NEWS | EVENTS | GALLERY | FORUM

Kevin, Sue & Belle (Figaro)

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Summer is the time to go and enjoy your car. Our website includes a number of events that we have been invited to attend or have organised. Click on the any of the images to find out more.

Richard Agius in Xaghra in Malta during a carnival celebration in Gozo (the sister island of Malta) The float was themed around covid and vaccines!

With Aldeburgh being such a well-loved destination and the warm welcome we had from their mayor last year, we were still determined to do something a little different, so we switched our starting point from Woodbridge to Beccles so we could experience a different route through the Suffolk countryside! We had a good look at what route we could take, and discovered the beautifully remodelled grounds of Heveningham Hall – based on the original design planned by Capability Brown – so that was a must… with the route finalised, we took the event live!

We were so delighted with the response, and at one stage had 20 cars attending! Inevitably things can get in the way, so in the end, we had 16 which is a fantastic number for a day out like this! We had been out and signposted the route, as usual, the night before, and had also dropped an email out to everyone following news reports of road surfaces suffering in the summer heat! And it didn’t help that I had a stinky cold, but we weren’t going to let that get in the way!!

Even before the day trip itself, there were three particularly wonderful highlights we were looking forward to! Firstly, two of the cars attending are owned by new Figgy owners who happened to see us all in Aldeburgh last year, and off the back of that decided to buy Figaros! How amazing is that – so very special thanks are due to Eddie and Alison Young, as well as Caroline Wolton! Secondly, we were also lucky enough to meet Tricia and Dave Rix who had just purchased a Figaro, but weren’t quite ready to take it out on the road just yet! They joined people for breakfast and were so excited to meet other Figgy fans, get tips and tricks and enjoy a good chat! And last but never by any means least the final delight would be meeting again all those lovely Figgy folk we have been lucky enough to get to know over the last year – you are such a wonderful bunch of people!

We set off through the centre of Beccles at 11 am (possibly still a little early for some locals) and then across the country through some villages, woods and rolling countryside, and on through the market town of Halesworth where we took another little tour with some Beeps and Waves through the town centre. Then it was back across the country heading over towards Heveningham, and that promise of beautiful grounds. It really wasn’t a disappointment with steady rolling countryside proving to be a marvellous backdrop to our Figgy cavalcade!

We swung on down to Yoxford and then after a few miles of A road we arrived at Friday Street with its newly expanded farm shop, and the treasure trove of antiques at The Barn! As usual, the Figgys were very popular, with one lady seemingly keen to tour around them in her 10 years younger Nissan Micra!

With a chorus of beeps, we swung out from Friday Street, heading down towards the coast. This stretch of road is always quite busy so sadly our entourage did get split up by other cars… but we continued on to the picturesque whimsical holiday village of Thorpeness with its quirky House in the Clouds and artificial boating lake known as The Meare. With more Beeps and Waves we headed along the coast towards our final destination of the front at Aldeburgh by the Moot House and the warm welcome from the new Mayor! As ever once the cars were parked up the locals and visitors to Aldeburgh swarmed around the Figgys with lots of smiles and even more questions!

And so our day trip was complete, sharing another great day with Figgy friends, old and new, experiencing the shared warmth of happiness and fun that our Figgys bring with them everywhere we go!

Here’s to the next one – Hertfordshire in July! Click here to register

After some initial plans fell through, we came up with a final route, arranged places to meet, stop, and of course our final destination. We always drive the route again a week or two before just to make sure that everything will be okay. Thank goodness we did as we discovered that some roadworks had been delayed and the temporary road surface would have been no good at all! We found an alternative route which was actually much better than our original one, but also took longer, making our final destination of Thetford Forest impossible… so an alternative final destination had to be found too with only a week to go, but fortunately, Castle Acre agreed that we could conclude our trip there. Once we let everyone attending know, we were finally on track for the big day! The last step was to signpost the route the night before, and we were mightily relieved there weren’t any last-minute surprises! The only uncertainty was the weather…

And so the big day arrived with everyone arriving at our special Figgy Parking on the Green in Burnham Market and breakfast at The Hoste Arms. The parish council had kindly agreed for us to park on the Green and had announced we would be there in the local newsletter, so we had a fair few locals and visitors coming to see the cars with all the usual questions!

