Green laning in the South East.

[BadBoy]

No.49's on mine
Anyone else got theirs yet?

[bobbinsjob]

just watched the video of the guy on the bike doing the Pilgrims Way, it looks a really good lane

[leee7196]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news,yet again... i've just been given my work rota for the summer and they have added extra days on mine.
including the june 21st...sorry guys i would really haved liked to join you all,but work must come first.
i'm on one big downer now!

[Dupe]

never mind mate there will be a next time im sure

[garethc976]

Just sent off for my permit, been on holiday for a week!!!

[BadBoy]

gareth you have PM
Hope you had a good holiday

[BadBoy]

Current list is

Badboy
Krusher - pending MOT result
garethc976
Dupe

For anyone else that is interested,
The lanes we will be using will be a mix of tarmac & unsurfaced roads.
All the lanes should be suitable for unmodified vehicles. We will only attempt lanes the we all feel we are capable of driving without causing any serious damage to our vehicles.
You should however, be prepared for your car to receive the odd scratches from hedges etc, and to get muddy
We have not done a recon, so a suck it and see approach to the day will be required, but we should be going through some lovely countryside with some excellent views of the North Downs
An alternative route around the TRO'd section of the Pilgrims Way is available for any driver who's car does not have a permit to drive on it
A higher quality copy of the map (2.5Mb) can be emailed to anyone interested. PM or email me with your email address

It would be great if we could get another 2 or 3 vehicles (even if your not from the Southeast), to show the FOG force to any green ovals we may come across.

[BadBoy]

just watched the video of the guy on the bike doing the Pilgrims Way, it looks a really good lane

[linkurl=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-4821820712516690625&hl=en]Link to video[/linkurl]. Please resize your window to half it's maximum before playing to improve the quality
For good examples of what to expect, skip the first 5min of the vid, watch it from 5.00, 8.00, 9.45, & 12.30

[garethc976]

Got my permit through the post today........ just gotta get some muddies on the wagon now!!!!

[BadBoy]

Great. Only Krusher to confirm he's got his now.

Wouldn't worry if you don't get your muddys in time. I'll have a 6 Ton recovery rope on board should anyone get stuck

[Krusher]

Badboy
Krusher
garethc976
Dupe

Ok MOT is sorted now will get the permit, judging by the speed everyone elses arrived should have mine by Friday
Will confirm as soon as I have it.

[garethc976]

I have already got a set of muddies, but they have seen better days, and being honest I have been promising myself I would get a new set for months. The set I use for road use are on a set of expensive alloys, so being honest dont want to use them anyways!!!!
if I do get stuck though, we might need a stronger rope, as I weigh nearly that, without the wagon!!!!!!

[Krusher]

Have we any more takers on this as permits are needed for a small section of the lane???

permits can be obtained from the link posted in this thread.

[gregster]

Hi guys,
word of warning...last time I did the lane down near shadoxhurst it had been seriously chewed up...It used to be frequented by the ragin rhinos mob, most of them running 35"+ tyres and lockered up, which made a right mess of it.
This was a couple of years ago and I dont know if has been improved, but I spent most of the time winching my 4.2 v8 90 with 4" lift and simex rubber through there which is not really my idea of offroading. (I prefer to drive the car, not press a button the the winch remote and watch it go through....thats what my RC rockcrawler is for!!).
If it aint been improved then you aint gonna stand a chance through there I am afraid and risk serious breakage in trying.

Pilgrims way is nice, quite tame but a lovely drive. It is very scratchy on the paint though.
I dont know when the permit thing started because I took my surf right down there last autumn,with no permit!!
Terrain was easy enough for it and it is similar size to a lwb fronty. The surf is just lifted with 33-12.50 -15 bfg m/t's...no lockers or anything and it was wet in the tree'd sections and dry in the open bits and it never ground out in the rutted bits at all, so you guys on 31's should be fine as I had only got 1" more under the rear diff.

The lane near wye is quite interesting when its wet and there is a few tracks that come off it with some interesting terrain, but I dont think they are part of the byway so I obviously woundnt recommend driving without getting permission first from the land owners!

Couple of other bits near maidstone that you might find interesting...

Byway that runs from pilgrims way between detling and boxley just off the a249 that runs up the downs to join the lane that leads to the back of the showground near pennyspring farm. Steepish long climb with loose flint/stone surface most of the way up (big gap between vehicles if autoglass arent following you!). Nice little v notch at the bottom for some IFS acrobatics!

Byway that runs up the downs from the kits coty turn off half way up a229 bluebell hill and comes out near the lanes that lead towards bredhurst.
Loose stones/muddish...not too exiting but a better drive to bredhurst than the a229!There is also a tunnel under the 229 from the shell petrol station on the maidstone bound carraigeway leading to the kits coty slip road that flood really well most of the year...if its not closed off it makes a great chassis wash!

Bredhurst woods byway...but you will need a permit for this now and i believe you can only get in from near bredhurst church, the exit on scragged oak lane is now blocked except for horses. Mud and loose stone surface...nice v notch climb near scragged oak end, but patroled regurly by the plod so risk the various 4x4 obsticles just off the track at your peril. Be warned a while back some of the ww2 bomb holes where sabotaged using tyre killers made of 3 fencing nails welded together!This used to be my local stomping area as is just 1/2 mile from my workshop, but too many idiots used to fly tip and burn out stolen cars in there so it all got closed off spoiling it for everyone.

Hope this helps ya guys

Laters

Gregster

[Dupe]

cheers gregster we are going from hollinbourne down ashford way

[bobbinsjob]

just a reminder boys, if there are any more taker for this trip, keeps the groups to no more than 5 vehicles (GLAS) code

[BadBoy]

just a reminder boys, if there are any more taker for this trip, keeps the groups to no more than 5 vehicles (GLAS) code

Will do Ian, but it's just looking like 4 at the moment.
As some (if not all) of us have FOG stickers on our motors, we wouldn't be a very good advert for this site if we didn't follow it.

[BadBoy]

I think (need to test it still but I'm confident) I have managed to sort out an itinerary overlay for Ian's route that can be download on to a TomTom sat nav if anyone wants it.
Due to TomTom's limited capacity for itinerarys I have had to edit the route to start points, and some important junctions for each lane.
TomTom's don't have byways on them anyway and being told to turn right when in the middle of a field is pretty pointless, so map reading will still be the order of the day, but it should help us when traveling between sections on main roads.
If anyone wants it and instructions how to upload it on to your sat nav, please PM me with your email so I can forward it to you.

[Roo]

Hi Gareth
Hope you all have a great day out!................ Please remember to take lots of photo's pleaseeeeeeeeeee

Cheers

[bobbinsjob]

just a reminder boys, if there are any more taker for this trip, keeps the groups to no more than 5 vehicles (GLAS) code

Will do Ian, but it's just looking like 4 at the moment.
As some (if not all) of us have FOG stickers on our motors, we wouldn't be a very good advert for this site if we didn't follow it.

Nice one Garreth