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Howling Mad Murdock

Member
Posts
13
Location
Northumblerland
Hi all

Just thought I'd introduce myself as I'll probably end up asking loads of advice when money allows me to spruce up the motor.

I'm the proud owner of a 2003 Freelander 1.8. Had her nearly 3 years and she's been brilliant. Apart from brakelines at the last MoT she's cost me next to nothing apart from fuel etc and believe me she's covered some mileage since I got her (she now has around 135k on the clock) with no issues at all and brilliant fun to drive.

Bought her for £550 with full MoT, 5 brand new tyres on her (£80 each I found out), surprisingly all paperwork/receipts going back to 2007 (everything has been done on her), and she looked a bit dull with her plastics being very light grey against the black paintwork but once cleaned up and her plastics turned proper black she looked lovely.

What can I say? The FL1 isn't everyone's cup of tea but for me she does everything I want. Decent day to day transport, great sea fishing vehicle (I have lots of gear and go to remote places), great for my big Akita, comfortable on very long runs (I do them a lot), and even the Mrs loves it and she hated 4x4s.
 
Welcome to the forum
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Freelanders rule ;)
 
Cheers Hippo and I do agree on that comment :) Gotta love the FL1, it's a proper Ronseal vehicle, does what it says on the tin :)
 

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Cheers Grumpy

I don't sit inside when fishing, the Mrs does (she fishes too but doesn't like the cold too much). Where that pic was taken (Blyth Quayside) the tripods were being blown over so we tried the rear window and it really works.

Personally I just sit on the other side of the car (outside) and use it as a wind break. This was Seahouses pier near Bamburgh Castle (Northumberland) on a cold day, the FL1 made a great little shelter from the wind :)
 

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We don't have many quays or the like where we can go fishing round here. They stopped public access to Lyttleton docks when a young lad got his head squashed between the dock and a ship. They built a specific jetty for fishing which we had many hours fishing from when my son was younger, but that's been closed for a number of years. So its beach fishing for us. The Freelander was great on the beach - till the IRD went and I rebuilt it 2WD. Now its a park up and walk. This is at Gentle Annie's Beach over on the West Coast when we spent a weekend over there with our friends last year....

https://www.google.com/maps/place/4...m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d-41.509667!4d171.94525

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Most of our fishing is freshwater though on the rivers, lakes and hydro canals of Canterbury and Otago...
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Mrs Grumpy doesn't normally do fishing. She did catch this Trout a few years back though...

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Looks a stunning place and that's a cracking fish. There are a few locations locally where I can get the Freelander very close to the water at the beaches but I don't take her on the sand (I've seen too many reports of 4x4s getting bogged down on beaches with dire consequences). My local beach has 3 very quiet car parks where the tide comes to within a few yards which is very handy when I have all the heavy gear when the Mrs comes along. Further up the coast there's a spot where the coastal erosion has left the parking spot about 5ft above the beach and it's very easy to park up and cast from there into the sea at high water. Many of the beaches here have parking literally where the sand starts.

Fishing from quaysides, jetties, promenades, etc is very easy in the North East with parking literally where you fish. The Tyne estuary is a popular one as is St Mary's lighthouse at Whitley Bay (spectacular when the laser show comes from the lighthouse at Xmas) along with several spots along Whitley Bay sea front, Drurdge Bay is a stunning place with miles of beautiful beach, Cambois Bay is my local spot (1 mile from home and I live on the river that flows int the bay), further north Amble is a fantastic little town with parking at the harbour literally at the start of the pictureque pier (lob into the harbour or a few yards walk up the pier), the estuary at Alnmouth is stunning and again you can park right beside it (if you get there early enough), at Seahouses (as seen) you can park on the pier, at Bamburgh Castle there's a car park up by the golf club and you can fish literally under the castle very easily (stunning), the list could go on and on lol.

For me the Freelander is the ideal fishing vehicle. I can get the gear in for 2 or 3 people in comfortably, it'll take me off the beaten track, and there are several tracks down to some beaches where you wouldn't want to take a nomal car. Last summer when my son was here on holiday we had 3 people, 6 rods, 2 tackle boxes, a bait box, 3 tripods, 3 deckchairs, camping stove etc, and it did it in style.
 
Howling Mad Murdock said:
Looks a stunning place and that's a cracking fish. There are a few locations locally where I can get the Freelander very close to the water at the beaches but I don't take her on the sand (I've seen too many reports of 4x4s getting bogged down on beaches with dire consequences). My local beach has 3 very quiet car parks where the tide comes to within a few yards which is very handy when I have all the heavy gear when the Mrs comes along. Further up the coast there's a spot where the coastal erosion has left the parking spot about 5ft above the beach and it's very easy to park up and cast from there into the sea at high water. Many of the beaches here have parking literally where the sand starts.

Fishing from quaysides, jetties, promenades, etc is very easy in the North East with parking literally where you fish. The Tyne estuary is a popular one as is St Mary's lighthouse at Whitley Bay (spectacular when the laser show comes from the lighthouse at Xmas) along with several spots along Whitley Bay sea front, Drurdge Bay is a stunning place with miles of beautiful beach, Cambois Bay is my local spot (1 mile from home and I live on the river that flows int the bay), further north Amble is a fantastic little town with parking at the harbour literally at the start of the pictureque pier (lob into the harbour or a few yards walk up the pier), the estuary at Alnmouth is stunning and again you can park right beside it (if you get there early enough), at Seahouses (as seen) you can park on the pier, at Bamburgh Castle there's a car park up by the golf club and you can fish literally under the castle very easily (stunning), the list could go on and on lol.

For me the Freelander is the ideal fishing vehicle. I can get the gear in for 2 or 3 people in comfortably, it'll take me off the beaten track, and there are several tracks down to some beaches where you wouldn't want to take a nomal car. Last summer when my son was here on holiday we had 3 people, 6 rods, 2 tackle boxes, a bait box, 3 tripods, 3 deckchairs, camping stove etc, and it did it in style.
Click to expand...

It's not only the getting bogged down, it is the effect saltwater will have on your vehicle. Beaches and cars don't mix well.

I like fishing too, more freshwater than salt these days.

And welcome to LZ! :)
 
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