Hi All,
Just got back from a brilliant day at the Abingdon 4X4 Festival.
We were looking some sort of Land Rover event as a birthday treat for our Landy loving daughter's 14th birthday and some kind soul from this list not only told me about the Abingdon gig but also offered us a ride round the cct on Sat had we wanted (thanks).
I mentioned this to my Disco owning brother in law and he seemed keen to have a go on an off road course (after 97k miles in his Disco 'on-road') so the date was set.
They picked us up this morning (nth London) and we arrived at 10am after a pretty clear journey. We booked in and after a quick cupper, a look over the car and some driving tips by a marshal we were on our way ...
As we approached the first 'hill' I'm thinking 'no way, not in this and with road tyres ..' but up we climbed and over the top and onto the next! We only faultered on one and a quick reverse decent and another go with a bit more 'welly' we were away again! I managed to get some video footage from the front passenger seat (including several shots of the roof and my knee .. difficult to hold the camera AND hold on / enjoy the experience!). What surprised all of us passengers was the finish. There was a bit of a water (mud) splash before the final hump and we were ready for my BIL to take a steady run through it (he's generally quite cautious) ... till he saw the 'How high can you splash' sign .. then he gunned it and we exited the section like something from a fairground ride!
So what seemed like 10 mins but was probably nearer an hour later (after a few holdups for wet plugs on petrol vehicles etc) we finished, and no bits missing or broken (on the car anyway ) and with 5 of the biggest grins you would have seen for a long time .. ;-)
After a quick walk round the stands and a bit of lunch we joined the short queue and went round again, tho this time I took some video footage from various (safe) points round the cct so my BIL could see his efforts from the outsiders perspective.
This time, instead of taking all the 'easy' (easy!?) options I heard the kids (and my "I'm not sure I want to go ." Wife) chanting "hard, hard, hard" and watching them go up some mud and rut covered slopes I would have though only though fit for a cable car (before today)!
Anyway, after that cct it was getting near the end of the day so we wiped the lights / number plates clear (they wanted to show my Sister the mud covered vehicle when they got home) and we had a slower but straight forward (and boringly flat) drive home ;-(
A cuppa and quick vetting of some of the video footage later (and re-living it all over again) we waved my BIL and nephew off after a great day .
So, great weather, great cct (perfectly pitched for our skills / vehicle etc), good value for money (20 quid for 5 of us for all day) and friendy and helpfull folk (staff and other 4X4 drivers ..(probably
80% Landy folk).Like lots of 'remote' events, the toilets were in need of more regular cleaning / attention (ok for the 'blokes' but no so nice for the 'girls') but even that didn't spoil a great day.
So, looks like 'we' need some form of 4X4 then ... ;-)
All the best ..
T i m