Solihull

It was a 5:45 am start and Katy wasn't invited I'm afraid because we were going to be travelling at high speed and I needed to seat 4 people

The destination Lode Lane, home of Land Rover and the manufacturing site of the still iconic Defender. A grey morning, bur we were soon feeling welcome as they had put up a sign to say so.

Our guides for the day were Graham and Sam. He'#s got about 46 year in with Land Rover, She's not 46 yet, but both were superb hosts and we had a lot of fun with them and we all thanked them both for the time they spent making sure we had a fantastic time

The spanners and hammers putting the Defenders together were a wonderful counterpoint to the new multimillion pound presses that create a whole half of a Range Rover in about 45 seconds.

Unfortunately they don't allow photography inside the plant, but I would love to do so if I could ever get the chance because the sparks coming off the new robots were wonderful

back in the shop we had another treat. Roger Crathorn Author of 'Born in Lode Lane' was passing through the shop and he was happy to sign a few books for the team

 And pose for a picture with the team...

Back outside we shared some sunshine before heading off to a local hostelry for lunch

 There we met up with some of the guys from the Defender line, shift supervisors and managers who were as passionate about the car we we all are. It was fantastic to chat with them and exchange information and opinions on how great the car is. They were a great advert for the marque (as was the whole day) and we had a wonderful day out