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A new Somerset Branch?

Submitted by les_howard on Sun, 10/01/2016
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Nortons - General

Are there any members who would like to have a Somerset Branch set up? Somerset is quite a large wide area and extends nearly all the way to Bristol in the East which does have a branch. I was thinking it would be nice to have a branch meeting venue in West Somerset area(obviously that is my area of abode) perhaps anywhere between Taunton and Minehead. This could be of interest to North Devon members too. If there are members interested please could they mention it on this thread please so we could gauge the numbers and perhaps organize a Pub meet-up one sunny day (...we might get one) this spring or summer.As a member of two other British Classic Bike clubsI am aware they similarly have an absence of a Somerset area Branch or meeting place, so as a second option and to make the idea more viable perhaps it could be a combined club get together to increase the membership and hence the longevity of the arrangement.

Much obliged if you could let me know, as the Devon section is far too far for me to attend evenings wise.

The two pubs shown have landlords that are definitely interested to provide hospitality and allow the gatherings.

Further attractions include the West Somerset Steam Railway where, I am sure, could be included as far as scheduling the meet ups to correspondwith their Steam Galas datesand their engineering facilities.

ATB....Les

Attachments Pub%202.JPG pub-1-jpg

Submitted by christopher_shepperd on Tue, 12/01/2016

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I could be interested although I haven't been to a Devon meet yet. Another great pub to consider is the World's End near Taunton.

Submitted by les_howard on Tue, 12/01/2016

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Thanks Chris for showing some interest. Yes the World's Inn pub near Wellington has a large car park and currentlydoes host the annual British Bike Night which I always attend and another small gathering of riders for a meet up (more modern bikes though). It's just that I imagined there would be quite a few classic bike owners more north of Taunton/Wellington but probably not as the population up here is rather sparse. I'll post again come spring/summer time simultaneously with the other owners clubs to see who's interested.....ATB....Les

Submitted by philip_ham on Tue, 19/01/2016

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Previously les_howard wrote:

Thanks Chris for showing some interest. Yes the World's Inn pub near Wellington has a large car park and currentlydoes host the annual British Bike Night which I always attend and another small gathering of riders for a meet up (more modern bikes though). It's just that I imagined there would be quite a few classic bike owners more north of Taunton/Wellington but probably not as the population up here is rather sparse. I'll post again come spring/summer time simultaneously with the other owners clubs to see who's interested.....ATB....Les

Les,

As I live near Bridgwater I'll be interested in coming along. Somewhere in Taunton would be ideal as it is more central for people coming from Cheddar and Glastonbury, and the population is a bit more dense here (no offence meant to locals!). Have you put anything in Roadholder about a possible meet? It might be an idea to choose a venue and a date and publish this, so that we can try and encourage others to come with us.

Phil Ham

Submitted by stuart_munroe on Wed, 20/01/2016

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There is a much density here in the Midlands but I'm not sure there is a club. I tried emailing the contact three times no response, interest or club I assume. Certainly not true of the local Triumph club.

Submitted by les_howard on Wed, 20/01/2016

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Thanks for showing your interest Phil. Perhaps somewhere near Bridgewater would be a good position as I can get there pretty quickly by riding over the Quantocks and it's alsonear to the M5. As said, I'll continue to try to organise a meet up further into the season and communicate with the other clubs. It would seem from the response here that there are not enough Somerset NOC members to create a long lasting section, so at best I hope to able to create a general bike night that attracts owners of any classic bike make. For example, back in North London there is a regular Sunday afternoon meet up at a tea hut near High Beech Epping Forest, so something like that would be very attractive to me although the photo shown seems to indicate just modern bikes...but you can get the idea.

Thanks also for suggesting the magazine but I'm a little reluctant to as getting feedback is difficult, slower and one cannot debate venue sitesto hit on the best compromise for everyone.

Les

Attachments tea-hut-epping-jpg

Submitted by graham_leblond on Wed, 20/01/2016

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Hi Les

I live about 20 minutes from High Beech and used to visit often. There is a good range of machines to be found there most days but weekends tend to be more modern bikes as per your photo. Good luck with finding a venue. There must be something like High Beech in your area.

Regards

Graham

Submitted by alan_clarke2 on Wed, 20/01/2016

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Previously stuart_munroe wrote:

There is a much density here in the Midlands but I'm not sure there is a club. I tried emailing the contact three times no response, interest or club I assume. Certainly not true of the local Triumph club.

Hi Stuart, whereabouts in the midlands are you ? there is a club branch that meets in Shenstone which is in South Staffordshire (4th Tuesday in the month, address in Road holder) and also a Birmingham branch anda branchnear Shrewsbury.

Cheers Alan Clarke, Shenstone branch secretary

Submitted by stuart_munroe on Thu, 21/01/2016

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Thanks Alan now that is a proper motorcycle club. I'm in Wolverhampton and when I joined the club two years ago I e mailed Birmingham on a number of occasions with out response. When the season starts pop across if I may. Thanks again Stuart

Submitted by dan_field on Thu, 21/01/2016

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Rather than a club branch, why not start with a few pub meets and see what the take up is, I live near Chris and would happily come to a meet around Taunton?

Dan

 


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