Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to head from Ludlow Castle to Switzerland, via Cobstone Windmill
A replica of one of the world's most famous cars, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, will begin a near 1,000 mile journey to Switzerland, via Germany from Ludlow Castle on 18 August.
The madcap adventure aims to raise awareness of prostate cancer and to encourage older men to get regular tests, funds raised in the UK will be donated to Prostate Cancer UK.
The car will be on display outside Ludlow Castle from 10am to 1.30pm on Sunday, 18 August.
The following week, it will begin a journey that takes in scenes from the film and ends in Switzerland after a challenging drive over the Alps.
Sadly, this recreation of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang cannot fly and much of its journey will be on a trailer. The first stop will be Cobstone Windmill in the Chilterns. In the film, this was the home of the eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts played by Dick Van Dyke.
Then on to Rothenburg which was used as the Vulgarian village, where children were forbidden and where the feared Child Snatcher prowled with his net. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will be exhibited in the main square before moving to the Kriminal Museum in Rothenburg.
The final leg of the journey takes a different tack. Ian Fleming, better known as the creator of James Bond, wrote the children’s book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In a famous scene in Goldfinger, Bond drives over Furka Pass in an Aston Martin DB5, racing against Tilly Masterson’s car.
In a tribute to Fleming, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will be driven over the passes (Susten, Furka and Grimsel) reaching heights of more than 2,400m on each pass. This is an ambitious challenge for a car built on a 1929 Humber chassis and running gear with a Morris 1000 engine and gearbox! All parts for the car and work on it have been donated.
Many of the team behind this venture, known as the MAD Men, are from Shropshire. MAD Men was setup after team leader Tim Preece, now age 60, suffered from symptomless prostate cancer. The disease was only diagnosed by a prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test. After having his prostate removed along with 26 lymph nodes, the cancer returned. Seven weeks of radiotherapy followed and he is now living a lively life.
Tim passionately believes that men need to know more about prostate cancer and the need for annual testing to catch the disease early to reduce the damage it causes to people’s lives.
Information about prostate cancer and testing will be available on Castle Square, outside Ludlow Castle on 18 August, 10am to 1.30pm.
The MAD Men have set up a Just Giving page to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK: bit.ly/madchitty.
