An amateur film produced by A. McManus of the ‘Northumbria Cup’ open navigation trials held by the Lambretta Club Northumbria and taking place around the north Pennines. Starting in Newcastle competitors travels through north-west Durham passing through various ‘Control’ points. On their journey they visit locations such as Burnhope Reservoir and High Force Waterfall returning to Tyneside and finishing at the Lion & Lamb public house in the village of Horsley in southern Northumberland....

An amateur film produced by A. McManus of the ‘Northumbria Cup’ open navigation trials held by the Lambretta Club Northumbria and taking place around the north Pennines. Starting in Newcastle competitors travels through north-west Durham passing through various ‘Control’ points. On their journey they visit locations such as Burnhope Reservoir and High Force Waterfall returning to Tyneside and finishing at the Lion & Lamb public house in the village of Horsley in southern Northumberland. Title: Lambretta Club Northumbria presents Title: The 1958 Northumbria Cup Credit: Photographed by A McManus In the doorway of a shop a group of eight men and women looking over maps and stop watches, parked nearby a scooter with a banner on the front that reads ‘Northumbria’. A map of Northumberland changes to a man holding said map while speaking with those around him. He points at a spot on the map and then checks his watch as the group watch and listen intently. Traffic travels past the Church of St Thomas the Martyr on the Haymarket in Newcastle. Nearby scooters are parked up as members of the Lambretta Club Northumbria make ready to depart by checking their vehicles and maps of their route. A small crowd watches from the pavement as scooters drive past St Thomas’s as other make ready to depart. A woman climbs into a Isetta micro-car which then departs along with more scooters. In the doorway of the shop again officials wind timers, a sign in the window reads ‘Watches Checked Here’. Four riders in white helmets look over a map, some drive off. Other look over their scooters checking and oiling tyre rims while a woman helps her male companion putting on a scarf or tie. A crowd gathers around one man in a flat cap who stands on the steps of a building, he hands out sheets of paper and competitors begin to disburse to their scooters. Others mark up their maps, one couple doing it on the tarmacked street. Beside a large shop scooters line up while officials speak with some of the competitors. At a starting line competitor are timed off, beside them a woman sits in a red Messerschmitt KR200 bubble car. At a ‘Control’ point along a country road scooters come to a halt and have their stop watches checked by officials. With all details confirmed the bikes speed off. At a railway crossing cars and a line of scooters wait as a steam locomotive passes. The train gone and the gate open traffic moves again. Phantom scooter ride along the rural A686 through the northern Pennines slowing as it approaches another Control point. Two young men rest beside a stone wall as another scooter comes to a stop to have their clocks checked and marked on a sheet. Panoramic view of the surrounding upland landscape; a road sign reads ‘unfenced road beware of animals’. A line of scooters parked along a country road, the riders and navigators sitting against the wall of a nearby building resting and chatting over lunch. Scooters attempt to negotiate a rough uphill track; one rider decides to push rather than ride his scooter while others ride past at speed. Some scooters make it to the top, some come to a stop in a rut and need a push. At the top another ‘Control’ point. Scooters come along a road that goes across the dam of Burnhope Reservoir near the village of Wearhead in County Durham. At the top of the incline some check over their vehicles. A sign reads ‘To the Falls’ another one beside it reads ‘Notice to Motorists’. A path leads to High Force Waterfall near Middleton-in-Teesdale followed by the waterfall itself with the waters of the river Tees cascading over it. A road sign reads ‘High Force’ nearby a second sign reads ‘Police Notice. No Parking’. An older man in a uniform stands smiling at the camera, a hand painted vehicle registration. At the base of a hillside a series of flags have been planted, several scooter ride through them. Most riders make it except for the first who falls of his scooter. Scooters travel along a busy country road passing a roads sign that reads ‘Healey 1 mile’. They travel carefully along a narrow track, again some riders choose to push their bikes rather than ride them. Another becomes stuck, the navigator having to get off and push. Bikes appear at the other end of the track, riders and navigators smiling at the camera as they pass. Outside the ‘Ye Olde Lion & Lamb’ public house, possibly at Horsley in Northumberland, club members stand outside chatting, their scooters parked nearby. The film ends on a scooter pulling into the car park and their timing details checked. End title: The end