About twenty members and guests made the journey to Crewe to see how today's Bentleys are made.
Our hosts, Vicky, Alan and Oliver
After a briefing on Bentley's design and development process ...
... members pose with EXP2, the oldest surviving Bentley
Understandably, photography is not allowed in the factory. We were treated to coffee and biscuits after our tour.
JCB visit
We stayed overnight at the Tillington Hall hotel, Stafford
JCB, founded in 1945 by Joe Bamford, remains a family-owned company. It entertains many thousands of visitors every year, employing retired personnel to conduct parties around the factory site. The large exhibition hall displays examples of the company's products from 1945 to date.
Flags were at half-mast, following the death this week of Lady Thatcher
Hedley Greaves was an early arrival at JCB, with his rare Hooper-bodied S1
J C Bamford's first product, with which he started the company in 1945.
The Streamliner was driven by Wing Commander Andy Green RAF, who also drove the Noble SSC to break the sound barrier on land.
This full-scale skeleton model was made because the 200-ton mass of the real thing would have broken the building.
