Big 7 Scooter Rally – 2022

Big 7 is the 4th national rally of 2022 but for me was my first – having missed out on Sand Bay a couple of weeks earlier as I finally caught covid.

First leg : Bognor to Lindfield

We headed off in a small group, just me, Lee and Champs – who we managed to lose after less than a mile but found him again at Ford Prison! I can’t explain how much I love the ride to Big 7 – it’s just so nice going in a different direction and the whole journey is on pretty country roads. We don’t even touch the A27 which makes it a unique location!

I’d done my usual research for somewhere to eat and had earmarked the Snowdrop Inn which is just after Haywards Heath at Lindfield. It turned out to be a perfect pub – with real ales for Champs and scrummy veggie food for Lee who loved their mushroom and quinoa burger.

I had some cheesy arancini balls and hummus with pitta bread which was absolutely delicious!

Second leg : Lindfield to Paddock Wood

After a rest we carried on and met up with more and more scooters as we got closer to Paddock Wood. Before we knew it we’d arrived at the hop farm so we picked up our wristbands and didn’t have to search too hard to find some Hoodlums, namely Andy and Jonny, plus Garagista Sean Robinson (on his 650cc scooter/motorbike fusion!) who were pitching their tents already.

After the heatwave in 2019 where there was nowhere to escape the scorching sun, Lee had splashed out on a new tent which had an insulated section which would stay cool no matter what the temperature was outside.

It proved tricky to work out so Lee resorted to reading the instructions!

We had to move it a couple of times, firstly because it was too close to Andy’s tent and we wouldn’t have had room for the guy ropes, and then because we couldn’t work out which was the front and which end was the back!

Eventually we got it sorted and I was delighted to see how big it was – I’ve never been able to stand up in a tent before!

The rest of our gang were still en route so we popped to the supermarket to get some drink, ice and snacks. We passed Pete Davies on the way so stopped for the obligatory silly photo before heading off again.

Snowy, Gail and Mark arrived soon after our return so there was more tent erection fun for Mark, who initially managed to put his groundsheet outside the rest of the tent. It was hilarious and I had to call Ana and Gail over to add more p*sstakes and laughter!

I left the boys to it, trying to work out what they were doing, and went off to take some scooter photos.

We then got ready for the evening. Jonny was very proud of his new jumper, purchased on a trip around the second hand emporiums at the North Laine in Brighton.

After chilling out with a few beers at the tents, we thought we’d check out the band we could hear in the main room, The Vinyls.

They were great, playing indie hits from the likes of Oasis, The Stereophonics and Courteeners. The crowd loved it and were dancing away.

We suffered the long, slow queue to get another drink once, and then stuck to trips back to the tent for new supplies, eventually switching to water when we ran out!

We caught up with loads of people at the food court area, many of whom we hadn’t seen for at least a year, maybe longer. Then it was time for the headline act, Dave Wakeling’s version of The Beat, so we headed back to the main tent.

It was heaving in there and much harder to find somewhere to stand – which is particularly hard for a short arse like me with a giant of a husband! There was plenty of room at the far end of the tent, but virtually impossible to see anything. Many people couldn’t even get in, as they were operating a one-in-one-out policy. After what felt like the longest sound check ever, they finally came on stage.

The crowd were delighted to see them, but this is where I need to have a couple of rants…

Rant 1

Something that REALLY gets on my nerves at gigs are people holding up their mobile phones, videoing it. Why can’t they just enjoy the moment? For a shortie like me, who finds it hard to see at the best of times, with dozens of hands/phones in the air it’s absolutely impossible! Grrrr… And then to top it off, the official videographer and his lighting man stood right in front of me to record some of the set.

They even pissed off Dave Wakeling who objected to the bright spotlight being shone in his face! It really was so annoying…

Rant 2

Since Tony Blair banned smoking indoors in 2007 (I remember the year because I was pregnant so the timing was perfect!) it’s been a pleasure to sit inside pubs, restaurants, cinemas, planes and trains, without the stench of fags ruining the atmosphere.

However, the rules didn’t seem to apply to the main tent at Big 7 as there were a few selfish souls who clearly couldn’t possibly enjoy the evening without a fag.

Having been through breast cancer I wasn’t keen on adding lung cancer to my list – so got a bit stroppy and told off one lad who was puffing away. He dutifully put out his cigarette but annoyingly there were other selfish individuals there who carried on smoking. Grrrrr!

