Lancia Beta Forum

While at last year's Classic Car Show I agreed to organise this years event. Provisional we will meet at a spot tba in the Dales and have a drive round including lunch. Later there will be a barbecue at my house in Saltaire with some good Yorkshire beer, and a walk round the cobbled streets of the World Heritage site if you wish.

Hope to see lost of Betas.

Neil

Thanks Neil, I’m in!
Hoping to fire up my new engine in the next few weeks (the car is currently in the middle of a full rewire first) and sadly, with no time for a shake down, I’ve decided the LMC track day in April will be too soon.  A July deadline is just what I needed.
Chris

Me too- hopefully third time lucky as I’ve missed the last two due to circumstances beyond my control.

Mark

I'd be up for that. Might be in the Alfa though.

Sounds good to me  :D Count me in!

It's a long way from the South (200 miles, 4-5 hours  :o ) so I'll be coming up on Friday 10th and staying until Sunday. There's plenty of small hotels and Travelodges/Travelinns around but if others will be having overnight stays it might be worth all of us staying in the same place?

Hotel Ibis Bradford Shipley seems ok and close https://all.accor.com/hotel/3158/index.en.shtml (https://all.accor.com/hotel/3158/index.en.shtml)

and the Premier Inn  Bradford North Bingley is pretty close too https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/west-yorkshire/bradford/bradford-north-bingley.html (https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/west-yorkshire/bradford/bradford-north-bingley.html)

Any other suggestions?

Both of these are close by with plenty of parking. Premier Inn would make a good RV point for our start on the Saturday.

I'd opt for staying in the Premier Inn too.

Problem at the moment is that the Premier Inn is rather pricey! Much cheaper to stay at the Campanile Bradford or Ramada Wakefield. But Premier Inn prices might come down so I'll wait a while before booking anything....

I've got a feeling that Premier Inn price is for two nights while the others are per night. It's still more expensive but not dramatically so.

Campenallie is on an industrial estate and Wakefield can be a good hours drive from me depending on traffic (West Yorkshire traffic is the busiest outside London....)

OK, so both Campanile and Ramada Wakefield out of the question...

How far is the Ibis Budget in Bradford? That is a price for 2 nights and I think about 10 minutes away....

Ibis Budget is 10/15 minutes away,but on a very busy road and a bit isolated too. The Shipley Ibis above is walking distance and would be quieter.

Friends have stayed at The Abbey Lodge (http://www.abbeylodge.net/ (http://www.abbeylodge.net/)) and found it good, but it is obviously dearer than the budget hotels.

That looks good to me! Has restaurant for evening meal on Friday and breakfast included so good value for money at £45 per night for single!  :D

OK, Abbey Lodge Hotel booked for 2 nights, Friday 10th to Sunday 12th July  :D

Also booked the Abbey Lodge  :) for the Frid/Sat night £130 for a twin room.

Excellent! A plan seems to be coming together.... Maybe we'll meet somewhere on the Friday and drive up in convoy.

(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e1/38/a1/e138a174c33a48931521dcc5639d4a03.png)

Friday evening meet up now seems required in The Beehive, Fanny's or Don't Tell Titus, all less than 10 minutes walk from Abbey Lodge. If Theo wants to forgo his evening meal at The Lodge I could also take you all for a proper Bradford Curry at The Rajpoot, another short walk.

I'll be working on the full itinerary this weekend.

Sounds Like a plan Theo  ;D ;D

Hi I will hopefully be there in the Spyder - travelling up from sheffield early Saturday morning.
Gerry

Definitely sounds like a plan coming together  :D

A proper Bradford Curry sounds goods to me!  :P

If I might borrow a current popular phrase, me too.

I've booked for Friday and Saturday night and a curry sounds great. Obviously it won't be as good as a Brick Lane/ Birmingham / Glasgow (delete as appropriate) one but I'll just have to make do ;)

I've been meaning to visit Saltaire for ages, some photo opportunities there perhaps? Or up to Ribblehead perhaps?

OOP'S,

Bit late to this, count me in!  :)

Tim.

Just booked Jacob & I in at Abbey lodge for the Saturday night, fancy a convoy up Gerry?

Tim.

Hi Tim,
Definitely!

Hi All
I'm booked in at the Abbey Lodge Hotel, Shipley.

Looking forwards to it!

Cheers
John

Hi Guys... I haven't disappeared and will join you if I possibly can. Business has fallen off a cliff with the virus, so I might have to work that weekend, but will come up for at least a day (and that curry) if I possibly can. The VX is running well and looking forward to some proper company. I swapped the Giulietta for a Stelvio a while ago: it's fast and fun, but doesn't have the feel of the road... H.

