Manky Monkey Motors

Taz took some time out from her livery yard duties today to nip over to the next village to see these guys arrive.
They were taking part in a sponsored coach trip, with a pair of vintage mail coaches travelling from London to Portsmouth to raise money for the Help for Heroes campaign, (a charity for members of the British armed forces).
They set off from Knightsbridge in the centre of London Monday, stayed overnight in Cobham, Surrey then left Cobham, stopped off for lunch in East Clandon near Guildford, then on to Godalming to stop over night, before carrying on tomorrow. Originally they were due to stop for lunch at Clandon Park, West Clandon, (where Taz works & we live), as guests of her boss, Lord Onslow. Unfortunately he's very ill at the moment, so Taz & one of her stable girls went along to represent him.
Must've been hard work negotiating the London city traffic. A fantastic sight on a crisp Autumnal morning & raising awareness of a worthwhile cause. Hope it all goes well.

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What a fantastic spectacle……. Would have liked to have seen that first hand.

My understanding of some of the old London to Portsmouth route was that it used to go through Guildford (a handful from Clandon) with The Angel Hotel in the High Street being the old coaching inn (the arch and cobbled courtyard are still there).
If you go further south you’ll come across the Devil’s Punchbowl at Hindhead, where if you follow the Byway up and to the left, you’ll travel along the original route, and pass the gibbet (and marker where a highway man was ‘dealt with’).

Riding in that carriage must have been an experience, the nearest I’ve been was a groom on a 2 and 4 wheeled small carriage for a friend training for competition - which was a little like being a sidecar passenger with lots of weight transfer and helping bounce round obstacles.

Like this? I'm in the middle (or one leaning furthest to the left)

Absolutely, you got it on one -very similar indeed, ‘cept I remember doing most of my stuff through wooded sections and inclines etc, similar to motorcycle sidecar trials in a way, great fun, was only single horse power for me though, I guess with 4 horses its pretty exhilarating.

Been on a trap just like the one you’re on, and by grabbing the handles etc, and moving body mass by bouncing,  its just about possible to move the back wheels sideways so we didn’t clout an outcrop.

We did have the benefit that as we were out practising, should a friendly pub present itself, we could have a well earned refreshment!

When I was a young child in Sussex, there was a gentleman who owned his own mail coach and four-in-hand, who used to visit our village (more of a hamlet) and take all the children for a ride in/on the coach.  He was an actor and I think his name was Wilfrid Hyde-White - I was only about 4 at the time but I remember the excitement!

Taz does it in the woods too -eventing that is.