cruisermik
Active Member
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- Rep.of Ireland.
I dont know how it all got started really. Discokid was over for a few days to attend a family wedding
He has a new toy, and wanted to take it out to get some photographs, before it gets knocked about I
suppose .Anyway, at some point the question was asked,
Fancy a trip up the moor on Sunday ?
Go on then. said I
Great idea said Wingy, and that was it.
Discokid is living in Ireland now, so the chance of a day out is not to be missed, and anyway we wanted a few pictures to stick on here.
I had passed on my old Land Cruiser to him before he went, and another reason he had to come over was to pick it up and take it back to the Emerald Isle. Two birds with one stone kinda thing.
I knew they would want a vehicle that was capable of pulling out a stuck Land Rover, so I would probably get a last chance to drive the old Cruiser before bidding it farewell for good.
All was going well, probably too well, so when the phone rang on Saturday morning, and Wingy said
Dont think I can make it tomorrow. I wasnt surprised.
The timing belt on hid 200tdi had gone snap the night before and left the little-un stranded about two miles from home. It never rains etc. Wingy decided to come anyway, as we needed those pictures.
The site is on the West Pennine Moors, and is land owned by the wifes cousin. It looks innocuous enough, but thats when it gits ya ! There are lots of natural drains, and some man made ones as well, which criss-cross the moor everywhere. Add to this the heavy growth of rushes and sedges which reach the height of a Land Rover bonnet and you have a recipe for some real fun !
Wingy was working in the morning, so we went up earlier. Even so, it was lunch time when we arrived at the moor. We expected to be the only two vehicles there, but we were surprised to see several other vehicles, Landys, and Japs, messing about at various levels on the hill. It seems Jim, the farmer, had worked out a deal with another friend to allow a few 4x4s onto the land once in a while.
The more, the merrier, and definitely a better photo opportunity, so off we go.
Discokid was driving the new Discovery, whilst I took the wheel of my old Cruiser. The Warn XD9000i. had been removed, so we had to watch things a bit, we didnt want to bother Jim and have to break out the tractor to drag us out of the peat-bog.
We made our way over the moor towards a small group of 4x4s that didnt appear to be moving too far. Fording a stream and climbing the bank on the far side we found that a Surf had sunk into the bog up to the axles, and recovery was the name of the game.
It was not as straight forward as it looks on the pictures. The Surf had managed to force its way into the swamp for quite a distance, and was surrounded on all sides by deep waterlogged peat. However, by joining about four straps and ropes together, we hitched the stricken Surf to the front of the old Cruiser, and the Dirt Devils did the trick. Thanks were accepted with good grace, and we were on our way again.
On the top of the moor, about a mile or so away, was an old disused quarry. This has a few short, but extreme slopes which could give us a few pictures of the Discovery and it was towards this that we headed.
On the way up, we saw Wingy making his way across the moor on foot. He had come up in an Escort which he had left at the farm and had struck out on foot, knowing where we would be. We waited for him, as he puffed and panted his way up the steep slope towards us.
Thatll do you more good than the Atkins diet I said as he draped himself over the front wing of the Cruiser gasping for breath.
More .pant .painful though. puff ..wheeze he replied, finely tuned athlete that he is.
As we crested the moor, just above the quarry, I saw that there were several more vehicles parked up by the edge. We drew near, and saw that a bar-b-q was lit and sausages were sizzling away merrily.
We introduced ourselves, and found that these guys were more of the same group that we had already spoken to down by the ford. They had met on a web site, www.hiluxsurf.com I think it was. Just another regular bunch of guys doing their thing.
One of them, a Range Rover driver had managed to tear the top eye off a shock absorber, but was still confident he could make it down without any trouble, other than that, there was no problem, and in fact, the un-fed ones, (it was only a small bar-b-q) were thinking of going down to the local McDonalds, about two miles away, for lunch.
We told them of an interesting way down the hill and bade them farewell.
After the departure of these lads, we set to try and get a few pictures of Discokids new car. They were a bit contrived, I admit, but I think they show quite well, the excellent axle articulation of the Discovery. We did get a bit of a giggle watching Discokid pulling and tugging at the front skirt (plastic), trying to repair a bit of light damage before his better half saw it and did him a bit of light damage as well.
It was a warm day, in spite of the breeze blowing in from the coast, which we could see, quite clearly, from our elevated position. I noticed we disturbed a large number of skylarks as we crossed and re-crossed the moor. Seems a bit late for them to be nesting still.
We messed about for an hour or so, then, pictures taken and everyone happy we decided to call it a day and returned via the steep end of the moor.
This bit of ground is a thin covering of rough grass over a shale bed and is quite deeply scored and washed away in places. Its one of our mate Roys favourite posing spots, as its possible to get the rear wheel of a 90 about two feet off the floor here and it makes for a good action shot. It can be a bit hairy at times just here though, as the top layer of earth can break away under the weight of the vehicle and start an almost heart-stopping slide.
This time however, we negotiated it without problem and were soon back at the farm unlocking the front hubs, taking out centre diff-locks and disengaging four wheel drive.
We fitted an A bar to the old Cruiser and began to prepare it for its long journey back to Ireland. It will be a few months before I will see it again, and I will miss it. But enough of the sentiment.
Just an ordinary day, nothing special, but then again, I suppose every day spent off-road in good company is a bit special. Its the good times, the shining times, that we look back on and that become the nostalgic moments of the future. Long may they continue.
Cruisermik.
