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Welsh Laning 30/31.7.11
- Thread starter Ben
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satuday morning me and my boss Mitch left for wales at 6am.
we met up with Edd in his disco near Shrewsbury, and set off for Tywyn with the intention of driving south down happy valley. we crossed the river north of Machynlleth but found the road to Tywyn blocked due to a bad accident so we decided to drive up the bastard lane.
i couldnt get up the rock steps without using my winch, as i kept getting cross axled. had i had lockers id have driven straight up.
Mitch's landy got up without winching. we put this down to his new suspension lift kit, which meant his tyres remained on the ground at all times, so he maintained traction.
Edd's disco needed to winch.
using my recently purchased quick strop. great bit of kit!
the rest of the lane was challenging, but no more winching was needed.
onto the forest track in the middle of the lane.
Mitch bent his alloy steering guard on a log.
onto the next lane. not sure of the name, its the one near happy valley.
got to the bottom of the next lane, and got out and opened the gate. jumped back in and went to put her in gear, and my foot went to the floor on the clutch pedal.
a quick check under the bonnet and underneath the truck revealed id lost a lot of clutch fluid, and the master cylinder was leaking.
we topped it up with fluid and bled the system and 5 mins later we were ready to carry on.
Mitch had been having problems steering as his now banana shaped guard was hitting his steering bars, so we used a strop and my truck as an anchor and soon had his guard a bit straighter.
next lane was happy valley heading south.
happy valley done, it was a bit of a road section down to Taly-Bont.
few flex pics.
then more road miles down to strata florida.
nice to see the lane is better signposted than last time i drove it, about 6 months ago. there really is no excuse now for not knowing exactly where the right of way is.
there is some fresh damage to the lane, right next to the last river crossing when heading south. this is the river crossing where the girl died.
a deep rut on the right hand side of the track.
strata done we drove to the B&B, where Steven stayed on his last trip to Wales.
so saturday was a great day, and a thousand times better than sunday!
we met up with Edd in his disco near Shrewsbury, and set off for Tywyn with the intention of driving south down happy valley. we crossed the river north of Machynlleth but found the road to Tywyn blocked due to a bad accident so we decided to drive up the bastard lane.
i couldnt get up the rock steps without using my winch, as i kept getting cross axled. had i had lockers id have driven straight up.
Mitch's landy got up without winching. we put this down to his new suspension lift kit, which meant his tyres remained on the ground at all times, so he maintained traction.
Edd's disco needed to winch.
using my recently purchased quick strop. great bit of kit!
the rest of the lane was challenging, but no more winching was needed.
onto the forest track in the middle of the lane.
Mitch bent his alloy steering guard on a log.
onto the next lane. not sure of the name, its the one near happy valley.
got to the bottom of the next lane, and got out and opened the gate. jumped back in and went to put her in gear, and my foot went to the floor on the clutch pedal.
a quick check under the bonnet and underneath the truck revealed id lost a lot of clutch fluid, and the master cylinder was leaking.
we topped it up with fluid and bled the system and 5 mins later we were ready to carry on.
Mitch had been having problems steering as his now banana shaped guard was hitting his steering bars, so we used a strop and my truck as an anchor and soon had his guard a bit straighter.
next lane was happy valley heading south.
happy valley done, it was a bit of a road section down to Taly-Bont.
few flex pics.
then more road miles down to strata florida.
nice to see the lane is better signposted than last time i drove it, about 6 months ago. there really is no excuse now for not knowing exactly where the right of way is.
there is some fresh damage to the lane, right next to the last river crossing when heading south. this is the river crossing where the girl died.
a deep rut on the right hand side of the track.
strata done we drove to the B&B, where Steven stayed on his last trip to Wales.
so saturday was a great day, and a thousand times better than sunday!
Red Oktober
Well-Known Member
Some excellent pics there Ben
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sae70 said:Reallyben said:OMG
well..............................................
we got to the B&B that you stayed at in Wales Saturday evening about 6pm and checked in.
we were immediately impressed, lovely place, and all the people were running it were very helpful, polite, and friendly.
view of the aqueduct from there patio.
after checking in we enquired about there 4x4 course and whether it was still open. it was so we decided to go and have a play before dinner.
we jumped back in the trucks and we went roaring off, or at least i did.
