Thanks for rekindling my Landy passion
I’M a fan of all things Green Oval and I felt compelled to write to you after picking up my first copy of LRM last week, as I was an avid fan of another Landy publication for many years but have to confess, I’d never touched a copy of LRM for reasons unknown. I did actually apply to become a staff writer for that publication, but had to call a halt to it, as we relocated overseas.
My father was Royal Signals for 15 years, and it was whilst we were posted as a family to the Shetland Islands in 1976, that I was first introduced to the epitome of the army’s workhorse, the camouflaged Series III. It wasn’t until the start of the millennium though, that I purchased my first of five Land Rovers over the next 16 years, the classic bronze green Series III with limestone hard top, a 1982 model. After that came a classic 1989 Range Rover Vogue, followed by a 1996 Discovery ES Tdi.
In 2007, my wife was offered a posting to Singapore. I was born there, so it was a good opportunity to go back to visit this wonderful island nation. As car ownership is hideously expensive, it was out of the question to purchase another Landy, although I saw many there over the next three years. Many of these would have been ex-british Army that were sold off. Singapore was a great base to visit the rest of Asia from, and I saw many more older Series vehicles, as well as some newer Landy variants and a couple of unique vehicles along the way!
In 2010, we relocated to Melbourne, and spent the next six years visiting most of Australia. Again, the SLR was always to hand, to capture as many Land Rovers as I could. I purchased a Discovery 2 Td5 in late 2014, which we took on a couple of great camping trips into the bush. Whilst the likes of Toyota and Nissan are more popular Down Under, Land Rover enthusiasts do exist in large numbers, which is refreshing.
I returned to the UK in 2016, and my last
bywaymap.com are overgrown or gated shut. Most disappointing! I should really join a club.
Edwin Donald
Patrick replies: Thanks for the constructive feedback. I will see if we can do a greenlaning feature on the lanes near you. Plus, we are already looking at a travel guide for Land Rover adventures in the UK.