Safe Return Doubtful

In 1986 I persuaded three friends to get involved in a crazy project to renovate a 1960s Austin Wolsely and drive it to the Pyramids. At the school that I then worked, the Head of Metalwork, also a good friend and who happened to be skilled in car mechanics, helped us change the engine and give the vehicle a chance of competing the journey. We raised money for charity, promising to send supporters a stamped postcard from the choice of destinations along the route. We called it A Car For Egypt. It got to Arras in northern France where it met its end; with me at the wheel, late at night, I drifted off to sleep, and it left the road, turned 180 degrees, and landed on its roof in a field. We all left, in a rush, through the back window, and fortunately, without a scratch. A learning experience. *

For a while, at the start of Day 2, I dreaded that this trip was destined to go the same way. After the night on the Harwich – Hook of Holland ferry I returned to the front seat, from my bed, and was indicated by the Stena staff to move off, however I had no electrics. It seemed all the symptoms of a dead battery, but when all the other vehicles had left, and the rescue truck attended, the van failed to jumpstart. 

From there, it was the ignominy of being towed off, and through immigration to a resting place to await the yellow Wegenwacht mechanic, the Dutch equivalent of the RAC or AA. I feared some serious electrical fault which would not be possible to repair until Monday at the earliest. I’d miss the ferry, but hopefully be rescheduled a week later, but at a cost no doubt. After some initial expressions of derision I decided that whatever way it went, it would be an adventure. 

It was a Saturday morning, and I feared a long wait, but the guy arrived after 90 minutes. He started the van immediately with his jump leads. Either the one’s used to the Stena staff were not functioning, or they didn’t have enough power. 

I may have been unlucky with the failed battery, especially after the van was serviced and checked by my local mechanic a week ago, but I was very fortunate with the Wegenwacht mechanic. He tested the battery and showed me it was finished, and then drove, with me tailing him, to the only open automotive store in the area, and replaced my battery. He also checked the oil level, which was very low (even after my service last week..). 

I was back on the road just after midday, a three hour delay, and then drove for eleven hours, almost 600 miles, through the Netherlands and Germany and to the north of Denmark, near to Aarhus, where I pulled over for the night at a rest stop. It was just in time to watch Chile in their Rugby World Cup Qualifier (for Australia 2027) beat Samoa to qualify, with six of my old boys in the team; a great way to end a long day.

The journey down from Shap on Friday was smooth. I left directly after the breakfast shift at the Lodge and arrived at Harwich just after 5 pm, and in time to pick up a takeaway curry before boarding the Stena Line ferry which departed at 11 pm. 

This morning I continued north to Hirtshals, via a break in Aalborg for some exercise and a sauna, arriving at 1 pm for the Smyril Line ferry departing at 3 pm. It is a busy crossing as it’s the second week of the low season prices, though most of those crossing will return a few weeks before I do, on the last crossing before winter on 20th November. The Norröna ferry runs a continuous loop Hirtshals – Torshavn (Faroes) – Seyðisfjörður (Iceland) – Torshavn – Hirtshals. Until about 15 years ago, it used to call in at Scalloway in the Shetland Islands as well, the return journey from Iceland I have taken, but more on that in the next post. 

*A Car For Egypt.. three of the four of us continued to Istanbul by whatever means we were able, a mixture of hitchhiking, buses and trains, sent out postcards and raised the money we had been sponsored for. Only I continued as far as Egypt, through Turkey, Syria and Jordan. It was a rough trip. I remember being sick from food poisoning while travelling in Syria. Though in Jordan at Aqaba I received a huge upgrade and travelled in luxury for several days, as at the time, I coached rugby and taught the sons of a wealthy investor to the Jordanian Navy which ran the ferry across.. If it sounds dodgy, it’s because it certainly was.