Batman Bridge Anniversary Run
Sunday May 23, 2010
The Batman Bridge spans the Tamar River at its narrowest stretch, Whirlpool Reach, and this event was to mark an anniversary of its opening. The first cable-stayed bridge in Australia, its classic A-Frame support is a popular photographic attraction. This run was a last-minute, word-of-mouth only event, as we were only invited to it two weeks ago, so apologies to those who weren't aware of it.
So, a small group of four cars assembled in the frosty car park of the Automobile Museum at around 9:45 am. Geoff and Tony were joined by the Ransons, Wheatleys, and new members Peter and Barbara Beddow, accompanied by Barbara's mother Margaret. Our route north towards the bridge took us up the East Tamar Highway, a section of road which has had major improvements in recent times, thanks to the proposed Bell Bay pulp mill (maybe we could propose a couple more down the Midland Highway...? Just joking...) so our run was fairly uneventful. We arrived at Whirlpool reach shortly after 10:30, and were directed to a sloping grassed area on the eastern shore, facing the river. When I say sloping, perhaps I should say SLOPING when the wet grass was taken into consideration! A couple of cars had problems reversing up the slope into our final position, but we all eventually made it. Already in place were two more cars, belonging to the Swans and the Grahams.
Even at this early hour, the area was well and truly alive with hundreds of people, and an ever-growing display of vintage and special-interest cars from various clubs, which continued arriving for the next hour! A large selection of food and drink stalls were doing an active trade in the chilly morning air, although bright sunshine gave the area a very upbeat atmosphere. Live music played throughout the day, and there were plenty of attractions for kids of all ages. The really adverturous kids (and Rod Swan is the biggest kid you've ever seen!) could take a guided walk along the maintenance walkway underneath the bridge, a path that took you right across the river to the western shore, from where you walked back over the top pedestrian walkway, back in the sunshine. If that wasn't enough, there were also short helicopter flights available.
Our cars attracted a steady stream of onlookers, and we fielded lots of questions and chatted with the affable throng. There were also some familiar faces; it was good to catch up with longtime northern members Peter and Avril Potito among the crowd.
Most of our group settled down in the sunshine to enjoy a leisurely lunch (with LOTS of deserts being offered by stall-holders who were circulating with trays of goodies) so we reciprocated by offering them some of Tony's Famous Fudge, which was also available to our members.
Cars started to leave around 2 pm, with the Swans heading to their favourite café at Gravelly Beach for a late lunch, where they were joined by the Grahams, but we hung on til after 2:30, leaving just the Ransons to enjoy a final cup of coffee.
- Geoff and Tony
