Watermill Rally

Organised by Pudsey MCC at the Watermill Inn, Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire

A fairly local Rally for me, but as usual back in the seventies, one rally a weekend just wasn't enough! The first Watermill I did (1976?) I didn't get there until after the pub had closed. This was due to me having to work late, and then having a quick look over to Scunthorpe on the way, to see who was at the Yard of Ale Rally.

I found the pub and the rally field behind it no problem, but had lots of trouble getting my tent pegs to go in despite having an engineers hammer with me! The next morning I could see the reason. I had camped on what appeared to be a road between two fields! I was up and away again early Saturday that year because I was going down to Somerset for the Ox Roast Rally.

The following year I had planned on staying all weekend, but then there was a change of venue and the Rally was set to be held at Tong, near Pudsey, Leeds. This was no good for me because it was only about two miles from where I lived. I set of after work to have a look at the site, only to find that it had moved again. There were vague directions to another venue pinned to the gate post at a farm entrance and instructions to follow the Castrol Arrows! This was fun; I was glad I hadn't arrived at night again, in the rain after a long journey! I eventually got to the new new site after fighting my way through the Friday rush hour traffic around Leeds ring road and found myself in Calverley just about one mile from where I worked and had set off from over an hour ago. I could have got there in about five minutes if I had known!!

Just when I thought nothing else could go wrong it did! I rode my 400-4 onto the field and it virtually sank up to its wheel hubs in mud. I made an about turn and left the field running at the side of my bike trying not to get stuck but managing to spray several bystanders and their bikes with mud! I booked in and went home!!

It must be some sort of record for me, because I never made it to another one, so I had been to the Rally twice and never drank anything stronger than a cup of tea!!!

- Ted Trett


Start of quotation The Pudsey Motorcycle Club had spent years convincing the Watermill Inn in Pateley Bridge to host a rally.... End of quotation

- Phil Wilkinson

(From Phil's intro to the Watermill 1977 passage in his book "It's Only The Dirty Ones We Don't Want.")