Prescott Bike Festival

The sun shone down on hundreds of motorcycles, as the Prescott Bike Festival took place a little north of Cheltenham. The site is a hill climb course, generally used by the Bugatti Owners Club. Once a year however it is the venue for a motorcycle hill climb even held in aid of the National Association of Blood Bikes, and for the local blood bike charity, Severn Freewheelers.

Blood bikers, if you didn't know, operate an unpaid and free blue-light service transporting blood, organs and tissue between NHS hospitals. They are available 24hrs a day and 365 days a year and they don't get stuck in traffic like normal ambulances. They are the most splendid folk, and I hope I never need them!

I've stuck a few pictures on flickr, but this one is special. The bike is the Flying Millyard, and it was built by Allen Millyard using part of a Pratt and Witney 1340 22000cc nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine! The two cylinders that are left are each 2.5l so this is a five litre V-twin. Eat your heart out Harley Davidson (and apologies to any members of the Green Party reading this who just fainted dead away).

It does sound rather fine, and it smoked less than the ear-splitting jet-engined bike that went up a few minutes earlier.