[bean006]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian Clark

Country Lanes

I love going up to the lake district. Some of those lanes around Grizedale, Hawkshead, Coniston, Ennerdale, Seathwaite and so on are freakin great fun and the North Yorkshire moors are not too far away either.

When we go the lakes we tend to start out at around Ambleside/Windermere etc up the Kirkstone Pass. Go to the Kirkstone inn and have brunch.

Ha ha thanks mate
I was just only up there last week for a short brake with the girlfriend. Although we were in her perguet (however you spell it) 307 an not my Mini. The roads were well nice. We said we were goin to go back in the summer. Think I will be driving though!!

[KlausR]

For driving fun purposes I very much prefer a decent backroad, but bearing in mind the area I live in some problems appear. With an average of 200 people / square km (500 / square mile) this part of Germany is one of the most populated areas in Europe. So we´ve got lots of Autobahns (at least 10 different within 30 miles) and we are very short of really challenging roads. Most of our country roads are flat-out lanes with occasionally upcoming high-speed corners and many villages to slow you down and a lot of traffic even during the weekends.

So for a performance car nut like me the challenge begins with finding the right places to make use of the car´s potential.
Apart from that I am of the opinion that for a hot hatch the Cooper S shows remarkable qualities for Autobahn cruising and mid- or even high-distance trips. Keeping the speed under 110 mph will help resulting a half-way reasonable mileage.

Klaus