Classic Ford – August 2019

37

WALES:

Devil’s Staircase

Route:TregarontoAbergwesyn

Yes,it’sa publichighway,butin the1960sand
1970sTheStaircaseas allrallyfansusedtocall
it, wasthoughttobetheoneof themost
fearsomein Wales.Onnationaleventslikethe
London,andin manyMotoringNews
championshipone-nighters,it alwaysfigured,
oftenas theclimaxtoa harum-scarumdash
aroundWales.Demandingin eitherdirection,
it coveredabout 12 milesof windingone-lane
Tarmacroad,forwhichseriouscrewstendedto
havePaceNotes.Whensetat anRAC-legal 30
mphaverage,it waslaughably‘cleanable’,but
oncerallyorganisersgotintothehabitof
pruningthetheoreticalmileage,it was
sometimessetin 15minutes,andbythetime
roadrallyingwashoundedintosubmission,a
race-tyre-equippedEscortcouldcompleteit in
12-13minutes.
FromTregaronto Abergwesynthestagewas
sometimeshigh,narrow,oftenunfenced,steep
andoccasionallydangerous,buteveryone
seemedto enjoythechallenge.If evertherewas
a caseforclosinga publicroadforit to beused
as a RallyGBstage,thiswasit.

Gettingthere:Fromtheeast,taketheA483
fromBuilthWells,a minorroadnorthfrom
LlanwrtydWells,andstartthestagefromthe
outskirtsfromAbergwesyn.Fromthenorth
andwest,taketheA485fromAberystwythto
Tregaron,turnsoutheastfromthevillage
centre,andstartthestagefromth
derestrictionsignonthemountai

FRANCE:

Mont Ventoux

Route: Bedoin to Mount Ventoux observatory

Driving south of Lyon on the way to the

Riviera, be sure to make time to visit, and if you

have time, drive up the famous Mont Ventoux

hillclimb. Used since 1902 to host cars,

motorcycles, bikes and even the odd foot race,

this is not only demanding but steep and long.

After starting in the valley, the gradient steepens,

rounds what used to be the French carousel

hairpin (it has been fi lled in, in recent years),

then climbs all the way to the only junction, at

Chalet Reynard. During the winter, when there

is much snow (at Monte Carlo time, for

instance), the route then takes a right and

descends to Sault, but in summer, the top road

keeps on going, up to the 6200 foot summit,

where there is an observatory, and the stage

usually ends. This is a phenomenally long (more

than 13 miles), smooth but atmospherically

exposed climb, taking much from drivers and

their machines.

Getting there: Take the autoroute south of

Lyon and Valence, then take a left to go through

Orange. From there, drive to Carpentras, and

use the D974 to reach the village of Bedoin,

where there was always a time control in the

village square. The famous hillclimb starts just

outside the limits of this village.

NICE •

• LYON

FRANCE

MARSEILLE

In the 1950s the Devil’s Staircase was

still unsurfaced in places, and was a

demanding section. A works Zephyr in

a mid-1950s RAC rally.

Near the roof of the world! Like other

French Alpine passes, the upper

reaches of Mont Ventoux were bleak

and empty. Roger Clark in 1968.