As the curtain fell on Twisted’s busiest ever annual Open Day, around 20 of the business’s friends, customers and team members embarked on the inaugural Yorkshire 300; the business’s first ever Twisted Experience.
The Y300 celebrated the business’s new partnership with Welcome to Yorkshire, while raising money for children’s charity, Variety Yorkshire.
Defender enthusiasts, including passionate Twisted customers, joined Twisted founder Charles Fawcett and members of his team to participate in the road trip, which stretched 300 miles and four days across North and West Yorkshire.
Joining them on the trip was Twisted ambassador and endurance athlete Sean Conway, just weeks after breaking the record for the fastest crossing of Europe by bicycle.
Taking in the North Yorkshire Moors, the Yorkshire 300 departed Thirsk for Guisborough, before heading through Thimbleby, Masham, Lofthouse, Aysgarth, Muker, Harrogate and Garforth.
The trip included stays at Guisborough Hall, The Kings Head Hotel, Masham, and The Coniston Hotel, alongside guided tours of the Black Sheep Brewery, Masham, and the Ginetta race car factory, Garforth.
Guests also enjoyed lunch and evening meals at The Carpenters Arms, Felixkirk, The Wensleydale Creamery and Betty’s Tea Rooms, Harrogate, and participated in a clay pigeon shooting experience at Thimbleby Estate.
“It’s hard to pick out a single defining moment from the trip,” says Fawcett, “but I think the moment when it truly hit home with our guests just how much planning had gone into the event was when we literally stopped traffic to allow our convoy of 18 Defender to join a main road.
We were making our way down a back road towards a junction to join a significant main road in Leeds, and the road we were trying to join was extremely busy. But as we approached the turning, out of nowhere our van appeared on the right, stopped all the traffic, and let us all out.
That, to me, and to many of the attendees, was a defining moment that hammered home the amount of effort that had gone into the trip. This was more than just a ride out!”
Charlie also recognises the potential for Twisted Experiences, like the Y300, to provide the catalyst behind new networks. He reports that one of the most pleasing things about the trip was the lasting friendships forged.
“It is a cliched expression, but Twisted is a family and the number of new friendships formed between guests was incredible. There was a lot of knowledge and passion on show and it’s always pleasing to see that shared. Beyond that, we found that people were so happy to see us,” he adds.
“The prospect of 16 large vehicles roaring through a village, we thought, may concern a few folk, but we had people coming out to see what was happening and taking a good look at the vehicles. The overall response we’ve had from our guests has been incredible.
We thought they were going to like it, but we can’t quite believe how much they like it. They really enjoy what we do and that’s a nice feeling.”