I'm just hoping that by July we'll be out and about again. The test match at Lords I was looking forward to looks very doubtful and that's at the end of June.

Fingers crossed.

Dependant on the small print of peoples hotel bookings, and that the hotels are still in business, I'm going hang on as long as possible before making any announcement. I'll review towards end of June.

I've checked with the Abbey Lodge hotel and there should be no problem with late cancellations. Here's what they said:

Hi Theo
 
Thank you for your enquiry.
 
To cancel a reservation without charge we must be notified no later than 10am the day prior to arrival.
 
In the case of a late cancellation only the first night of the booking will be charged.
 
Hope that clarifies the situation.
 
Regards
 
Gary


The Abbey Lodge Hotel
62 Kirkgate
Shipley
West Yorkshire
BD18 3EL

W: www.abbeylodge.net (http://www.abbeylodge.net)
T: [01274] 583854
F: [01274] 532416
E: abbeylodgebradford@email.com

That's very kind of the hotel, I'm happy to keep my booking for now and see how things go.

T

My plan is for a yes/no on 4th July, unless it becomes clear that leisure activities are off before then.

Good plan!  ;)
Is it on purpose you chose Independence day to decide?  :D ;D

25th March is independence day for Theo...

 ;) ;D

In the PM's plan 4th July is quoted as the earliest possible day for hotels etc. to open. What are the group's feelings about a postponement? 12th September to be on the safe side? Or suggest another date?

Much as I hate to say it I think postponement is a good option. 1 week after the earliest possible date is too soon especially as we have no idea in what way the pubs / restaurants / hotels will be able to open.

Hi

We are having to visit my elderly parents once a week (still at home in their 90s) to ensure food arrives and do any necessary jobs, fortunately I am mainly retired, so will not be looking to travel far from home for some time.

Peter

I am one of those naive optimistic people that was hoping that all will be well by July and Betameeta would be able to go ahead. But when I heard on the news today that 4th July is the earliest possible date for the hospitality sector being able to open, my first thought was that it's too close for comfort for Betameeta. 12th September should be OK for me as it's the weekend before the Gamma Consortium weekend. But if we postpone, do we have to postpone so far in the future? My suggestion would be to wait a while longer and see what happens by mid-June and see how the PM's roadmap for coming out of lockdown is progressing. If we then postpone Betameeta, which we'll most likely have to do, maybe we won't need to postpone as late as September but might be able to do a late July or early August date.

Stuart/Peter, sorry, I don't really understand your posts. Are you saying you are in favour of a postponement to August/September, or abandonment?

Theo, I think you are right, I'll give it another four weeks and see where we are. However 4th July seems fixed, so can only move back rather than come forward. An August date would be OK with me.

In favour of postponement. Not in favour of cancelling.

I think Theo’s idea to wait and see is the best route , what with every target date only being a best guess and being conditional on appropriate progress at present.

Mark

I'm happy to wait and re-book later in the year, I'm sure the hotel will be ok moving our bookings on.

It is pretty much make up our minds time re the 11th July!

I've heard locally that The Abbey Lodge will be open, so everything pretty much depends on whether those staying over (Theo, John, Tony) are happy to continue?

If not I'd suggest a postponement to early September.

Personally I'd prefer to crack on with the 11th, but will be guided by the majority view.

I'm happy, eager and waiting to continue as planned for the 11th July. I am very much looking forward to it in fact  :D

Hi Neil,
At this late stage I’d rather delay, but I’ll do my best if you stick with July.
Chris

I'm happy to attend on the 11th still, I'll check with John, Andy, Mark, Amanda  :)

Just heard back from:
Mark,John, Andy, Amanda and James.
All think its to early and would like to postpone till September.

Cheers Tony.

I agree with them to be honest.

It's not really enough time for the hospitality sector to work out how it's going to handle groups or even basic stuff like how to offer breakfast. Even 1m distancing could mean a petty big table at the curry house for example.

As far as I can see this wouldn't meet the regulations for after 4th July there are still rules on gatherings that mean it wouldn't be possible to meet externally.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing-after-4-july (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing/staying-alert-and-safe-social-distancing-after-4-july)

I have to say I think it’s a bit soon, with things generally seeming to be in a sensitive phase, despite what some sections of the population seems to think.

Mark

Sorry Theo, looks like Tony, yourself and I are voted down by a significant majority!

Can I suggest 19th September?

