18 & 19 september welsh laning.

[Ben]

I got back last night from an amazing trip to Wales, possibly my most enjoyable trip away ever!

saturday morning me and Mitch set off for Wales at 6am. we met the others at there camp site and we were soon off enjoying the beautiful welsh country side.

first lane.

off the first lane and onto the next which included 2 fords, 1 small one before a farm, and then huge one a little bit further on.

great sign.

little ford.

big ford.

was reasonably deep, just lapping over the edge of the bonnet so about 3.5ft at the deepest bit.

im through.

Mitch making a splash.

red fronty.

disco.

silver 3.2 V6 fronty

onto the next lane.

got to the clearing in the forest, where the lane has for the last few years been a huge mess. last time we drove it it had been completely drained and filled in with hardcore, but it was a mess again.

onto the next lane. id not driven this one before but it was a cracking lane. according to the map it goes past 2 Roman camps and around a Roman hill fort.

stunning views from the top.

lots of puddles.

we stopped on the Roman road section for a spot of lunch. great views of the black mountains from here.

lunch done we carried on.

a short tarmac section to the next lane, which turned out to be one of, if not THE best lane of the weekend!

started off tight and overgrown.

i was leading the group for the weekend and i soon rounded a corner to be met by a wonderful view of the lane dropping away in front of me with big rocks and ruts and steep drop offs.

i walked the next few hundred yards and it just kept going and going. it was at this point that i knew we needed to drive up it for a real challenge.

didnt get any pics on the way down. we stopped by the derelict motel at the bottom and me and Mitch were the only ones who wanted to try driving up it.

so we left the others at the bottom.

so off we went. i got so far up and then lost momentum and began wheel spinning! so out with the winch.

winch line wasnt long enough, so used an 8meter strop attached to my quick strop.

mitch soon had to come and help me re-rig the winch line and strops for the final pull up.

once i was up, i watched Mitch drive straight up with his difflock engaged!

at this point i decided to order an ARB locker, which i ordered today, and will hopefully have fitted in time for Lincomb!

we then headed back towards and through the big ford we did at the start of the day.

few road miles and a few short lanes north of Builth next.

end of a very tight lane.

next we drove a few miles north to New Bridge on Wye. i had seen on the wetroads.com website, when researching the days route, about a huge ford that was supposedly to overgrown to drive. to me that read as a challenge and something i must do!

we found the start of the byway, and soon found are way at the edge of the wide river, and were struggling to spot the exit point.

i decided the only way to really test the depth and to hopefully find the exit poitn would be for me to drive in and across.

view up stream at the bridge, which looks quite modern so i presume wasnt the new bridge that the town got its name from.

i guessed the exit was the other side of the reeds.

safely across and the view back at the others.

i radioed them all and told them to cross.

red fronty first.

disco next.

view of the exit.

Mitch next, who chose to drive very slowly and carefully this time. (probably the only time)

silver fronty last.

next lane.

i havnt driven this lane for a few years and couldnt remember it until we were right in it.

Mitch almost putting his truck on its side.

little ford at the bottom.

we then headed back to the campsite and arranged to meet up with the other later. as we were going back to are B&B. me and Mitch had both agreed that for the sake of the extra £33, for the B&B, then it seemed like a much better idea.

after checking in we had a drive around there excellent off road course in the dark.

that was day one, and its just taken me an hour and a half to write and upload pics.

day 2 turned out to be even more epic. i will write it up tomorrow, but as a clue as to whats in store. the chap at the B&B advised us not to drive strata. he said the last time they had that much rain in 24hours, that girl died on strata!

cue driving through rivers with water halfway up my windscreen!

heres a vid of me driving down the river on the B&B's off road course on the sunday morning before strata.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fmTSczXR9M

 

[Marius De Kock]

Hi Ben.

I love you photos it looks like a epic trip to Wales. You will love the diff locks on your truck.

 

[sae70]

Hi there Ben

I'm sure that I recognise most of those pics m8 I also have a vid of Fiery driving up that river bed Did you have a play in the B&B's Pay & Play site? Those two brothers do realy have some awsome local knowledge That lane you propose as being the best of the weekend, I'm sure is the one that I've identified as being the place that I first broke my front diff, went down it twice and up it once

Can't wait for your next episode (day 2)

 

[Graham]

Fantastic pictures,
Thanks for sharing.

Graham

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

sounds like a memorable trip Ben and it's good to see it can still be had

 

[Ben]

thanks guys.

yes Steven had a drive around there off road course. thats where the vid of me driving down the river was filmed.
when we drove up it saturday night it was only a few feet deep. but then on sunday morning it was lapping the edge of the bonnet when driving up it.

so saturday night we sat around the roaring log fire in the B&B with a beer watching top gear.

i woke up early saturday morning and could hear it was raining heavily, 4 hours later when we got up at 8am, it was still raining heavily. we had a lovely full english breakfast, sat looking out of the window watching the rain and admiring the great viaduct.

we knew at this point the others would have had yet another cold wet miserable night, and now theyd be cooking breakfast, then washing up, then taking wet tents down, all in the heavy rain. really didnt seem worth camping for the sake of an extra £30!

we spoke to one of the brothers at the B&B and he advised us not to drive strata florida today, and told us that last time we had this much rain in this short a time was when that girl died.

so we had a drive around there off road course for an hour, which was very wet and muddy.

