M2M13140 ? What does it mean? Well this is how the Irish lads who love their 131s are celebrating the Mirafiori?s 40th anniversary in 2014. Malin and Mizen are popular classic car touring destinations in Ireland and represent the most Northerly and most Southerly points of our beautiful island. The quickest route between the two is 674 kms via Dublin but for this trip we will taking two lesiurely days to make the trip taking in some of the sights of the western seaboard, overnighting in Galway. In addition, for those who want to make it a longer event, there are two optional additional days, before and after M2M13140, which offer the opportunity to further explore Ireland?s rugged and unique coastline.
Having been involved with over half a dozen 131 themed events since 2007, I get the feeling that this event could easily beat our best ever turnout for 131s and I?ll be very disappointed if this is not the best and biggest 131 event so far. Support from Irish owners alone so far has been overwhelming and personally I?d love to see as many of our international 131 friends come to Ireland next year as possible. Our target of 40 131s might seem challenging but it's certainly not impossible.
This is Christopher Conlon?s (C.A.C131) idea first proposed over a year and half ago and between the two of us it is well into the planning stages. All of the hotels have been selected and having stayed in all of them, I can vouch for the fact that noone will be disappointed with the level of service or facilities. They are all either 3 or 4 star, two of which offer views of the Atlantic Ocean while the third is the scene of the very first 3MA in 2007 in Killarney. All of the rates are competitive and all include dinner B&B.
Over the next few months, more and more detail will be revealed but for now, the most important matter is to note the dates for your holiday calendar next year. The event will be run from 5th to 8th September 2014 inclusive and follows the 3MA model closely except insofar that we have three instead of one hotel.
For all of those overseas owners, I can guarantee you'll not see more of the best parts of Ireland in a similar time any other way. And what better way to do it than in your favourite car with like minded enthusiasts.
I did a recce trip to Donegal (start point) in May this year and here are some teaser photos...These are all from day 1 of the event and take the driver on a tour of Inishowen peninsula. We will drive the Inishowen 100 which is a 100 mile (160kms) scenic journey around the headland and you will see everything from the photos below and much more.
This is the view from the
Ballyliffen Lodge - Our stay for the first two nights.
http://www.ballyliffinlodge.com/And this is the same view at dawn the next day....
This is the beach which is a 5 minute walk from the hotel....
The next three pictures are from the
Five Finger Strand. Donegal is a vast and sparsely populated on the outskirts of Europe. What many people say after a visit is that they felt as if they were the only people left in the world - You literally have it all to yourself...
Climbing above the beach to this headland reveals spectacular views of the coastline. On the day I visited this lonely looking musician was playing his violin to noone but himself and the seagulls.
Now on our way to
Malin Head every corner reveals another unspoilt vista...
And to
Malin itself...
Look carefully for the messages spelt out in stones...
At the start of our journey south....
The view towards Scotland...
Lunch stop....