Rather different today

The Safari had a works event to attend this morning so our usual fortnightly Winter Thrushes Survey went by the by.

After a bite to eat on our return to Base Camp we decided to avoid wildlife safari-ing for once and head down to Chat Alley to watch the annual car rally for a couple of hours.

It was dismally grey and quite cool but we found a vantage  point on the cliffs that was out of the wind and actually felt mild.

A good crowd had gathered and there was some jostling to get the best spots.

In between cars we had a Pied Wagtail, a couple of Grey Wagtails and possibly the same Meadow Pipit twice.

The first car through was a Ferrari making a noise like a couple of Typhoons taking off.

we  had hoped that with the drizzle the cars coming out of the chicane and putting the hammer down might have slewed a bit but all the drivers were cautious enough in the conditions not to do that. Most taking it nice and steady to get fully straight before hitting the gas.

At one time we thought the fishermen who are allowed to bring their cars along this stretch of the prom actually drove faster - especially if they thought someone might be in their favourite space!

The speeds were probably deceptive when we heard talk of average section speeds of nearly 70mph so with the slowing for the many chicanes they must have been doing a ton in places.

The smaller cars had a distinct advantage on the tight chicanes being able to weave their way through without losing too much speed.

After this chicane the cars sped up the slade to the upper prom, normally inhabited by cyclists and dog walkers. There were plenty of marshals to ensure no-one entered the track area despite at least a couple of dog walkers trying

The dying light of a grey and misty afternoon taxed the camera and our skills with it.

 We'd gone down in particular to see the Armed Forces Land Rover rally team compete but they must have been one of the last sets of cars to start as it was too dark to get any pics from our first vantage point and they hadn't set off yet. We didn't see them until we'd passed the finish line and were on our walk back to Base Camp.

And then we nearly missed them as the camera was hunting for a focus point in the dark.

An enjoyable couple of hours away from wildlife for a change. we had taken the bins just in case there was a chance of spotting a Harbour Porpoise but it was that murky we could hardly see the sea withe tide being so low and far away!

Where to next? Back on the old Long Eared Owl walk tomorrow and hot news just in is that a third bird has appeared - now where'dd that sneak in from?
 In the meantime let us know who's got the pedal to the metal in your outback.

Wifey reckons the hardest genre to sing is heavy rock and here's a true exponent doing it rather well even though he's getting on a bit (and that's 20 years ago) and if you're learning to play the guitar you might as well play it well - nice one Ritchie! His mates are no slouches either!!!