Day five, and the rally left the iconic location of John O'Groats, heading west along single track roads towards to turning point of Durness. (Photo: Team "Dollywobbles" looking back in his wing mirror to the following "Rally Referee" & "Team Shed").	With cattle grids every few miles the chance of finding sheep on the road was very high. Occasionally we met a whole flock on the road south of Durness. (Photo: Rally Referee and a flock of sheep).

At Ullapool we all met up with local 2CVer Tofur and his wooden homebuilt beauty. This boatbuilding spectacular has to be seen to be appreciated. (Photo: Graham (Pink Dylan) & Ralph (Le Canard Ivre) admire the wooden wonder at the Ullapool campsite).

At Plockton (North of Skye) the first team to suffer a major mechanical problem was the boys from team "A to Z". After many hillarious episodes up to this point. Reversing up the North York Moors, pushing the car frequently on long hills and getting stuck between hills towards Drumbeg (North of Ullapool), this latest problem was more serious than funny. (Photo: Dave & Tim of team "A to Z" removing the wheel to access the drum brake on their 1950s ripple bonnet).

This is for the more technically minded 2CVers. The problem Tim & Dave encountered was a full brake failure on the hills around plockton. Thankfully 1950s cars have excellent hand brakes and they managed to find a B&B in Plockton itself. Apparently the four bolts holding the drum in place were really just two, unbeknown to our intrepid duo when they left Leicestershire. These two bolts had sheared and the brass brake pipe eventually broke free as well. A B&B in Plockton and expectation of Royal Mail overnight delivery of a new part, team "A to Z" were left behind and planned to catch up with the rest of the rally by Gretna Green. (Photo: Front brake drum, with clearly visible fractured brake pipe).

The Eight Ball for this stage was on the island of Skye, at the beautiful location of Elgol, 15 miles along a single track road and a nice 1st gear hill climb to get back out of the village again. (Photo: Team "Dollywobbles" at the harbourfront of Elgol with fishing boats in the background).

Heading back towards the south & east, the next night's camping was at the picturesque location of Glen Nevis. The highest mountain in Britain was beautiful in all it's snow capped glory. (Photo: The teams (minus A to Z) at the Glen Nevis campsite, with the majestic Ben Nevis in the background).

Leaving Fort William and heading south again through the famous location of Glencoe, getting lost around Glasgow and Paisley, the teams were soon flying through Ayrshire towards Gretna Green. At many points along the route the Rally Referee frequently popped up at task locations. The strange look of Auldgirth Inn was just one of those tasks where she hid behind a bush out of sight of the road. (Photo: Rally Referee at Auldgirth Inn, north of Dumfries during rally planning).

Reaching the Kirkpatric Fleming campsite (Nr Gretna Green) without the boys from team "A to Z" was a disappointment to many. After seven days on the road everyone had become very close and supportive of each other. Spare parts had changed hands frequently. Cars had stopped to assist others and the losing of one of the teams to a breakdown was a disappointment to all who were taking part. All attempts to contact Dave or Tim by telephone during the day of Stage N7 were fruitless. Unbeknown to us they had a plan and were deliberatly being quiet. The overnight delivery plan of the replacement to the broken brake pipe part had failed (Royal Mail were up to their usual standard). Luckily though a local brassier had repaired the brass brake pipe and they were on the road by 5pm that day. Imagine our surprise to see them parked at the campsite when we awoke the next morning. (Photo: Team "A to Z" at Kirkpatrick Fleming campsite after arriving at 4am on the long drive from Plockton, Nr Skye).

Even with the brake pipe repaired, the boys still had a few problems. A noisy gearbox being high on their list. After eventually removing a gearbox oil filler plug (probably for the first time since the 1950s) a trip was made to buy gearbox oil. (Photo: Tim of team "A to Z" trying to free the grearbox oil filler plug on his 1950s ripple bonnet).

South from Gretna Green and two more days before the completion of the Northern Half Rally. Day eight saw the teams heading for two more National Parks, The Lake District & The Yorkshire Dales. It was on the Kirkstone Pass where team "A to Z" managed to get three willing bystanders to assist with pushing their car up the hill. Even then they were still slower than an old man and a young child walking. After the Kirkstone Pass Inn the suggested route turned right and went down "The Struggle" towards Ambleside, before swinging around Lake Windemere towards Coniston. The Eight Ball was another story altogether though. (Photo: Team "Dollywobbles" meet the wildlife residents of The Lake District).

Nobody could say there weren't plenty of warnings about the challenges ahead. After traversing the Wrynose Pass, you were left with no doubt about the difficulty of the Hardknott Pass ahead. Sixty five points awaited those who dared to climb the most difficult mountain pass in Britain, then walk around the old Roman fort half way down the far side. (Photo: Road signs at the start of the Hardknott Pass in the Lake District).

Whereas potential participants might have mistakenly assumed the magazine photo of the Rally Organiser's car at Lindisfarne causeway was indicative of the Eight Ball task location for that day, the Nov'07 magazine cover shot was no red herring. (Photo: Hardknott Roman fort clearly visible in the distance, with the small car park just below it. Inset: 2CVGB News Nov'07).	After climbing the Hardknott Pass and decending half way down the other side to reach the fort, the only way short of a 60 mile detour to return to the suggested route was to backtrack over the pass again. (Photo: Team "Mad-A-Gasket" returning over the Hardknott Pass after visiting the fort).

After returning via Coniston the suggested route took the rally troupe across Lake Windermere via the shortcut of the Windermere Ferry. Even though the option of driving around the lake was available, all participants chose to follow the suggested route and sail across the placid lake, much to the amusement of the ferrymen who loved our little cars. (Photo: Rally Referee approaching the Lake Windermere Ferry during rally preparation).

After completing further clues in the Yorkshire Dales and overnighting at Dalesbridge campsite, the final day of the Northern Half Rally took the teams on a fun journey through Calderdale and down to the M62 corridor. (Photo: Team "Dollywobbles" meets other classic cars on the journey through Yorkshire).

With an innovative route across the M62 corridor, avoiding most of the urban sprall of the area, the teams had to negotiate the narrow, steep, roads around Scammonden Water reservoir. Many drove around the reservoir a few times before deducing that the inauguration stone was located down a steep footpath by the pump station at the bottom. The thick fog during this part of the rally didn't help in task location identification. One team even spent over two hours here, determined not to give up without getting the answer. From Scammonden Water, the suggested route continued over Holme Moss and down the other side towards the next National Park on the list, the Peak District. (Photo: The thick fog across Holme Moss as the Rally Referee follows the same route as the participants).

Once clear of all the fog over Scammonden & Holme Moss, the rest of the day was at a more leisurly pace with the Peak Distric fading into the background, and once more Coalville loomed from a different direction. After nine long days, and much challenging terrain, all the teams made it back in one piece. A few had close encounters with serious breakdowns, but the simplicity and durability of our wonderful little cars meant everyone made it back to the crossover point. After calculation of the points gained, it was declared that team "Pink Dylan" were the Northern Half Rally Champions. Congratulations to Graham & Matt for an enthusiastic participation. Matt even had to get out and walk at the Hardknott Pass when the weight was too much. (Photo: Prize giving at Coalville on the Crossover Night).

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