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This was buried midway through one of the recently moved posts so just keeping it prominent as the event approaches. Subject to slight change now we are getting breakfast laid on courtesy of Lexus Derby. F-up The Peaks & Dales Finalised route plan Here is the near enough finalised route that takes in the best of the area and avoids too much civilization and/or roadworks. I’ll do a condensed printout of this for everyone on the day so we’ve all got something to follow if anybody ends up getting separated. I’ve listed all the main locations and route planner below, broken down into the 4 ‘Legs’ of the journey. For reference a “(T)” means we go Through the place and a “(P)” means we go Past the place (genius!). As before, the route will definitely start at Lexus Derby on Saturday the 29th September (for both day trippers and overnighters) and will continue on Sunday the 30th September (for overnighters only) with the second day being an open agenda. On day two we can take in the best of the previous day, a load of new locations, go sightseeing, do any combination of the above or do as you wish! The starting point address is as follows; Lexus Derby – Orient Way, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8BY – 01332 426 185 - This is on the North side of Derby but easily accessible via the M1 - A52 – it’s almost right on the A6, easy access for the first leg of the journey. We’ll meet there any time from 09:00 onwards on Saturday the 29th with a view to leaving as close as possible to 10:00 or 10:30 at the latest. MAKE SURE YOUR TANK IS FULL WHEN YOU ARRIVE! – THIS WILL SAVE US A HUGE AMOUT OF TIME Leg-1 – Lexus Derby to Matlock – roughly 25 miles taking about 45-60 minutes – ETA about 11:30 assuming a 10:30 departure from Lexus Derby Lexus Derby - Start Duffield (T) Milford (T) Belper (T) Ambergate (T) Whatstandwell (T) Cromford (T) Matlock Bath (T) Matlock – Stop As previously advised, when you get into Matlock it feels like you are driving past everything and heading out of the village but it's a big one way system and the main access point to the village is on the North Side. Although quite early into the day I reckon we could easily stop at Matlock for half an hour for Bacon rolls and coffees and/or a toilet break or just blast on through to Buxton. We'll assess what people want to do on the day and take it from there. For Leg-2, from Matlock, we’ll head on up the A6 towards Bakewell and onto Buxton as outlined below; Leg-2 – Matlock to Buxton – roughly 25 miles taking about 45-60 minutes – ETA about 13:00 assuming a 12:00 departure from Matlock Matlock – Start Darley Dale (T) Rowsley (T) Bakewell (T) Ashford in the Water (P) Brushfield (P) Taddington (P) Blackwell (P) King Sterndale (P) Buxton - Stop The route past Ashford in the Water has a good stretch of pretty open dual carriageway so you can stretch the legs on your beloved vehicles. We follow the A6 all the way from Matlock to Buxton so I doubt anyone will get lost on this stretch (famous last words). We should arrive in Buxton at about 13:00. We’ll take a stop here for lunch so please do your bit here and take a look at Tripadvisor etc for any places you’d like to try (this research will also come in handy later on as you’ll see). At a very quick glance the Green Pavillion café and the Royal Oak Tavern both get good reviews. Again we can decide on the day where we go but let’s assume an hour and a half to stop here to fill up and buy Bakewell Tarts etc. For Leg-3 from Buxton we’ll leave via the A6 again taking the route outlined below. This takes in some amazing scenery in the early part up to Hathersage then some good fast winding A-Roads, again through some pretty spectacular countryside between Hathersage and Ringinglow. No speed cameras along here either!! It looks like a lot of locations below but rest assured it’s roughly the same length as the first two legs. Leg-3 – Buxton to the Ladybower Inn – roughly 30 miles taking about 60 minutes – ETA about 15:30 assuming a 14:30 departure from Buxton Buxton – Start Fairfield (T) Dove Holes (T) Then following the A6 towards Chapel-En-Le-Frith (P) before taking the A623 towards…. Sparrow Pit (T) Then heading Towards Castleton past Speedwell Cavern (P) Peak Cavern (P) Winnats Pass – We’ll drive down this, great scenery! Castelton (T) Hope (T) Hathersage (T) Hathersage Booths (T) Ringinglow (T) Left at the Norfolk Arms (P) past Mayfield Alpacas (no joke) along Fullwood Ln, Andwell Ln, Douse Croft Ln, Gore Ln, Harrison Ln, Blackburn Rd and Lodge Ln to….. Rivelin (T) then West (left turn) onto the A57 (Snake Pass) towards Manchester Ladybower Inn - Stop It'll take us about an hour to do the route above from Buxton so we'll arrive at Ladybower Inn, overlooking Ladybower Reservoir, at about 15:30. We should all be in convoy but if you hit the traffic lights at the corner of the reservoir you’ve gone slightly too far!The Inn is about 100 metres back up the road you’ve just come down. You’ll easily spot The Inn on the right as the car park (on the left) will be full of F-Cars! Asbo Dave™ and I stopped here for lunch and it’s a perfect place for refreshments and toilet break before the last leg of the journey. Let’s take 45 minutes to an hour here before we head off. For Leg-4, the final Leg before the overnight, we’ll be following the route below along the A57 (Snake Pass). After the recon mission yesterday I can confirm that whilst there are a few rougher sections on here, they all look recently filled and nothing to worry about. 90% of it is a good 8-9 out of 10 with even the roughest bits being a solid 7. Fear not Sean! Leg-4 – Ladybower Inn to Buxton (via the Snake Pass and Glossop) – roughly 40 miles taking about 60 minutes – ETA at Buxton about 17:30 assuming a 16:30 departure from Ladybower Inn Ladybower Inn – Start All the way along the A57 towards Glossop Glossop (T) Left Turn at the Train station junction towards…. Charlestown (T) Chunal (T) Little Hayfield (T) Hayfield (T) Chinley Head (T) New Smithy (T) Chapel Milton (T) Chapel-En-Le-Frith (P) before taking the A624 onto the A6 towards…. Doveholes (T) Fairfield (T) Buxton – Stop So, we’ll end up right back in the heart of rural Derbyshire where we had lunch.