Mitch's landy was dead, it would start and run fine for 5 seconds then switch itself off, and then wouldnt start for 5mins, then it would do exactly the same again. we knew it was an electrical problem caused by water entering the cab and drenching everything, as hed forgotten to close thevents below the windscreen before making a bit of a splash on one of the strata river crossings.
we got changed and went into Llandovery for a curry and a few beers, and decided to try it again in the morning, as wed marked a few maps up and wanted to go drive sarn helen and a few others.
had breakfast and the landy still wouldnt start. so we decided to go back in mine and come back with a trailer for his landy.
so at 8.45am we set off, got back to the farm at 10.50am and had a quick brew and hooked the trailer on and set off again.
an hour into the journey we came around a bend and hit a rock that was in the road, with an almighty thud.
we knew wed got a blow out so i looked out the window to see which tyre it was. 5hit!!!! both nearside tyres were deflating rapidly!
we pulled in at the nearest available place and inspected the damage.
both tyres were badly damaged.
we now had 3 options
1. try and find a tyre place, on a sunday in wales who had a tyre the right size and would fit it for us.
2. get recovered back to the farm and come back in the disco3 with the trailer on the back.
3. get some one to remove 2 wheels from the disco on the farm and bring them out to us.
we called a few tyre places with no success. we then called the landrover emergency assistance number and they found 1 tyre available in quickfit in Leominster for the bargain price of £325!
only trouble was they were shutting in an hour and a half and they couldnt get a recovery truck to us for an hour.
we got talking to an elderly chap whos house we had parked in frotn of and explained the problem to him, and asked if there were any taxi places around, which there wernt.
he then kindly agreed to drive one of us with the damaged wheel, the hours drive to Leominster.
one of us had to stay with the car, as theres a good chance the brand new trailer on the back wouldnt have been there when we got back if wed both gone.
it took about 2.5hours to get to kwikfit, get the tyre done and get back. i thought Mitch would have been very bored sat by the roadside on his own, but i neednt have worried. i got back to find him sat in his leather heated seats, with his aircon on watching one of the 3 TV's.
so new tyre on the front, spare on the back, and we were on the road again.
we eventually got back to the farm and loaded the landy, using the winch to pull it on as it still wouldnt start.
we were then finally on the road again, and satnav was saying wed be home for 8.15pm.
as soon as we passed under the aqueduct we got delayed again!
this time by people herding sheep.
anyone would think we were in the countryside.
we eventually made it home at 8.45pm a full 12 hours after leaving the B&B in my truck.
Mitch is buying another tyre tomorrow to match the other new one, so thats £650 on 2 new tyres and we burnt £100 in fuel getting to the B&B and back with the trailer.
i think that old saying about landrovers and landcruisers is true!
want to go to the jungle/desert take a landrover.............................
want to get back again take a landcruiser!
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thanks guys.
accommodation was spot on Steven. we will definitely be going back.
didnt get to use the course as Mitch was being sensible and said we couldnt risk getting mine stuck or damaged, while his was sat dead in the car park, as we would need mine to get to town for dinner, and to get us home the next morning.
i was all up for having a play on there course and in there river, but i knew he was right, so i resisted the temptation.
will definitely have a go next time.
want to go back in september as the gap road is open in september for the month, and im yet to drive it, so will go and drive that and sarn helen.
accommodation was spot on Steven. we will definitely be going back.
didnt get to use the course as Mitch was being sensible and said we couldnt risk getting mine stuck or damaged, while his was sat dead in the car park, as we would need mine to get to town for dinner, and to get us home the next morning.
i was all up for having a play on there course and in there river, but i knew he was right, so i resisted the temptation.
will definitely have a go next time.
want to go back in september as the gap road is open in september for the month, and im yet to drive it, so will go and drive that and sarn helen.
Cracking post m8 
All very interesting 
Shame how it all turned out, but weekends like this are the ones that remain with us as cracking good tails for years to come It may not seem like it know but you'll both be laughing about all that went on in months to come 
All very interesting Shame how it all turned out, but weekends like this are the ones that remain with us as cracking good tails for years to come It may not seem like it know but you'll both be laughing about all that went on in months to come 