That's a shame  :'( But I am Greek so I believe in the "majority rules" principle  ;D

September 19th is no good to me  :'( as it clashes with the Gamma Consortium AGM which as far as I know it's still likely to go ahead. (http://lanciagammaconsortium.info/smf1021/index.php/topic,75.0.html (http://lanciagammaconsortium.info/smf1021/index.php/topic,75.0.html))

As Theo has been such a staunch supporter of the event I'm keen to accommodate him.

5th or 12th September? Thoughts?

Betameeta would not be Betameeta without Theo ;D
Both dates good with me Neil.

12 works best for me

Just seen Wheels Day (local to me ) is on the 5th so 12th also better for me  ;)

Thank you guys!  :-*

Both of the new suggested dates are OK with me  :)

12th September it is! Everything crossed!

That was fairly painless- well done!

Here’s hoping.......

Mark

I'll be able to join you if there's room for a little Coupe. That weekend looks good for me. Howard

Same hotel - Abbey Lodge?

12th good for me, going to ring the Abbey Lodge tomorrow to hopefully move my booking on.

Hi Neil
12th Sept works for me.
I will move my hotel booking.

Looking forward to meeting up.

Cheers
John

got my spyder back today, restored, engine rebuilt with bigger pistons fast road cams and twin 45s so i have plenty of time to run in , yes i shall be there

I have re-booked. Fair play to them - the room is exactly the same price.

Same here Abbey Lodge have kindly moved my booking to the 11th and 12th  :)

I had cancelled my booking with the Abbey Lodge before the new dates for Betameeta were announced. While they had promised a full refund if the room was cancelled before 10am the day before arrival, they have refused to give me a full refund and are not replying to my emails  >:( I therefore refuse to give them my custom and stay at the Abbey Lodge. I'll sort out somewhere else for me to stay....  :-[

Perhaps if some of the others who have booked point out that this is a 'group' booking Theo might get his money and an apology? Not good though.

It might be worth giving them a call  - they could not have been more helpful for me so it's sad to hear the customer service is being  a bit patchy.

I don't mind calling them if Theo hasn't already sorted something else?

I visited in person and have been in contact with Theo.

Even better!

Thank you Neil for going to the Abbey Lodge on my behalf and thanks everybody else who offered to help.

I think I didn't make myself clear when I said the Abbey Lodge refused to give me a full refund. The operative word there was full. The Abbey Lodge refunded me £120 of my £130 but decided to keep £10 as an administrative charge. Before booking my room in February, I enquired about cancellations and was told a full refund will be given if cancelled by 10:00am the day before arrival. The "penalty" of £10 is not a lot of money but it's annoyed me that they didn't keep their promise of full refund and annoyed me even more when they refused to reply to my polite emails questioning this previously unmentioned penalty or administrative charge.

I have requested a chargeback from my credit card and was going to book into the Premier Inn at about half the cost of the Abbey Lodge. But Neil told me the Premier Inn is a fair distance from the Abbey Lodge so I decided to book into the Gothic grand mansion nearby which is the Mercure Bradford Bankfield Hotel (https://all.accor.com/hotel/8334/index.en.shtml). It's only 5 minutes down the road and cost me less than the Abbey Lodge (I am a an Accor Live Limitless member so get a discount  ;) )

Sorry guys, I'll be the odd one out again staying at a different place but then again driving a Trevi I am very used to being the odd one out  ;D

I am very much hoping that Betameeta will finally go ahead in a few weeks time. I met up with Tony yesterday at the Festival Italia in Brands Hatch and as well as arranging to meet on the Friday for a convoy drive up north, we also thought it may be a good idea to incorporate a visit to the Italian Wheels and Wings event at the Cosford RAF Museum on Sunday 13th. It's organised by the Italian Auto Moto Club and payment for this event must be made to the Club by 6th September. See http://www.italianautomotoclub.co.uk/ (http://www.italianautomotoclub.co.uk/) for details.

Entry to the museum is free and the museum normally charges £5 for parking. The IAMC are charging £7 for non members to cover the museum's parking charge plus a bit extra for them for organising the event and providing a dedicated Italian car display area (up to 100 cars).

Unless of course Neil has something different or better planned for us for Sunday..... 

As mentioned above, Tony and I have provisionally agreed to meet up and drive up north to Saltaire in convoy with a lunch stop about half-way. So the provisional plan at the moment is to meet at South Mimms services on the M25 around 10:30am and drive north via the A1 stopping at The Welby Arms in Allington near Grantham https://thewelbyarmsallington.com/ (https://thewelbyarmsallington.com/). We should be there around 12:30pm.

"The Welby Arms, Allington is a popular country pub providing good food and a well managed bar. It is a favourite stop for travellers on the A1". It seems to have a good selection of food for both a full hearty lunch or light snack and it's only about 5 minutes off the A1.

