Still Stoked Longboard Skates For Surfers

Old Red, the Icon Van

This entry relates to: [ Travel ]

Friday, Jul 16, 2004

Old Red at Home in the Forest of Dean.

Where were you in 72? So goes the classic question from 5 Summer stories, and if you don't know that one then you'll have to write to me at Still Stoked and ask.

1972 was the year of the US Vietnam Draft and on our side of the Ocean, the Isle of Wight festival, arguably the last great rock festival of the UK and captured for all time in Dylan's Desolation Row.

While this was all happening a Danish guy created a new concept camper van, which was placed on three truck cab vans, Bedford, Commer and Mark1 Ford Transit. Of these a small number of trannies were produced for the German market.

Old Red on Rhossili Hill.

In 1973 one of these left hand drive camper vans returned to UK shores and in 1997, 25 years from manufacture, a guy called Donny Wright found this van in a Gloucester back street, in England. He bought it there and then and spent the next 5 years travelling the highways and byways of England, south of Whitby, Yorkshire to Lands End, Cornwall, most of Wales, Northern Ireland and The Republic of Eire.

Old Red on Inch Strand.

This 'journey' of surfsk8 exploration and living on 'the other side of life' took the red tranny around the clock and halfway again. Slowly but surely Old Red, as she became known, got covered in surf and skate stickers and bits of odd artwork, bicycle wheel windvane generator, lorry exhaust woodburner chimney, roof water collection, weird roof racking systems for surfboards, skateboards, and bikes. In all Old red became the surfing madmax surfsk8ers dream machine.

Old Red at Aberdaron.

Known to the police in general and yet never booked, donny evaded the law, somehow. Wheels falling off, two busted gearboxes, all sorts of electrical bits and failures, cracked, split and driftwood wedged repairs to the front engine cross member, blown engine towing a 'gypsy' van, made life intersting and always challenging. Finally in 2001 travelling with Katie, his new found longboard skating friend, and just after doing the hill at a record 60mph outside Bude in Cornwall, Old Red cruised into Summerleaze carpark and popped the rear wheel, losing the halfshaft, which was what the funny bumpy noise had been for the last few days. There was no brake or clutch, thank the gods it did'nt pop on the hill.

After this Old Red got fixed one more time back in the Forest of Dean only to lose the brakes on the way through the mountains of Snowdonia, heading for Hell's Mouth on the far surfing peninsula of Northern Wales.

Old Red with a Pixie!!

In those 5 years Old Red became a legend amongst those who knew her, today she rests in a small field near the edge of the crumbling Hell's Mouth cliffs, looking forever towards the southwestern horizon and the coming of an Atlantic swell. Old Red is an icon of another time, she may rest at peace and slowly rust away in the sea winds or maybe, just maybe she will return.

If you pass that way one day,
Lon Neigwl is the road you seek,
watch out by Siop Penrallt,
and if you see an old surfers van
within a field, by a cliff top near,
be sure to spare a thought
for Donny Wright who revelled in the surfers' sport.

postscript– more images to come tomorrow

Posted on Friday, Jul 16, 2004 at 20:44:42