinmind,
GREAT DRIVES
Window
down forfull
ro rt value.
