Mechanical problems as we travel to Northumberland (our DB2's first road trip)

Mr F purchased our DB2 (aka 'M') about one year ago and we are currently keeping her in the UK with the others. (See separate post under the 'Cars' category on this site for more detail). It is a dream of his to complete the Mille Miglia, so this is our first chance to test her out and see what issues might lie within. Naively, we set off from her current home near Gatwick to drive up the M1 to York then on to Alnwick Castle for the Aston Martin Owners' Club (AMOC) Spring Weekend.

We had visions of cruising up the motorway with the roof down watching the green English countryside roll by.....how wrong could we be?! It bucketed down with rain, one of our manually operated windscreen wipers got stuck, the oil pressure was dangerously low, the power steering fluid was leaking and there was a loud noise coming from the right front disc brakes. Ah well, the car is 73 years old after all!

We stayed in a great hotel called No 1 York https://guesthousehotels.co.uk/no-1-york/ The rooms all have a record player and the decor is quirky. There's a restaurant and bar and parking out the back - we would definitely stay there again. York is a beautiful city to walk around but is very touristy and be warned that they charge 20 GBP to go into the Minster.

Overnight there were many phone calls and messages with our mechanical brains trust and we arranged to meet at the workshop of Kevin Hutson of Hutson's Engineering in Durham. https://www.astonenginebuilders.com/ Tim Stamper, who had worked on our car, also met us there http://www.stamper-astonmartin.com/

With cups of coffee, lots of good cheer, the odd spare part, a tube of chrome cleaner and lots of expertise and encouragement Mr F managed to repair the brakes and try a fix for the oil pressure problem. It never ceases to amaze me how collegiate and supportive the car nerd tribe is.

Happy days! The weather had improved and we drove on to Alnwick Castle for the AMOC Spring Weekend (See separate post under the 'Events' category on this site). The Bailiffgate Hotel was very comfortable, just opposite the castle and had lots of parking out the back. https://bailiffgatehotel.com/ We wondered around antique shops in the town, spent time at the local car wash, enjoyed a fabulous dinner at the castle and even won second place in our category at the Concours. The Duchess of Northumberland even came and presented the prizes.

So having made many new friends and 'M' had completed her first Concours we set off for our next destination, Edinburgh, hoping that our mechanical issues were behind us.