Hi Dan sorry I've been in some much sunnier climes (what the hell have I come back too!) Myself and mate in his E63 are coming on the sat still, no joy with the stang he is at a charity auction the night before and doesnt think it wise to combine the two (and he heard there might be corners involved) For my 2 1. Yes & Yes 2. Me in my F and Martin in his E63 3. Just ourselves in each motor 4. We eat anything

Being local and working in the Peak District could I suggest some possible parking areas in Matlock. There is a free one at the Sainsbury’s store but being a Saturday this may 1) be busy 2) upset the supermarket manager unless we all buy coffee and donuts.3) Pose possible bodywork trauma from errant shopping trolleys. Another option is the council car park next to the railway station which is pay and display. The rest of Matlock consists of double yellow lines and traffic wardens but there will be more of us than them 🙂 Buxton I’m not too sure about but happy to look for suitable places.

Get onto Rotiform mate! They'll make any of their wheels up in any fitment and offset you want..... At a cost of course! Love a lot of their custom wheels. Check out Violent Clique on YouTube, their crew spec a lot of Rotiform and Ewing stuff. All very spangly!

@Peter P18 Hi Peter I’m speaking with them today as they are trying to source me a spare 👍 🐀

Like those a lot! Guessing they won’t offer them in the sizes I want next though? Looking for the following: 19 x 9.5 with an offset of 49 up front, and 19 x 11 with an offset of 61 at the rear.... Should allow me to run 265/35/19’s up front, and whopping 305/30/19’s at the back. That should help put some of my new found power to the tarmac! Lol. If not it’s spend some money time as I’ll be ordering a set of CCW’s from the States early next year hopefully!

I have waded through all 27 pages of this topic and off topic commentary, as I wanted to know what the GS would be replaced with. The ES styling looks just fine, but as just mentioned I wouldn’t buy a new one now, maybe in 2 or 3 years. Or maybe not. I have just bought an IS300h and I am very happy with it. Performance is far superior to the Prius I had so I have no delusions about it being under powered. It isn’t. While recently dropping it in for a free service, I spent the waiting time looking round the showroom offerings and sat in the GS300h and quite liked it. Indeed I was in 2minds to try and swap mine and a bit of cash for one. However, sanity prevailed and I didn’t, but I left with the feeling that the GS would be my next step up. Reading it was being discontinued was a bit of a bummer, so I hoped it’s replacement might match it, but reading the posts and seeing the reviews, it is likely to be a step backward. i don’t need a 3 or 3.5 litre non hybrid motor, I want supreme comfort, reliability and a stress free ride, which the Lexus hybrid really delivers. So I think my current solution will be to buy a 2018 GS 300h in a few years time, or maybe “man up” to the NX low hybrid mpg and swallow my hypermiling pride. Interestingly I used to own a Camry years ago overseas and it was a really good car, solidly built and bullet proof reliability. I’m glad to see it’s making a comeback in the UK and if push comes to shove, I could be tempted to get one of those instead. Yes, fickle, I know 😂

How very, very, very exciting!! http://blog.toyota.co.uk/new-toyota-supra-the-early-reviews-are-in

Little bit more done, progress is slow at the moment but still plugging away at it. Had some new parts come thanks to H-tune and titan motorsports. Nice adjustable exhaust cam gear, the ATI titan v2 crank damper and a gates kevlar cam belt. Just need to order a new alternator belt and start sorting the finer details out.