Mitch got stuck.

and so did i. bumper took a fair hit, and saved the wing from getting damaged. Mitch wasnt so lucky and put another big dent in his.

river.

needs washing after all that mud. you can see where the bumper hit the bank.

we drove to the camp site and met the others. i think by this point they had had enough and just wanted to go home. but they agreed to carry on.

so the beautiful scenery on the southern approach to strata.

ive driven strata 8 or 9 times before this and ive always wanted to get it when its well over the top of the bonnet, but have never succeeded in finding it that deep.
i knew theres was a strong possibility of that today, and when we got to the irish bridges and found it flowing over the top of the i knew we were in for some deep crossings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiZnFVehQ3c

the water was gushing off all the surrounding hills.

and finally we got to the first crossing, where the girl tragically died.

the others were very negative and said the current was far too fast and that there was no chance wed make it across. so me and Mitch agreed to meet them after the next lane. we both knew we wouldnt see them again and that theyd be going home, but we didnt care because we were having a great time!

so i went for it and drove straight across. the water was a lot deaper then normal and i could feel the current pushing the side of the truck.

Mitch stopped to pose for a pic.

and safely across.

and onto the next crossing, which unfortunately Mitch never got any pics or vids of me crossing.

it looked quite wide and fast flowing, but i didnt think it was usually the deepest so in i went. i got to the middle of the river and the water started coming over the bonnet. i got a little bit further and suddenly the water was half way up the windscreen, so well over 5ft deep.
at this point i was thinking shit i hope the engine doesnt cut out and i hope my snorkel doesnt let any water in, as i know the airbox isnt that well sealed.
suddenly i lost all traction, and began floating slightly, i put my foot to the floor in 1st low range, but the current was pushing me backwards. at this point i still saw no danger, but i did think shit im not going to make it across here, and we will have to try and recover my vehicle some how.
i kept my foot flat to the floor and locked the steering slightly, and some how managed to get a bit of traction, and sudenly i was moving forwards again. before i knew it the water level had dropped, i could see out of all of my screen again, then it was lower than the bonnet, then finally i was out!!!

we decided at this point that we needed to lash the vehicles together. that way if mitch lost traction like i had, i could pull him through.

i had water coming out of the heater vents on the dash slightly.

so mitch through me his winch rope.

and he was soon through. im not sure if he took a different line, but at one point the water came over his roof!

onto the next crossing.

and were both through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cCAqiNzyas

and onto the big wide one.

we chose to strap the vehicles together again.

and i drove through and across. it was just over the bonnet on this one, so still fairly deep.

mitch coming through.

we soon got to what is often called the bomb hole, but that i have also heard called the water fall. i can now see why it got that name.

in places we were driving through water for a good 1/4 of a mile, the lane was that wet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38LDyXZ9lUY

another crossing.

1st rambler of the day. must be mad walking up hills in torrential rain!

so starta done it was a few miles of tarmac heading north east.

 

[Ben]

this ford is normally very low. ive never seen it look anything like this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjgAwHM0LU8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQRdoKyVUT8

with us both safely across we carried on.

never seen these fields flooded like this before.

and onto the byway i hate most in the whole of the uk. it seems to go on forever and i hate all those little bridges that dont have any sides on them.
we saw a lot of traffic on this lane. a few cyclists, a load of dog walkers, and some very friendly ramblers who smiled and waved as we passed.

finally reached the dam.

view down at the next river crossing.

we decided to strap the vehicles together again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxEEvlEXxyk

and were across and off.

lane is in a bit of a state since i last drove it. although they have dug a lot of drainage ditches so it no longer floods like it used to. hers what it was like last time i drove it, many years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwWZpJPQBfw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsI0DlJCubA

shame its no longer like that really.

Mitch demonstrating his awesome articulation. wish my 70 flexed like that.

off that lane and a few road miles.i had planned on doing a few more lanes before getting to the last one of the day which was going to be very challenging. but we decided to just head for the last one.

and onto the lane, and climbing the hill.

and upto the muddy section at the top.

completely stuck. cant wait to get the lockers fitted now!

couldnt open the door and could only see sky.

after climbing out of the window and helping mitch rig up my winch line, i was moving again.

mitch then drove straight up.

quick clean of the number plates, lights and windows and were ready for the 1.5hour drive home. a truly awesome weekend!

cant wait for the next trip!

 

[AndyCook]

great trip! think i would have bottled on those rivers though

 

[SpinDrift]

Great trip Ben.

 

[Gav Peter]

Nice one Ben - another cracking writeup!!! Plenty of water about for you to have a play in

You'll be unstaoppable when you get those lockers in - & don't be jealous of Mitch's £5K articulation!!!

 

[Red Oktober]

Have to agree there mate ... cracking write up .. and great pics /vids too

 

[Ben]

thanks guys.

Gav, the suspension lift kit was £5500 and hes just bought the front radius arms which were a bargain at £1100!

but if you want the best its expensive. i want the best locker hence why ive ordered an ARB and not a cheap detroit one which would have only cost about £150.

 

[Chris Mann]

Awesome write up Ben, looked an amazing trip. Dont know if i would have the balls to drive thorugh water that deep. Weel done mate, a good trip all round.

 

[Ben]

thanks Chris.

ive got another big laning trip coming up next month, cant wait!