No, it’s nothing of the sort, in fact if you look at the very first post in this thread you will see other charges mentioned by another contributor.
My point is that the comments infer that these charges somehow lessened your enjoyment of the Rally that the organisers went to so much trouble to arrange. We thought the charge for the Bushmills tour was steep compared to the Glenmorangie tour we did in Tain last year and nowhere near as informative. We did notice a few people walking to the GC from another car park some distance away - to save £6 I guess but I for one didn’t mind paying the charge since such “monuments” need supporting somehow but these had nothing to do with the Rally itself - they were “add-ons”.
However, putting all that aside, the events that the organisers were responsible for e.g. arranging a reduced rate to the museum, the actual dinner at Stormont and the Sunday drives were all superbly arranged. I stopped one of the organisers in the Museum and said how much I was enjoying it around Saturday lunchtime at which stage he literally expressed a degree of relief and stated I was the first person who had passed such a comment all day - although I know others did later.
We need to separate the Rally experience from all the other things. I absolutely reamed the duty manager at a hotel we stayed at on Tuesday night about the service we received at dinner but that had nothing to do with the Rally organisers. It’s just that some of the criticisms above appear to be directed at the organisers whether intentional or otherwise.
What has the fact that it cost £6 to park at the GC to do with the MX5 NI Owners club?
You are perfectly entitled to make such comments but perhaps they belong in another thread which is not entitled “Spring Rally - disappointed or not”
Fair point, about the Rally not covering the whole weekend - but to most people, that’s what they would class as the experience - from the BBQ, to the end of the run on Sunday (which included the Causeway).
I really don’t think it matters whether I had a choice to go, or a choice to turn back at the carpark - the fact of the matter is that I (and others) found it to be a let down. I (/we) did not expect it to be a let down, which was why I (/we) paid to go. It is not the fault of the NI organisers, John Cookson, yourself, or even David Beckham - it is just fact - I was just disappointed with the Giant’s Causeway. If people are welcome to say that they enjoyed a non-rally specific part of the weekend, I don’t see why I can’t say I never enjoyed part of it.
However, I really regret saying anything in this thread, therefore I wish to retract all my previous statements.
We would like to endorse everything that Dave Keily has said. We had a great time and were really pleased we had made the effort to attend. We did not make the BBQ so I cannot comment on that and we went on the Southern run, to the Ards Peninsula and to the Mountains of Mourne. A great run, and so well organised. Thankyou to the NI Club who were fantastic.
I think peope may have reacted, because of the thread title, (which has now changed) as I see it you don’t really agree with the OP, you are disappointed with Giants Causeway not the Spring Rally, fair enough. We went to the Giants Causeway on the way home on the Monday. To be honest National Trust will always dip your pockets
Rather than post a personal thought on this I have waited on the return from Ireland from all our members as the hospitality received meant that the last of the stragglers only got home on Wednesday night. Equally Richard has been covering my thoughts anyway.
We had our monthly pub meet last night so I was able to gauge the opinions of our members in Central Scotland and allied to the comments on our own forum it is evident that the overwhelming feeling was that this is one the most enjoyable national events that our members have attended.
I think that Dave in his earlier posting summed up our feelings as accurately as if I had written them myself and he did so in a manner which I was about to use so no point in redoing the list of positives with the one exception that we did the Ards and Mourn run but the comments would be very similar to those for the North run. Excellent organisation, run details and route of exceptional scenery and lovely driving roads.
The package of the whole weekend was diverse from barbecue to formal dinner, from static car show with cultural museuem to driving through scenic countryside and thoroughly enjoyable because of the variety offered.
The evening at Stormont, however, stands out on its own and was worth the journey in its own right. The location, the food, the service, the entertainment and the welcome from Brian Wilson and his good lady were all exceptional.
A pity. or so it seems from this thread, that some did not get as much enjoyment as we all did and possibly that was due to expectations rather than actual events
A big thank you from Central Scotland to Steve, Norman and your team for making us all so welcome in NI and hopefully we will be back with you in the not too distant future.
As one of the NI members, can I congratulate steven and the team on a great day out, and can I say to the visitors from thte rest of the UK, what a top bunch of people. I really enjoyed chatting to you. Hope you enjoyed Derry, and glad so many of you stayed on to make a holiday of your visit. Yes stutrday was wet, but the sun shone on sunday. hey 50% good weather in NI counts as a heatwave!!
I can’t believe people weren’t impressed by the Giant’s Causeway, maybe we’ve not got a lot to look at here or something
If you missed the mountains of Mourne you missed a LOT of stunning scenery-check out Carlingford Lough and Kilbroney mountain as I feel they’d draw you back if nothing else would!
Maybe some of us Norn Iron crew should start saving our pennies to come over there to see how it’s done eh?
It would’ve been nice if the MX5 parts folks had been able to attend but maybe at some point in the future we’ll persade them that it’s an unmissable event
Such a pity the fabulous weather came the weekend before the events but then again the water helped to hide all the imperfections in my paintwork; glad I did that rain dance now