OK I’m coming too 1 Yes 2 Me and the Celsior 3 No passengers 4 I like bacon.

Not to worry sir, I’ve a couple of “L”’s I’ll bring with me 😂

Mine is Toyota badged....please don't make me park in the Toyota dealership next door and drive 200 yards behind you all.

I know its in disguise but it doesn't do anything for me, and in a way its half a BMW...………. Maybe it will look better when it is unveiled properly.

*cough*

My GS rides really well too! I had a shot in a 68-plate E-class and I wouldn't change my Lexus for MB!

I wish my day was that slow Not much to add really other than to say I will reserve judgement on the ES until I have seen one in person. Sad to see the GS go though. In my opinion, the GS (especially the 450h) was one of the best cars Lexus produced.

If only would that be last pages (more like half of 29 pages).... Maybe it is going to bring us to better understanding and enlightenment - argument is not necessary the bad thing 😄 It is not like we going to run out of the pages or server memory on LOC site? is it?

A mate of mine runs this business, they are a super friendly bunch and bring lots of exclusive designs in from Japan... https://www.driftworks.com/wheels-and-accessories/alloy-wheels/?colour=grey,silver&wheel_pcd_stud_pattern=5x114-3&wheel_size=19&wheel_structure=1-piece I've pre-selected: silver/grey (sorry Paul)...19"... and the correct stud pattern (5 x 114.3, is this right??)...there's some pretty good looking (and v.similiar to the above) wheels on there

Check this site out if you don't already know it mate mhtwheels.com they produce rotiform and a few other brands they've got a virtual car builder on there it's pretty good.

10 spokes for me, i think they are a great looking wheel!

@Peter P18 No probs Pete they are really helpful lot I’ll let you know, and you are right they are a great looking wheel 👍 🐀

I liked my standard 10 spikes but if were able to choose I would probably go for the mesh design ....umm.....or the American spec......umm 😉 I used to be indecisive but now I’m not so sure 😎

As a former Prius owner I can vouch for this. When I got mine in 2005 I was amazed at how easy it was to leave hot hatchbacks standing at the lights. They'd pull alongside, and then appear to be snatched backwards as if on a giant elastic band as they attempted to change from 1st to 2nd.. Not that I made a habit of it, of course. (Almost) full torque from zero revs is one of the nice features of the Toyota/Lexus hybrid system.

@Linas.P What I’m saying is that to me there is plenty power there, so it’s good for me. Prius is nippy too, it makes a Porsche look puny for at least 30 feet flooring it from traffic lights, looks of WTF from Porsche driver when it takes off 👍😂

So I'll pay £5 more for an ES Takumi than a GS Premier? So much for the much-vaunted price reduction to account for the inferior platform. What do I get for that? Cheap materials, worse economy and pointless rear reclining seats instead of a useful passenger-seat ottoman? Seriously? Who the hell wants them in a car this size - it ain't a chauffeur-driven barge like the LS! And multi-weather headlights? Really, Lexus? Really? I bet it'll ride just as poorly as the GS on its stupid big wheels and have worse road noise as well, because they'll have cut the sound deadening to save costs. I predict they'll sell about two of these. One of which I might just buy in three year's time once some poor fool's taken a serious haircut on it. But it'll have to be a bargain, and it'll have to have a HUD, which isn't clear yet from the specs.

Hey guys, seems obvious to me that the standard headers are pretty crappy, after looking at what the options are in the States and the prices, plus shipping, plus duty etc, they seem pretty spendy. So, I am looking at getting some made over here and the more people that are interested, the better prices we can obtain. be rest assured that they will not be cheapo crap, I work as a buyer for a British car manufacturer so have lots of contacts. Who might be interested?

Hi guys, found a picture of an RCF with the GSF wheels. Looks pretty good to me. Are the wheel offset specs for the RCF and GSF the same or different because it looks like it sits more flush to the fender than it does on the GSF.

do they allow dogs? if not the missus can wait in the car with him....

I might be, but I have an RCF...would they be cross compatible? Is there any indication of HP gains from doing similar stateside? On other cars, decent headers can liberate quite a lot, non?

love the updates rob, fantastic work

I concur,......you’ve really put yourself out there, much respect to you and what you’ve arranged, can’t wait to get to Toddington where it all starts 👍🏻👍🏻......roll on the 29th

You've done us all a fair bit of work there hats off to you 🎩

Looking forward to having a go at some point & if it encourages more Japanese manufacturers to join the party!! 👍🏻

I think we look at ES as a substitution to GS and expect it to be as good to drive (hard to do with FWD though), as plush, as quite but the same time we expect it to be cheaper as we know that ES is cheaper brother to GS and we found out there is no much savings in price in between both models we got disappointed, when I say we I mostly mean I, sorry, didn't mean to offend anyone here. We shall look at it as Lexus introducing a new model like UX etc, it is a shame the same time Lexus takes away GS but something tells me it will be back on the market 5-7 years from now on. I saw ES in flesh and was not impressed, at all, it is not on a par with my GS and Camry (very well specced) which was 10k (euro) cheaper made better sense especially that they had the same drive train! Someone above said when time comes to change cars he will be buying a 2018 GS and I might be doing just the same. I will well ES on the market, I really do as I want Lexus to stay in UK.