So I wasn’t prepared to stay at a gig where a) I couldn’t see and b) I didn’t want to breath in secondhand smoke so we left.

More dancing and chatting

We then flitted between the school disco tent and the main soul room, where I managed to get some dancing in as well as chatting to people. The fire alarm went off at one point, and it’s funny how people usually just ignore it when that happens (me included!). Eventually the music stopped and we had to leave, but luckily there were other options for music, food and chat. We tried out the toasted sandwich place which was great! It’s perfect for veggies and makes a nice change from the usual fayre.

We aren’t quite the party animals we’d like to be and it was way past our bedtime so headed back to the tents around midnight or so.

Saturday

Although the new tent was nice and cool (not too cold for me though!), and even with an airbed and pillow, neither Lee or I got many winks of sleep. I had earplugs in and eventually swapped them for headphones and my Calm app, just to drown out the constant chatter and occasional scooter sounds from the outside. But it didn’t really make a massive difference, only getting an hour or two’s sleep at the most.

Lee and Mark hatched a plan to go home and tentatively asked me if I minded. I’d actually had similar thoughts myself so needed no persuasion! I think we’re just too old to camp for two nights, with too many aches and pains, too much chronic insomnia to function well on very little sleep.

So we decided to make the most of the day, so I went off on the hunt for scooter photos before heading into town for breakfast.

More nice scooters

I love just wandering around and taking photos of people on their scooters (if you ever see me and want to pose then just shout!). Here are some of my favourites from Big 7.

There are even some youngsters, and it seemed like there were more than usual at this rally. I’m so pleased the younger generation are sharing our passion for scooters, it gives me hope that the scene won’t die out when we finally retire!

Rideout

After checking out the stalls we could hear the combined sound of hundreds of exhausts revving so guessed the rideout was preparing to leave. I darted in amongst them to get some photos, before making a quick escape so that I didn’t get run over!

Custom Show

As the boys were keen to leave and the custom show wasn’t officially open until 2pm I cheekily asked if I could pop in to get some photos – and one of the organisers kindly let me in. Pete Davies jumped on my bandwagon shamelessly, and sneaked in too, as official SLUK press photographer!

Check out the gallery at the bottom for all the custom show photos.

We then chilled at the tents for a while. It was really hot and Lee was complaining about the scorching sun (which most of us were enjoying!) so Sally Webster helpfully sprayed him with a nice cool mist!

I hadn’t taken any silly photos of Snowy so he duly obliged…

An eventful journey home

We set off and around halfway home stopped at another of my well-researched pubs, the Wheatsheaf in Cuckfield. They had a wide menu to choose from and although it wasn’t exactly ‘fast food’, it was delicious. (I’m not being critical as I imaging that pub kitchens aren’t fully staffed for that mid afternoon period when there’s hardly any punters there)

Things were going well until Bury hill when we lost Angus. I stayed at the top while Lee went back in search of him. I took in the breathtaking views of the Sussex countryside and wished some runners good luck who were on a 100 mile running event along the Southdown Way (they’re mad!!).

We’d also lost Mark so I looked on my phone tracker as we were sharing each other’s locations, and it turned out he was really close, at the bottom of Bury Hill. I called him and it turned out Angus’s tail pipe had fallen off! The boys were busy bodging something to get him home and told me to carry on by myself.

So I did, and at the Whiteways roundabout I couldn’t resist stopping for a photo at the castle-like entrance – I’m not sure whether it’s part of Arundel Castle or another large estate.

Then my scooter decided to play up – for the first time over the weekend when it had hardly missed a beat! Lee then arrived, and eventually between us it started revving again.

We set off and then I looked behind me and Lee wasn’t there! I waited for him and he eventually arrived – even the GTS was playing up!

So we limped the final few miles home and immediately ran a bath – I was absolutely minging by then!!

It had been a great one nighter – so lovely to spend time with the silly friends who share our love of scooters. The rally ticks so many boxes – it’s just a shame that we’re not very good at camping!

Support me

I love it when people come up to me and say how much they love my blogs – it’s very much appreciated.

One way to support me is to use my link to Booking.com if you need to organise somewhere to stay – whether it’s for a rally or a faraway adventure. I get a small commission and you pay the same rate as normal – it even links through to the app on the phone if that’s how you usually book.

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My rally gallery

I took so many photos – as usual – so here’s my gallery. You should be able to click/tap on one and view it full-size and then swipe through the rest.