Wales Rally GB

[the sniper]

The French speak French, they dont just switch into it when a tourist comes in...

One time two garage assistants switched to Welsh and then just ignored us... but my friend is Welsh and she gave them a volley in their own lingo ! :lol:

In mid and particularly north west Wales (the only bits I regularly visit) I find it to be the absolute norm that the locals converse as a matter of course in Welsh. If you go somewhere like the Tesco in Porthmadog out of season, pretty much everyone will be talking Welsh. So I don't agree with that generalisation.

Guys, been years since I've been to RGB. One of my kids is heading over with friends so need some advice.
Is it possible to watch the rally without going to the spectator stages? Nothing to do with money but is it possible to park in a lay-by for instance and make your own way to a stage? It's just something we've always done at rallies and I guess he wants to continue doing it. Or if you use an official car park can you wander away from designated areas?
TIA.

It's certainly possible. I'd say the majority of stages can be reached somehow for free by an hour's walk of two miles or so, give or take half a mile. I don't know of any that don't present a rather significant climb at some point or for the duration though! You really do have to plan it in advance and know where you're heading. This has been made a lot easier in the last few years, given that the official online rally planner shows you where the road closures are in relation to the stages, with the aid of OS maps and Google Maps/Streetview, I think it's now reasonably easy to work out in advance unofficial ways in. To be honest, given all the information now available, I've been surprised that it's still relatively few of us who do take the free route in. I normally travel to the rally alone, but if I were paying for more than one person, I'd balk at the idea of having to pay a multiple of £30 to enter an official stage car park!

Personally I go for a mix of unofficial and paying for the official car parks now, depending on the day/stage and normally how deep I wish to go into a stage. For example last year I parked in the car park for Dyfi, as having recced the walk in a couple of summers ago that I know Mr Jan does, I know I wouldn't fancy doing it on a dark, rainy winter morning! Last year time wise you could easily get over to Dyfnant 2 after Dyfi 1 & 2 were done, walking in, with the walk taking about an hour. I wouldn't walk into Dyfnant this year though because the configuration they're running is too far from the fairly obvious point where there is plentiful free parking that I used, plus the itinerary makes doing Dyfnant very unattractive.

As has been said too, you can reach pretty much anywhere in the stage without hassle, certainly if you get to the stage more than an hour early. Something to note with the official car parks is that you'll normally enter the stage from those at a junction. There there will be loads of taped area and marshals. I've found that while you'll almost always be directed away from traipsing through taped off areas and towards the official spectator area, even long before the start of a stage, I've never had a problem with walking a little way into the spectator area before getting onto the stage, even if you walk back past the entry point down the stage. Obviously you shouldn't get there late and do this though. I've never had a cross word from a marshal. Respect what they tell you, work with or around them, do not give them any grief. I'm not saying you would, just a general point!