Stay strong
WHO would’ve thought in March that we would be going into regional lockdowns at the start of winter? At the time of writing that means no greenlaning for now in Wales. Even as I type this the rules are changing for everyone everywhere.
Last week was probably the most normal week I have had since the pandemic started to impact our lives in the UK. Monday was a day at the desk. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent with JLR driving the new Defender 90 and James Bond new Defender 110 on the Gaydon track and around the muddy tracks of Eastnor Castle. Then down to Goodwood on the Thursday to celebrate 50 years of the Range Rover and on Friday I went to see our friends at Britpart. Yes, it’s great editing Britain’s finest Land Rover magazine and it does come with perks, but if truth be told my weekend was the favourite part of the week.
Since working at LRM I have been on several greenlaning trips with some friends from Shropshire. I call them the Shropshire Massif and I’ve just spent a weekend laning with them and camping in a private forest in Herefordshire. The legend that is Stu Pickering is the local greenlane rep and we were also joined by Russ Hales and brothers Chris and Dave Leo. The brothers sat eating ice creams around the fire so it couldn’t have been that cold. These chaps accept my funny accent and shortcomings; they are my off-roading brothers in arms. We talked about Land Rovers and life, cooked meat on the fire and drank single malt. For those several hours life was like normal again and we were all happy. It was just us and an empty forest. Well actually the owls were pretty noisy, but we didn’t mind them. The highly recommended campsite (Nash Oakland Wild Camping) was only a tenner a night but the experience was priceless; much better and cheaper than a public, crowded bar. For two nights only that forest was our natural theatre and the six of us had it all to ourselves. I would highly recommend the experience.
Our Land Rovers have the ability to uplift us when they are running like they should and when they take us on adventures. So my challenge to you is this. Get out there and self-isolate in nature. Take your family on a memorable hike, go camping in a private forest, try some local legal lanes, do those Landy jobs you have been putting off.
You only have one life and you need to live it. Stay strong my Land Rover brothers and sisters.