With the current situation it is likely that we'll have to pre-book to be on the safe side so if anyone would like to join us there for lunch, please post here and I'll book in a couple of weeks. if you want to join our convoy but don't want lunch, I think we should be leaving the Welby Arms around 1:30pm.

I like the Cosford idea.

I'll be travelling up pm so will miss out on the convoy - I'd look out of place anyway!

How many might be up for Cosford ? The GTV owners group would like to know!

I'm up for it but all depends on whether Neil has anything else arranged for us for Sunday.

I'm up for this too, depending on Neil's plans for the weekend.

Shouldn't be a problem, no plans for Sunday.

We need to decide if and who is going to this and pre-book tickets by 6th September.
See  www.italianautomotoclub.co.uk (http://www.italianautomotoclub.co.uk/) for details

Two updates;

The Shipley area is released from the Bradford area lockdown this Wednesday, so all is go.
There is a Fiat meeting just off our route in Grassington on the Saturday.

So;

Before the end of this week can I have numbers for;

Curry Friday night
The Fiat show if there is room for us
Barbecue  Saturday night

(Tony, can you copy this to the FB page?)

Will have to give the Friday night curry a miss but the Fiat idea (no pun intended) on Saturday sounds excellent as does the barbecue, count Jacob & I in. :)

count my wife and i in for fiat show and barbie if you can neil, thx

Hi Neil,
Many thanks for organising this.
My daughter Oli and I will be traveling up on Saturday morning in convoy with Tim and Jacob, so please count us in for Saturday's activities and the barbecue. 
We will travel back down to Sheffield after the barbecue.
Looking forward to it!
Gerry

My wife Linda will be joining me this year so please add two for the Curry night on Friday, the Fiat show and the barbecue.

I'm also very tempted to pre-book the Cosford Wings and Wheels event on Sunday but I'll wait a few more days, since the booking deadline is 6th September,  to see if anything else is proposed.

Hi Neil
Please count me in for the Curry night, Fiat Show and the BBQ please, will also probably book the Cosford Wings and Wheels event on the Sunday.
Have updated the Facebook event.

Curry, Fiat thing BBQ and Cosford for me please.

I don't think we have a group booking for Cosford. See http://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4080.msg28643#msg28643 (http://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4080.msg28643#msg28643) for details of how to book.

Just had a message from the abbey lodge, they gunna be closed , and to cancel my booking

Abbey lodge have just called me to say they're not opening weekends so they've cancelled my booking. Suspect everyone else booked in will have the same issue.

EDIT  - Mercure Bradford does not have rooms but Premier Inn Bradford North does. I'm staying there, I'll just have to get a taxi if I want a beer or three.

The Mercure has been showing as "unavailable" for a while. I'm hoping that's because they are fully booked and they're not going to call me and cancel my booking!

The Ibis Bradford Shipley has availability.


I can give you a lift in the Trevi  ;) :D

Ibis is 10 minutes walk from me and less to the curry house....

Local knowledge  - booking moved to the Ibis!

Hi Guys, bit of a bummer... we have just found out today that Luci has got to have chemo therapy (breast cancer), starting on Sept 11th, so I won't be able to join you after all. Worse, we have to isolate from then until end of treatment in January... so please post lots of great pics of your brilliant Beta weekend, (Tony, I'm counting on you!!), and I'll see you all sometime in 2021. Have a great time. Howard

Hi Howard
Please pass our best wishes(members of the Beta forum) to Luci, look forward to seeing you both next year  :)
Photos to follow :D

I've also re-booked into the Ibis, £78 for two nights including breakfast  ;D

So sorry to hear about Luci. Our love and best wishes to you both and see you next year.

Hi Neil,
I’m planning to join you on Saturday so will be in for the Fiat show and BBQ please.

Chris

I've booked the RAF Cosford Wings and Wheels event for Sunday  :D

Then I received an email from the Mercure Bradford Bankfield Hotel  I was booked in:

Good Morning,
 
Unfortunately, due to covid-19 and current government guidelines the hotel has been closed since 27th March 2020, our closure has now been extended and we now don’t expect to open until later in the year.        >:( ::)

So, the IBIS it is then....  ;D

Also booked RAF Cosford Wings and Wheels, just noticed booking deadline tomorrow Sunday 6th.
http://italianautomotoclub.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR2tngFOcC_qUnoQw0BfP5J-NGFe5JcsUGlLqv8DXpjSZMxByTRBztcrPS0 (http://italianautomotoclub.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR2tngFOcC_qUnoQw0BfP5J-NGFe5JcsUGlLqv8DXpjSZMxByTRBztcrPS0)

Me too.

