Wacky Rally (Lille to Barcelona)

Mark and Sarah Porter took part in the Wacky Rally (Barmy to Barcelona 2008), raising £901 for The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign. Here they are in their own words...

The Rally began on 12th September 2008 in Lille, Northern France.  Approximately 40 cars set off at about 9.30am (in torrential rain!) and covered over 500 miles that day, driving through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and finally arriving at about 6pm in the beautiful Swiss town of Thun, where we all met up for a well-deserved beer or two!

The second day was another early start.  We were a bit late setting off as we stayed behind to help another team get their car started.  Eventually we left, heading over five mountain passes to Italy.  The first two or three mountains were relatively easy but the fourth proved quite testing!!  It was snowing heavily, settling on the narrow mountain roads, and there were sheer drops and no barriers!!  We made it and thankfully the final mountain was easier, with a stunning lake at the top.  Our destination was a pretty ski town called Sauze D’Oulx – we arrived there at about 8pm, found our hotel (with no hot water!) and met up with our fellow ralliers for a buffet, beer and live band!

Day three saw us driving from Italy to the Arles in the South of France.  A very strange day, starting somewhere icy cold, driving over another mountain pass and coming down the other side into an almost immediately much warmer climate.  On arrival in Arles, and after meeting in another bar for another beer, we were in time to see the town’s annual Bull Running Festival, which involved the local lads attempting to stop charging bulls in their tracks.  A lively and fun evening (and no bulls were hurt!).

On the final day, we began our journey towards Barcelona, via Lloret de Mar on the Costa Brava.  The beach was heaving with British holiday makers and we had time to stop for an ice-cream and a dip in the sea before the final stretch onto Barcelona.  On arrival in Barcelona, it took us 3 hours to find our hotel (!), including a wrong turn into a police station where we caused a bit of a stir – eek!  We eventually met up with the others, and had a great evening, reminiscing the events of the past four days and even WON THE TROPHY FOR ‘WACKIEST CAR’!!!! 

In total, we covered over 1500 miles in our ‘cow car’, in four days, in rain, snow and sun and it was great fun!!