It was the occasion of the annual Wild n Woolly scramble: an event that has been run for eighty years by the Northampton Motorcycle Club. And it really is a scramble in the old-fashioned sense, with the course setters routeing the competitors through several mud holes and streams, to the delight of the spectators who crowd around these areas to watch the experts make light of the conditions and others who flounder and require the assistance from the volunteer club members, who drag them and their bikes out of the morass.

The narrow roads around the village of Blisworth in Northants were crowded with spectator vehicles. Positive anarchy squeezed everyone in. There were probably a couple of thousand people around the course, tramping through various grades of mud and swampy soil. Most came well equipped, with wellies or bike boots and similar gear, but there were a number of young ones who decried 'sensible' and wore trainers and tracky bottoms...not wise.

This is a closed to club event, meaning that only members of the off-road orientated Northampton club can compete. But before their entry is accepted and confirmed they have to commit to being part of the working party that sets the course and safety fencing up, and then dismantles it all a couple of days after.

Before the one hour plus one lap race begins, each rider must complete two laps of practice. One hour doesn't sound too much, but around forty minutes in the pace has slowed for the whole field and a few riders pull up to chat to groups of friends and supporters, take a breather, and even change into dry gloves.

Even though conditions under feet and wheels are slippery and cloying, the day, in contrast to parts of the country just a couple of hundred miles away, is mild with the temperature well into double figures and a pale winter sun lending a springlike feel. The spectator crowd is cheery and queueing patiently in the mud around the catering van.

The whole field gets through the first few laps almost trouble free, but the course soon starts to present major difficulties at the mud hole and stream crossings. A couple of riders have pulled clear; Neville Bradshaw the eventual winner and Ady Smith, a very experienced enduro rider who runs his own KTM off-road school - and at fifty years old - showing a back wheel to the rest of the field.

Then it's all over for another year. The riders are back to the paddock to discard sopping muddy gear and the spectators trudge back to their cars. But it's been mild and dry, so quite a few road bikes are in evidence. Not many better ways to round off Xmas. Enjoy the pictures.

Have you been to a similar event before? Share your experience with us at [email protected], we'd love to hear about it!

04/01/16          not dissimilar to our local roads in Lincolnshire

05/01/16          must go along to this event next Boxing day

06/01/16         would have gone if I'd known about it.