Hello,

I will be visiting the UK on business between Oct. 8 and 11 (evening of 8 to afternoon of 11). I'll actually be visiting Team Williams and speaking with some people there. I don't know if I'll get to sit in the car or not though.

Anyways, I will be driving around some little rental car, I imagine, and trying to stay on the right side of the road; are there some short excursions/sights that myself and my coworker can visit? Anything car-related? We'll be staying in Grove, Oxfordshire, I believe. And of course, I'm completely ignorant and have no clue as to where that is.

Both of us are enthusiasts; I drive a recently turbocharged Impreza 2.5RS that I'm still trying to work the bugs out of, but am confident will get running as good as stock sometime soon, if I can figure out this programmable ECU business.. it's even harder than my day job it seems. *sigh*

Thanks in advance, and hello from us in chilly New England over here in the US.

-Edwin

 

Grove is just outside Wantage - quite a pretty town but not full of action. Not too far from Silverstone (about 1 hr drive) not sure what is on when you are over. You will be 40 mins from Oxford which is a beautiful city. Lovely college buildings. West Oxfordshire has some beautiful villages. The countryside is nice just to the west of Wantage if you like that sort of thing. Let me think a little longer and see if I can come up with anything else.

 

That's only 40 miles from Banbury, where Prodrive (i.e. Subaru WRC) are located. You might be able to get a tour of the place if you ask - especially if you're part of the racing industry?

You can get to London if you want to (drop down the A34 onto the M4. It's only 75 miles so can be done in just over an hour (by not breaking the speed limit) as long as you don't travel during Monday morning rush hour!

 

Thanks very much for the info. I'll see what I can do - I've been issued an automatic Volvo, so I suppose I'll be safe if I get into an accident while visiting Prodrive...

I'm not in the racing industry; I actually work for a major computer company who is a sponsor of the Williams team, and have been invited over to potentially lend some expertise in certain areas. My own involvement in motorsport is strictly as an amateur.

Thanks again, and if you do think of anything else to do, please let me know. If anyone actually lives around that area, I would be up for meeting some of you too if there is any interest. I've always wished I had a factory Impreza turbo, instead of having to build my own.

-Edwin

 

Compaq by any chance ??

AllanB

 

Remember efoo LEFT side of the road not the right But don't worry too mich as you've got a Volvo no one will expect you to know whats going on

 

Yup, Compaq - I'm from their R&D department.

Driving a Volvo, I should feel like I'm indestructible and own the road, should I not? That's the impression many of us have here in the states.

Too bad I couldn't get an Impreza turbo as my rental car. An Audi S3 would have done nicely too, or even my own car, but oh well. A Volvo it is for exploring the English countryside.

-Edwin

 

If you want a really quiet night out in London, you could always visit the Millennium Dome.

 

If you're in London the 'London Eye' is a really good way to get a bird's eye view of London. It is a big wheel which takes 30 minutes to complete a full revolution so you get to see all of London (weather permitting of course).