Welsh Laning 20.11.11

[Ben]

had an excellent time in Wales at the weekend.

we all arrived in Llandovery on saturday evening, and spent the evening in a few of the local pubs having some great food for dinner, followed by a few beers, before retiring back to are B&B's.

on the way down we drove through NewBridge on Wye, and i thought it would be rude not to drive the enormous ford in the centre of the town! was quite scary in the dark and felt a bit deeper than when i last drove it.

a pic back across the river at Mitch.

sunday morning we all met up at 8.30 next to the castle. in the pic below, from left to right the 3 suzukis, my landcruiser, and Mitch in his landy AKA the lunatic in a landy.

the first lane took us past a load of Roman hill forts and camps, not that we could see much as it was very foggy.

next lane is one of my favourites. last time i had to winch up it, but now with the rear locker i was able to drive straight up, as did every one else, as we all had lockers.

we all turned around at the top and then drove back down.

next we drove back through Llandovery, and then drove another lane that ive driven many times before.

still very muddy in the middle of the woods.

big ford next.

lunatic making a big splash!

strata florida next.

still a mess next to the memorial.

first group of complete numptys we would come across on strata that day.

they had to reverse, but then decided to try and park up on the verges next to the right of way, and in the process spun there wheels and made a right bloody mess.

Mitch demonstrating the awesome articulation of his truck.

id marked my maps up with some new fords that id found from wetroads.com.

not done this one before.

next lane didnt look very well used.

next new ford!

onto the lanes that drop down into Taly Bont next.

stopped by the stream for a quick brew.

then we were off and heading north still. bastard lane next!

we drove down it first, then turned around and drove back up, but i didnt get many pics as it was getting dark.

we then drove happy valley, and then stopped in Towyn for fish n chips! great weekend, great laning, with some great guys!

cant wait for the next trip!

 

[adrianr]

Great pics and report! Thanks

 

[Graham]

Some, well, let me rephrase, "ALL GREAT PICTURES"
It sounds like the perfect day out for you guys.
I guess you have recorded all the lanes, for future days out?

Glad you had no damage or breakdowns, that is always the top priority.
Always reassuring to know you can drive home under your own steam.

Well done.

Gra.

 

[Ben]

thanks guys, was a great trip.

another trip report below with even more pics.

http://www.bits4vits.co.uk/store/greenl ... g_148.html

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Looks like you had a good time again Ben. Looking through Dave's page, the 'deep bit' by the bothy on Strata isn't the RoW, it's to the right of where some of you went.

 

[Ben]

Looks like you had a good time again Ben. Looking through Dave's page, the 'deep bit' by the bothy on Strata isn't the RoW, it's to the right of where some of you went.

oops.

its not always easy to see where the right of way is, especially on some of the wide open bits like that, although it is a lot better since the signs with arrows went up.

its not very clear, even with the signs/arrows which is the right of way at the bomb hole/waterfall section. to me it looks like the original right of way would have gone through the bomb hole, not around it?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

It is confusing I know and worn down to the point where it hardly matters which way you go now it's done, I just couldn't help myself mentioning it

 

[Chris]

We had this debate last time and I didn't go through the fall as the signs very clearly pointed around the edge. But as was pointed out, these were 'well meaning' signs and not the ROW at all. In truth they will create erosion on new ground whereas going on the ROW is unlikely to cause much further damage. Like attacking a mountain with a toothpick really. Although if we're totally honest the ROW is OVER the waterfall. Or once of a day was.

So which makes more sense? Actually filling in the waterfall with 50 tonnes of readymix would be the right thing. Then it would be passable once more and not extreme in the slightest.

Uh oh, here we go again.

This is precisely why I don't go laning really. On a P&P site you can't get it wrong. Other than through your own mistakes - obviously.

Ben, looks like a cracking weekend.

Chris

 

[Ben]

on the bomb hole section, it really isnt very clear when driving south to north, as the arrow points straight ahead, and the arrow is fixed to a post between the bombhole and the track around.

but i noticed the arrow on the other side of the post, so viewed when driving north to south, it points away from the bombhole, to the track around.

 

[Chris]

Like the last time I went to Telford. There was a sign saying Telford 1/2 mile. I got there and there was a sign pointing back the way I came saying Telford 1/2 mile.

Maybe only appears once every so often, like Brigadoon.


Chris

 

[AndyCook]

Good pics and day out Ben


great to see the 4runner powered 70-series in action

 

[Ben]

Good pics and day out Ben


great to see the 4runner powered 70-series in action

thanks Andy.

the new engine has made the truck so much better on road! but i also noticed that the huge increase in torque has dramatically changed how it performs off road. certain sections that i would have had to winch up in the past, i was now able to drive up, even without using the locker.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I don't think the waterfall is the problem, the trouble started when the rest of it started getting ripped up and big chunks of ground got washed away, nobody really gave a stuff about the waterfall till then, now the waterfall is seen as part of the playground Strata has become.

 

[Red Oktober]

Excellent pics Ben