Beginners Green Lane Day - Wales (8th August)- Review

Another cracking day day out, although this time with dry weather and warm enough for a T-shirt.

"Headbanger" Drew brought the family up from north Oxford; Steph and the three lads, whilst I had Martin for company for the day.

Shortly after 10:00, we set off in the general direction of the "Corwen Car Wash". Considering all the rain we've had over the past few weeks, the river was exceptionally low (half a batten on the fence), so the crossing was easy enough, although if you can remember your first time, then you must have an idea how Drew and Steph felt.

Next, onto the Wayfarer - and that steep climb... suffice to say, when we got to the summit, this happened:

There was nothing we could do until the engine had cooled a little, so the kids got to run around a bit and the adults started on the sandwiches.

Of course, as soon as a Frontera has it's bonnet open, a group of Landrovers will appear.

Once the engine had coolled a little, investigation (eventually) found the culprit - a hose at the front lower part of the engine. A 7mm spanner and a Stanley knife later, it was all repaired and topped up with water (lots of water) and we would be good to go.

After the Wayfarer, we headed for White Stones, and once again the Estate suffered overheating on the climb (which was later discovered to be a poor wiring connection - once fixed, the Estate ran well for the rest of the day)

I was really surprised at how bad the slippy slate section had cut up (although not so slippy and the stream was not running down the track as usual)

The first step was easy enough, although a little unnerving:

But for the last one, we both used a spotter:

After a few more stops, we eventually find ourselves on the last lane of the day far too soon, and drain the coffee flasks in preparation for the journey home and stretch our legs.

It was probably near enough 17:30 when we finally returned to tarmac and made our way back to England.

A big thank you to Martin for doing gate duty and to Drew, Steph and the kids for joining me on a cracking day out in countryside.

Lawrence

may i be the first to comment, well i miss the old girl, but she done well, (did you turn the fan on, its best to leave it on while in 4 wheel drive, just turning it off as you go through deep water,)

oh sorry its about the day, well done all, cracking pictures as usual,

Nice to see another member join the "Wayfarer bonnets up" club! :lol:

Glad you all had a good time.

I've been is a sh itty mood all day coz i wanted to be up there with you. even tried swearing at the trainee wife last night to see if she'll cancel the wedding (reason i couldn't go)...no joy, must be a girl thing..

jealous me..........never :mrgreen:

well done,i consider myself a wayfarer verteran,but crossing the river allwen (i think thats what its called),still gets me going ,It looks like you had it all ,sunshine, sandwiches,coffee stops,overheating,photos ,.The thing is now you will be iching to go again,face it! your hooked,no going back now :dance:

Before, I write anything about the day, a big Thank you needs to be said to Lawrence and Martin, for all the advice, assistance, gate opening and for making this day one to remember. We all had a throughly brilliant day, and you made us believe we can do things that we never thought possible. Thank you.

When we arrived into Corwen, we were a little bit late. Had to quickly check out our windscreen, as on the motorway a lorry with a big industrial skip, full of cars, dropped a few bits and put a nice crack in the windscreen. We had a few mins to stretch our legs, and then we were of. Being told that we were doing the River Crossing first, did sound a bit daunting. Upon arrival, we had a quick check, and Lawrence went first. He made it look easy, but i guess thats experience. We then followed, and everything was going well until halfway across the eldest boy started screaming 'we're leaking'. We made it across safely, and the 'leak' was just a minor dribble.

Then it was onto the Wayfarer. Being on a proper track for the first time, this was an experience. Around where we live, we only have Granny Tracks (i.e tracks your Granny would drive her Citreon C1 along without any problems). Seeing what the car could do, and learning how to drive it properly, was amazing. I never knew that the car would decend itself, and keep the steady speed. The car was getting hot going up, and we had the fan on. Arrived at the top, left her running for a bit, then switched of, jumped out, just about to roll a smoke, and the car transformed into a Cappacino machine! Deciding to leave her for a few mins, I went up the hill, to look at the grass, and further down the track, coming our way, the green ovals! :oops:

With the car fixed, we then went down the Wayfarer. The scenery was amazing, and driving at a steady speed, we got to take it all in. The drops on the side of the track made you realise how dangerous it would have been for the early farmers on these tracks.

So much happened, that i can't remember the exact order of things. I know we went over more tracks, made everyone in the car think it was gonna roll when one side was up, and one down in a rut

, climbed hills we never thought possible, and took the car over some challenging (for us) terrain.

One of the highlights of the day, was the slippery slate. We watched Lawrence go over the first challenging bit, and the thought of 'not a chance' went through our minds. But Lawrence and Martin came out and guided us down. The second challenge looked like a drop from the top of the track. After Lawrence had gone over, we looked and realised it was a slope, but still quite steep. Guiding our car over that, I was very nervous. This after all is our family car, and had to carry us 150 miles back home. But with advice and assistance, we made it

We then carried on a few more tracks, and throughly enjoyed ourselves. Meeting tractors half way up a steep road, when the engine was roaring its way up, was interesting, to say the least. The kids a brilliant day, and they didn't argue until we were about 20 mins away from home!

Once again our thanks go to Lawrence and Martin, and if anyone else wants to do a beginners day, I would recommend it 100%.

Looks like a gooood day out....

Got to say truggs,.... that pickie with the kiddy playing in front of the fronty is excellent....kinda sums up the fun for all the family thing....

That piccie has gotta be in this months competition...will be a great contender!

Well done that man

Laters

Gregster

Glad you all had a great time guys, as was said before, you will be hooked now.

Brilliant picks as usual

Thanks Drew for the kind words.

My intention, all along, for these "beginners days" is to introduce novice green lane drivers to what sort of terrain there is in this country that we can legally drive, how to drive them at a respectable and save pace and to get each vehicle owner to experience what their four-wheel-drive vehicle can actually achieve. I must say though, that I did not expect the slippy slate section to be as bad as it was - perhaps that bit should be omitted from future beginners days if it deteriorates any more (for safety and for the sustainability of the track).

Ok, so the burst water pipe was a little hiccup on the day but there was no point in getting upset about it. Let the engine cool a little, take some time to ensure we are safe but more importantly to me was to ensure the youngsters did not panic and become upset - this was a day out for them to enjoy as well - a good old fashioned family experience.

Once again, every other user of the lanes we met was courteous - a reflection perhaps on how we approached them - the two groups of Landrovers we met, the small groups of walkers, the mountain biker and the group and solo motorcyclist. Different people enjoying the countryside and our heritage of ancient byways in their own way.

Sheep, rabbits, horses, cows & bulls and pheasants entertained us (blimey, that bull was big) and the occasional glimpse of a bird of prey, not forgetting the sights and sounds - 'twas a good day out.

Best regards to you and the family

Oh, and Greg, you might be right.

Lawrence

Hiya All
Please you all had a fantastic day :dance:

Great write up and Great Photo's there guys,Thanks for posting them :dance:

Cheers

Glad you all had a good day. I must say Im shocked at the state that the slate section of Whitestones is in. Having used that lane several times over the past 2 years or so it has never deteriorated in my experience. I am just wondering if it was caused when during the recovery of the Range Rover that slipped into the ditch a few weeks back???

Good pics and congratulations Drew and family on your first outing ;-)

did not look any worse than when Drift & I went through a couple of weeks back,it probably looks bad because of the bank being chewed up by the go anywhere brigade.

Thats where the rangey went off piste, was fine up till then.

That be exactly it...

Plus there were a few others came down to pull before the winch was decided on. All that tyre spinning on the stuck one and the recovery trucks would have done more damage then we saw before we left.