Do we have a time and place to meet on the Friday evening?

The itinerary for Friday/Saturday is attached.

The planned longer drive out has been replaced by the Fiat meet. Any questions my number is 07802860165.

We have found the brief window between the lifting of the local restrictions and the new national ones on Monday, so perhaps the last time to enjoy our cars together.....

Chaps,
I’m now almost certainly out for this weekend having just found a crack in one of my front wishbones.  
I’ve got a few ideas but I need to reassess what I’m doing with these and I’ll most probably have to catch you later.

Chris  

Chris, I have if not exactly a spare at least one I'm not using at the moment - I could bring it up on Friday for fitting Friday evening / sat morning if you were OK to nurse the car to Shipley ?

Hi Stuart,
This is tempting, and it's a very kind offer.  My plan always was to drive over on Saturday morning anyway but I hadn't banked on arriving to a roadside wishbone change; and whilst it should only be a balljoint, a couple of big locating bolts and bushes and an anti-roll bar, I'll need to think more about the risks of driving on it and/or a roadside swap.

Chris

 >:(crabby luck for me, having run in 500 miles in  my spyder ,took car to northampton motorsport for final tune and rolling road this week , got a call back telling me not nice noises coming from bottom end were heard when they reached over 5000rpm, so we guessing could be some bearings but untill it comes to bits not sure exactely ,.feeling really peeved off now as it was running quite well, and looking forward to driving it up north.we have a hotel booked so we gunna still come there but in family car nissan. hopefully see you all saturday

I’m back in.  Stuart and I have been chatting offline and now have a plan, and a wishbone, that should get me across at lunchtime.  Look forward to seeing you all.

Another example of why this forum exceeds all others - it works in both the virtual and actual worlds. Well done Stuart.

Mark

1. Mark, are you joining us?

2. Chris, there is always the mighty Panda? My son Jack joined the Panda club after we couldn't find an Ypsilon at a decent price......

.....

Neil
 
Thank you so much for organising Betameeta 20. It was a great day for me; lovely to meet new Beta fans, catch up again with those I’d met before and, of course, enjoy a smashing burger back at your’s later.

Thanks also to Stuart. I will keep my right foot under control and look after your wishbone for now and I’ll back in touch soon when I’ve got my own sorted.

Cheers all,

Chris

As Chris has said, many thanks to Neil, Nicky and all of you for a wonderful weekend. 
It was great to catch up and put faces to user names. With my spyder having been laid up for 8 years, the tour has reawakened my confidence in her and I am determined to get her finished properly (Tim that means less flames out of the exhaust!)
Thanks to all,
Gerry and Oli

Yes, Massive Thanks to Neil & Nicky for your hospitality & tour of Saltaire, brilliant drive and brilliant company as ever.

Now 100% convinced the world would be a better place if everyone could be tearing around in Beta's , to happy to be causing aggro & too busy fixing 'niggles' to think of anything else!!!

Gave the coupe some extra wellie on the way home to make up for Howard & Luci being absent,

Cheers all. :)

Glad that this went ahead and that everyone seems to have had a great time.  Very disappointed that I was unable to make this, especially given that I reside in God's Own County!    Car has been on axle stands for several weeks with the exhaust system in pieces whilst I slowly recover from an unexplained bout of tennis elbow.  Feeling strong enough now to be wielding spanners again so hopefully will be back running again in next few days.

Fab weekend, thanks Neil and Kicky  ;D
Great seeing everyone and sorry to those who could not make it.
Managed to clock up around 650 miles over the 3 days
Here's a couple of my pics from the weekend including a couple from the RAF Cosford Italian Wings and Wheels day.

A few more pics from the day:
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonysphotos/albums/72157715983690376 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonysphotos/albums/72157715983690376)

Also I have uploaded all my hi-res photos some good/some not so to my Website, feel free to download any you wish, the download password is: lanciabeta
https://tonyharrison.smugmug.com/Betameeta-2020-Yorkshire-Dales-Wings-and-Wheels-Italian-day/ (https://tonyharrison.smugmug.com/Betameeta-2020-Yorkshire-Dales-Wings-and-Wheels-Italian-day/)

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THP_0842 is a very special photo!

Theo may need a copy.

Superb photos, as ever Tony. Thanks for posting and the link to Flickr. Luci's treatment going well, so we'll be with you all next time. Glad you had such a great time. Howard

 ;D :D yes I already have a copy of my bald head  ;) :D ;D

Brilliant photo's Tony (as ever!)

Fancy doing the Betameeta again now!  Roll on next year :)