NOC Devon Branch

IMAGES FROM THE EVENT CAN BE FOUND UNDER THE GALLERY TAB ABOVE

 

The time had arrived which we had been looking forward to for nearly 2 years.  The vision Dom and I had for making Norton Day so different had been increasingly evolving on a daily basis as the event underwent a name change to “Norton Festival” and the number of attendees swelled along with support from big names in the world of Norton which were all anxious to be part of a not to be missed event.

So with over 275 members pre booking for the event we set to organising and marking out the camping, caravan and display area which seemed to have grown with each meeting we had with the Steam rally committee to a substantially large 2200 square metre area!  Noccers started arriving early on the Thursday and the Devon Branch members soon were running like a well oiled machine.  By mid afternoon we were nearly 150+ members on site and things were going great until we were informed by the Steam Rally committee that the Shower blocks wouldn't be available until the Friday and that there was a slight issue with the bar not having the correct licence (they’ve only been doing it for over 25 years!).  Soon  the powers that be found a way round the red tape by making it a “private party” thus meaning that all those attending our event were able to sample the 25+ drinks on offer along with the specially brewed “Norton Festival Ale”.

The early hours of Friday morning saw a storm with gusts of over 40mph hit the site and transforming 3 of the marquees into kites which sadly knocked over the Norton Factory TT bike and Dom’s 9 day old Domiracer!  Dom would like to thank all those that battled the weather throughout the night to get the marquees secure and sorted out the bikes!

Friday day came and the rain persisted, this didn't dampen the event too much and many members decided to set off on the 2 poker runs we had organised for them.  In the afternoon we had 2 groups lead for a tour around Brixham Battery Museum followed by a visit to my collection of 50+ Norton's followed by a trip to the local chippie! Another group went direct to the garage and then on for some chips also. That evening many members headed for the beer tent to enjoy some live music and sample some more of the potions of the bar.

Saturday morning and the sun was shining, over 100 members had booked to go one the steam railway river boat cruise trip that we had organised.  Soon after 9am they were lead by the Ladies in red (All Devon Branch members wore red Festival T-Shirts compared to attendees grey t-shirts making them easy to spot) After travelling on the railway to Dartmouth they got on a passenger ferry over to the picturesque town of Dartmouth, a quick ice cream stop and then it was all aboard the river cruise ship taking them up river and down to the mouth with a running commentary of all to see.  Once back at the docks it was back on the train and arrived back at the Festival site for just before 4pm.

 

5.00pm and the sound of Nortons echoed around the site as we headed down to Brixham town to take part in the Hill Climb around Brixham's sweeping hairpins as they climb high above the harbour.  We had arranged to have the road closed and members marshalled and held back the traffic as groups of 20 bikes went up at a time lead by Sean on the Factory TT Bike and Dom on the Domiracer,  the sound of the Manx’s, Inters and all those taking part opening up as they climbed the hill was incredible drawing in huge crowds to watch the 100+ bikes race up and down the hill.  Unbeknown to me Dom had been speaking with Stuart Garner and Sean from Norton Motorcycles and had arranged for me to ride there wonderful TT bike which was simply an unforgettable experience.  

In high spirits fuelled by the adrenaline kick of the hill climb we headed back to the Festival site for another live band and to continue to sample the bars produce into the early hours.  Throughout the evening the traction engines gathered around with their illuminations on display creating a beautiful setting with the band playing a faint sounds from the pipe organs and the smell of burning coal and steam in the air.

Sunday morning arrived which saw a good number of extra Norton's arrive on site pushing the number of attendees over 350.  Many members took part in the parade around the arena which was commentated on by Tim Harrison and Mike Jackson.  The most memorable part of the day came in the afternoon with the bike start up.  The 6 Manxs and 4 Inters rumbled into life together creating a symphony of exhaust notes, soon to be joined by George Cohen and Stu Rogers with their Norton specials.  The sound soon drew in huge crowds from the 16 acre site all bustling for best photo position.  As they shut off their bikes Dom started up Nortons TT bike and the V4 created its unmistakable rasp  soon joined by Ian on the incredibly loud Domiracer together the blipped the throttles alternately increasing the revs each time, the entire start up created huge smiles on the spectators faces as well as hands covering the ears of some that were taken aback by the sound of these wonderful machines.  The crowds then moved down to the National Motorcycle Museums marquee were we had the privilege of watching Brian Crighton sit on and start up Hislops TT winning bike with a finally of racing through the rev to the limiter whilst shifting through the gears on the paddock stand.  What a way to finish off an amazing event totalling 234 Nortons, over 350 Noc attendees and thousands of members of public to help       promote the NOC too.

It was nice to see that so many people attended the prize giving and congratulations to all those that won.  The raffle helped raise a lot of money which we will announce in a future issue.  Photos and Videos of the hill climb and more can be viewed at www.nocdevonbranch.co.uk (please send any you have)  Thank you to all the Devon Branch members for their help, a special thanks also to Torbay Steam Rally, Norton Motorcycles (including Thor Motorcycles) The National Motorcycle Museum, Stu Rogers, George Cohen, Brian Crighton and many more that I have probably forgotten for helping to create an unforgettable event that will certainly go down in NOC history as one of the greats!