October unofficial, possible plan, w/e 11/12.

On or around 12 Sep 2008 06:07:05 GMT, "Paul - xxx" enlightened us thusly:

I thought all the discos were 90l, or 20 gallons.

The route through mid-wales is OK. M56 to Chester, A483 (I think) down past Wrexham, Oswestry, Newtown etc. Or come down to Birmingham-ish and come down the A456/A4112/A438 to reach Brecon and A40

M5/M50/A40 takes you quite a long way too far south, and as you've seen, affects the mileage adversely :-)

Reply to
Austin Shackles
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Dunno, but when I almost ran dry once, red light on for 1/2 an hour or so ... it took ~ 70 litres to fill.

Yeah, I used to come to Wales a lot .. Plas n Rhiw in North Wales and Sully in South. Used to come to Brecon a lot for Enduro riding when I was younger (and a damn sight fitter).

Reply to
Paul - xxx

I found it to be an awful trip when we went to Pembroke. For the time it takes I could have been in Portsmouth 200 miles away. We got real bad brake fade on the Disco (no problems prior to setting off) and thought we were all going to die on one downhill section. On the way back we dodged the hills all together and used the motorways which are much further but not half as scary or time consuming. That said we had the awning, silly big tent and generator on board so were well and truely loaded up.

I love Wales... I just resent the length of time it takes to get there.. but thats why it's so nice / untouched. :-)

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

Come visit this part of the world Lee - it makes the roads to Pembroke seem like the M1 in comparison.

Wales is fecking marvellous - it's about the only place other than here I can see myself living.

Reply to
EMB

I guess it's all relative to how soon you want / need to be somewhere. Finishing work then jumping in the truck and wanting to be there ASAP sort of spoils it a bit...

My fave roads are in the Lake District. A completely different kind of terrain.... you can drive for literally hours on some dual track lane and see no one.

I do like Wales but like many other desireable locations you just can't rush it. That was the downfall for us... rushing!

They are really pushing NZ on the TV adverts here. I guess to encourage tourisim but it does look attractive long term... we have rooted unfortunaely, though this week Mrs_D commented how nice it would be to just bog off to an Island somewhere.

I had a recollection of when the G8 was in Scotland and we were deployed to assit. One of my colleagues commented. "I don't know why bush doesn't just go and hold this summit on a small Island somewhere".... My reply. "He has!".

:-)

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

You need more practice, we can do Manchester to St. Davids in about 4.5 hours - you're closer than us !

Steve

Reply to
steve Taylor

Yeah, That was in the days we kept the caravan at Ma and Pa's.. so when we got there to pack & go it was Chew the rag for an hour , Pack then go. Bit of a false start. :-)

The Caravans now here.. no excuses now. :-) ....just me being S L O W :-D

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

On or around Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:24:37 +0100, Austin Shackles enlightened us thusly:

driving up a small road today, I noted an "unsuitable for motors" sign. Must check it out sometime. It's another possibility, if it's open. Some years ago I had a crack at it from the bottom end in a Mk2 cortina, which I'd modified for long-distance trials, but it had fuelling issues when pointing up steep hills.

I'd forgotten about it since. It's not long, but there may be other things in the area.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Me Out :(

Looks like im going to New York with work... Again :(

Reply to
Mark Solesbury

On or around Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:30:02 +0100, Austin Shackles enlightened us thusly:

and looking at the map, I see it and another bit which looks quite well-used are "other access". I think a trip to see the definitive map is in order.

Unfortunately, the definitive map for the lower part of Sarn Helen is in the next county. I'll have to see if I can track down any locals who can tell me...

Reply to
Austin Shackles

On or around Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:39:07 +0100, steve Taylor enlightened us thusly:

well, this is true.

I'll see how the research shapes up.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Sorry lads, no can do anymore.

Other things have stopped me coming down, but the Disco's a bit poorly at the mo'. Getting a knocking noise when it's rolling, in gear, out of gear, clutch in, out, any speed. Engine's fine, knocking not occurring when stood at any revs, only when rolling. Changed UJ's, made sure all propshaft nuts are tight, handbrake drum has been off and that's all OK, exhaust changed from CAT to non-CAT as the old one was a bit wobbly, basically fettled a shed-load of bits and bobs but can't get rid of the knocking. Seems to hit a resonant note at 50mph upwards then drops off at ~65 ish + Still got to check the wheel bearings, but they 'feel' OK when the axles are on blocks.

Beginning to think it's a diff, maybe chipped tooth or summat like. but it's extremely hard to tell if it's front or rear .. indeed it sound slike the centre ... ;(

Ah well, plodding on ...

Reply to
Paul - xxx

Sounds like the same knocking I got on the 101 when the input pinion bearing went. At least they are rover diffs and simpler to replace( entirely! ). It's natures way of telling you to buy a locker ;-)

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

Currently that weekend's clear for me, I'll prod a friend of mine who's done the Sarn Helen area and is one of those dreadfully organised people with reams of notes on different RoW..

Right, let's see if this news server accepts my postings...

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

On or around Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:28:30 +0100, Ian Rawlings enlightened us thusly:

looks like it.

However, I'm completely boracic and the majority seem otherwise occupied, so I reckon we're looking at a postponement.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Woohoo!

OK, I've got a do on in West Dorset/Somerset sometime that month too so I'll get my camping and off-roading kicks that way.

I was out on Salisbury Plain off-roading with the Tatra 813 at the weekend, it's an impressive thing to watch as it moves like a centipede across the ruts, shame there's sod all on Salisbury Plain of any interest! I might try and persuade him to take it to Wales, the lanes I did on a two-day trip up there (near Rhyader) some months back would have taken it.

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

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