I changed my MB for a Lexus. I don’t regret it. In every single way it’s the better car. Rides better, more fun to drive, more space, better seats, better spec. Just, well, better. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Abroad you can get GS with 4wd and with a wider range of engines namely the 4pot turbo, the 3.5 both with RWD and AWD. The UK just isn’t an important enough market to get these superior GSs. We do get the F but no one buys them - which is a shame. A longitudinal mounted RWD platform is intrinsically superior to a transverse mount FWD one so I do see the point made that hopefully it would have been cheaper than the outgoing GS or loaded up with equipment to make up for the fact it was based around an inferior transverse platform as opposed to a bespoke longitudinal one. That said given its only been offered with a very tepid drivetrain the lack of rear or all drive won’t be an issue. It’s in no ways being marketed or promoted as a drivers car (which a GS kind of is) but hopefully it’ll be reliable (almost a given) quiet and comfortable. For 80% of buyers that may well be enough. I’ll reserve final judgement until I see the car and drive one but think the Camry will do a very similar job for a lot less money and there’s an IS, LS or another GS shaped car in my future. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just Googled the LC version, yes much nicer, longer and elegantly curved. They extend below the wheel as well. Not sure they would suit the more angular interior of the RC though?

You are right about NX, missed that.. which IS has it? I might be wrong, but google brings no results with "Tahara + IS". As for inferiour to GS opinion vs. fact. Here is the thing, it is inferiour because of inferiour drive train, inferiour engine options, inferiour standard equipment, inferiour materials used inside (tahara)... that is not opinion - that is black and white facts in the public domain. We can have opinions on non-factual things like looks and feels, but I don't need to drive either of the cars to be able to say that FWD is inferiour to RWD or that Tahara is inferiour to Nappa (semi-aniline leather), or that car with standard RCTA and BSM is superiour to one without it. Do we really need to clarify definition of what "opinion" or the "fact" means.

I’ll give you a reason - BMW not a patch on Lexus quality or reliability. As for a VW ha ha ha even worse.

My GS rides very well.

https://www.lexus.co.uk/car-models/es/#hero - at the bottom of the page all info is also there now.

Worth asking if you don’t mind please mate? Have a feeling they won’t sadly! 😔

Nice, spec and nice price.

Awesome news mate. Clearly the best colour choice there too!! 😁

Didn't think I could make this but weekend plans have been canceled so I can join in for the Saturday run 😀 1. Yes 2. 1 car mine 3. Just 1 me 4. No dietary requirements 

Spot on - totally agree with all you said👍🏻

And I’ve seen the American Spec one at BBS wheel supplier not 5 miles away from me with the correct Lexus fitment, only differs with a BBS logo on the face..... Model number is RE-V 19” The price I’m waiting for confirmation from them. Big Rat

Rolled trough the pictures and hoped for one without the skirt (dirty me)... what a disappointment... And what about thous wheels - have the lady punctured all the tyres at once and runs 4 spares?

Badge snobbery, that’s all, as a kid we mainly had Audi 80 sports, BMWs tenfold, these were the days when BMW Fairfield normally had about 8-10 used cars and a showroom of about 3 cars, they were exclusive BACK THEN but the snobbery aspect of this is very much still apparent. People don’t like change, BMW, Merc and Audi all reduced their build quality to be more affordable to the everyday person, Lexus came along to attempt to steel some of that market, Toyota knew that they couldn’t get in under the Toyota badge, people still don’t like change and continue to buy German “was” good vehicles. i like the rarity of the brand it reminds me of my childhood when the being “not the norm” felt special. Lol being on my 4th Lexus and knowing what little I know I wouldn’t buy anything BUT Japanese, we’ve 1 Lexus, 2 Toyota and the boy has a Civic type R. His second Honda......there is also the point that whilst we, America and other countries spent money on weaponry the two class leaders were also the ones that were banned from developing their arsenal. Hence their progress in the vehicle industry.

Seen some further weakspots with F cars and the RCF in particular. I was a passenger in @Big Rats gorgeous RCF on Monday and didn't experience this but... There appears to be a fundamental problem with the RCF in particular. For instance the keyless entry can fail meaning you can get locked out of your car... Once in the car there is a distinct lack of space... If you get out of the car you have to stretch to prevent cramps... These issues are clearly illustrated below...