We were also delighted to welcome members who had attended events previously, as well as some new members who were attending their first Figgy event!! Oh, and a lovely couple who were holidaying in Norfolk on the same weekend joined our group!

From Burnham Market, our alternative route led us across some single-track country lanes that provided some fantastic sights for our Figgys… anyone who thinks Norfolk is flat should see some of the lovely hills and valleys we crossed in convoy for the first stage of our Norfolk tour! Our route took us through Ringstead, through Old Hunstanton and onto the Cliff Parade in Hunstanton with lots of beeps and waves! We continued on through Hunstanton and down to Heachem for our visit to Norfolk Lavender where we had arranged to park up on the drive which was a beautiful sight in glorious sunshine!

Norfolk Lavender was a real delight, with extensive facilities many were saying they would return to again, but we had places to be, so we headed out of the beautiful drive, following through the villages of Snettisham and Ingoldisthorpe in convoy, skirting around Dersingham to stop briefly on the lovely wide avenue that leads to Sandringham Estate!

And so to our final destination, Castle Acre, a beautiful extensive ruined monastery. As this was a last-minute change, we couldn’t guarantee the cars would be parked together, but as luck would have it we just about managed it! Not to mention of course the wonderful welcome we received from Steve and Janet who couldn’t attend with their Figgy but were there to welcome everyone as we arrived – what legends!

And that was it, now the day was everyone’s to do as they wished, and what was particularly lovely was the impromptu picnic that took place in the ground, with lots of lovely chat, relaxing in the sun… and yes, we were so lucky with the weather. Other than the odd spot of rain along the way, the weather held all the way through to around 4 pm, roof up, wipers wiping as we headed back after a lovely day with fabulous Figgy folk!

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We took the tunnel and arrived at Calais in just 30 minutes. Setting the Google maps to Le Touquet where the plan was to break up the journey. The weather was perfect with dry roads and roof-down driving. After an hour the beach came into view where we were signalled to park in the large car parks. It didn’t take long before a large line of Figs came into view. Most of us went for a walk along the seafront to enjoy the sunshine. We found a beach bar and enjoyed some cold drinks and pizza with our Dans and James and Belinda Richardson.

At 10:30 it was time to leave the field and head off in convoy towards Saint Quentin. As I was keen to take pics and videos Kitty and Andrew led the way (no pressure!). As we left the busy town the roads became almost empty with just us on them. The countryside was amazing with very few houses or buildings, just fields and yet more fields. Andrew decided to pull up so we could re-group and this is where the group shot was taken.

Arriving at Saint Quentin was not a great experience as the traffic built and we ended up sitting in the car as the heat became unbearable. We ended up parking after what seemed to be a good hour of waiting – not impressed! The drive back was most welcome as a chance to cool down and a much-needed swim in the hotel pool.

Sunday came with a mixed bag of weather predicted. We made our way to the parking area and met all the members parked up. Most went for a bite to eat returning to the cars for 2:30 departure. The rain started as we commenced our parade lap in convoy. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for us to get broken up as cars pulled which was rather annoying.

The route took about 15 minutes, and the streets were full of people as we drove past hooting and waving. Many did the route two or three times. In fact, it became a challenge to find an exit area as this was not that well signposted.

Back in the hotel, several members hooked up for a group meal back in the town where two restaurants were used to accommodate us all. On Monday, most headed back to Calais, but some stayed for an extended holiday.

What a brilliant experience this was even if it did rain on our parade on Sunday! To top things off we also won the BEST CAR at the closing of the event. Thanks to everyone who attended.

The Figaro Team Holland make another road trip inspired by the “Elfstedentocht” and named the 11^th tour