Coast to coast

[Gary820]

So after lots and lots of planning, re arranging due to restrictions the coast to coast went ahead.
I got the 80 loaded up and we planned for rain. Well we got plenty of it

before we started the discovery in the group had a mechanical brake issue, a quick stop at a local part supplier and a mates farm to use the yard (totally forgot to take photos of the landy being fixed as wanted to get on)

we started just above Whitby in glorious sunshine, 80 leading the way

across the North Yorkshire Moors and even had to stop for the steam train.

Onto the lanes

Some nice clouds above us

group photo, note we start with 6

we headed through the moors and after the issues I had to modify the route on the way, we landed in the Yorkshire Dales and night 1 campsite.
lovely evening

we got an early start and the first lane was 5 minutes from camp. Forecast wasn't looking good.

Looking over Scarhouse reservoir

so we headed over and through the Dales, pics are lacking a bit as it was wet!!
Yes we stopped at the creamery In Hawes for cheese stock, it's tradition now.

still a group of 6 but after this lane we drop to 5! The driver of the defender hurt her back on a previous lane so had to call it done.

so now 5 we headed over into the lake district, the lanes getting more technical as we went, also a reason couldn't get lots of pics. Rocks were slippery so stopping to get out for pics wasn't happening.
There's that 80 again up front

Ford crossing towards the end of Breasthigh Road which was the first lane in the lakes. The lane itself was rocky and needed some care

it hadn't stopped raining all day and we arrived at day 2 camp. Luckily it had an onsite pub so shelter was sorted. Notice the missing Disco! They had to cut short for personal reasons. No further mechanical though.

Well the rain was bouncing so my tent for the night looked like this! Brilliant view of lake windermere. The 5% window tint giving me plenty of privacy too

Everyone else did the same but used front seats as had rear seats loaded up.
80 provided me a very good night's sleep

So day 3 onto more lanes but later then planned. We got breakfast in the onsite restaurant and notice a missing vehicle!?

The range rover developed gearbox issues! We took it upto Ambleside first thing, parked up as the route would pass that way, 50 minute round trip but the driver now a passenger!

80 still leading the way

had some great rocky parts and at one point I was resting heavily on a rock slider and caught the new long range fuel tank!!
Only paint damage to it So showing its well made.
Not the pic below BTW!

We drove lanes up through Grizedale and surrounding areas with lots of rocky, technical lanes and fantastic views despite the rain

That lovely 80 popping up again

now this and another bridge were tight, I had tyres touching both sides a couple of times!

we picked the range back up in Ambleside and continued, knowing it was easy going lanes so if the gearbox issues developed, an easy tow was possible

Moody skies

now a group of 4 again we continued onto the last few lanes, steady going and the range doing OK limping along.

we got to night 3 camp, with a break in the rain we got set up, my little pop up tent with the orange top, so easy to pitch.
we used the vehicles with some tarpaulins to make a shelter.
We cooked, drank, cooked some more and kept out of the rain.

pretty much had the camping area to ourselves. Shelter stayed up and was perfect for breakfast.

We parted at this point and headed off to the different areas of the country we all live in.
80 did me proud as always and didn't miss a beat, provided me shelter when needed and just plodded on. 442 miles and some of that wasn't going easy.

Had to use centre diff lock multiple times, rear diff lock was in use on quite a few rocky climbs, even the front made an appearance, I don't often need the lockers, wet slippery rocks and it drove up where others were spinning wheels. The 80 just crawled up without fuss.

Screen shot of the route.
I spent many hours planning and it was a great time. Weather didn't put a downer on it and the people made the trip along with the lanes.

Now to start planning the next one

 

[Chris]

Fantastic report Gary. Well done. The 80 looking mighty as always.

Just think what that would be like if it was sunny and 25 degrees.

 

[Gary820]

Cheers Chris.

The views would probably be better but we decided the rain made the lanes a bit more interesting. It made us drive them and work for the views.

I rarely even look at the diff lock switches never mind reach for them! Nice to have them when needed

 

[Chris]

Ahh, better in the rain, You Sir are an example of what made Britain great!

 

[Gav missin]

Great report. Need to get back on the lanes again and under canvas for a couple of nights soon. Truck looks lovely mate. Whenever we go in a convoy it's so noticeable how easy the 80s make it look.

 

[SpinDrift]

Great trip and report. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Raj]

Thanks Gary for the detailed post. Very inspiring. Crawling city lanes and making connection with the car at the moment, wish to do a trip like yours alone but need a lot of learning. All those technical stuff like centre diff, rear diff etc. Is UK spec LC200 capable of driving on the kind of roads you did? I mean without doing any modifications, just changing tyres and nothing else.

 

[Chris]

The only thing that might stop a 200 is that tight gate!

 

[SteveJB]

Love tap Battle scars call it what you will just get out and make memories while you can
Raj keep an eye out for someone planning a trip and ask them for a tag along you will gain experience confidence and encouragement

 

[AndyCook]

Excellent - looks like a great trip. Haven’t been down south greenlaning for about 6 years ! Just try it again.

 

[Gary820]

Hi Raj, 200 would be ok on most of the lanes, as Chris says the tight gates and the tight bridges may be an issue. I had tyres touching both sides. Couple of gates I scratched the arches in the same place I always do (not first time on a lot of the lanes)
The odd lane might give a bit grounding out without a careful line/spotter, I used my rock sliders for their purpose!

I rarely need to use my diff locks, rocks were that wet and slippery I used them before I had an issue. You don't need them but I have them so used them.

A trip like this would be good solo and it was the original plan, having the right people make it even better.

 

[GeekOKent]

@Gary820 looks like a great trip, wet weather and all.

 

[Raj]

Thank you Gary and Chris. June 1st I will subscribe to GLASS. I think thats the first step to take, then thinking of going for off road training with Bala 4x4. I thought of Bala 4x4 as I saw some hilux pics on their site so they must know Toyotas. Most of the other sites just have defender pics.

 

[Chris]

I've been to Bala 4x4. It's a quite nice open site. Not so many of those typical tight trenches to rip your panels off.

 

[Gary820]

@Raj It depends where in the country you are too, going out with others will be a good idea while you gain some experience. GLASS is a good idea imo but not a must. I'm signed up but use Trailwise2 a lot for planning.
I'm fortunate to live in North Yorkshire so can be on lanes easily and often am.

 

[Raj]

Thanks Chris so this seems a perfect start for a holiday and learning to drive the car. Planning to make it a summer holiday with my kid.

 

[Raj]

Gary I live in reading (south east). Surrey hills and Chiltern hills are nearby. I thought of subscribing for GLASS for Trailwise maps, guidence etc and just as a support for 4x4 community in general. Where I live, none of my friends I know own a land cruiser, none of them ever went off tarmac despite owning land rovers. I might be wrong but I felt 4x4 community and in general land cruiser community is very very rare group in UK.

 

[oneafrikan]

Raj, I’m in Wimbledon so not too far! ;-)

 

[Raj]

Oh London, you will be a celebrity maintaining n driving Landcruiser on those roads v can catch up some time if you drive along M4

 

[clivehorridge]

The 80 certainly leads the way Gary, in every sense - what a fine looking specimen it is.

Take care clocking up all those miles though,

I’ve just done a holiday run (7-up) from Romania to Greece via an overnight stop-over in Bulgaria each way, it sent my chrono over a total count of 472k km - about 2,000 km round-trip.

But like yours, it didn’t miss a beat. Love it