2016 Round Up

2016 was a fun if slow year with Katy the Land Rover. I can't entirely call it quiet as you will read. below

At the start of the year there was definitely a need  for some sort outs which I needed some help for. I was working out of the country a lot in january and February so it was not until March when i got started

The first was some electrics which I definitely needed my friend Dave's help with over the course of a couple of excellent days we got the lights and the reversing camera working, but we did have an unexpected result with the lights as you can see in the video

After that it was off to Newport caravans in May for a new skylight and then some work I did myself getting the Radio to work properly and we attended our first show of the year with the SWLRC

Then a real mystery came in when a Geoff Fletcher author of British Military Land Rovers sent me an interesting picture

Katy then became a regular commuter as Rhian's Mini was in for some work in June and July and she definitely got some attention in the BGS car park and in Cheddar gorge

I eventually tracked down that picture and Rhian and I were made welcome by the Scots Guards at the Bourlon Barracks at Catterick camp in August after a trip to Scarborough

Then it was off to Margam with the SWLRC again in September before a year end put away in November because I knew I would be working away a lot again in the run up to the end of the year. This  year I invested in an intelligent charger and so far the investment has been worthwhile as it's been very good to have it on and the battery looked after

The final Land Rover event of the year was our trip with the SWLRC to the Land Rover Reborn tour at Solihull

The final event for 2016 came in as a complete surprise when we were listed on getoffroad.com as one of the best Land Rover blogs to read. I need to add that I have not used them as a supplier, but as they have been so nice I am happy to give them a link back

All in all not a bad year for being so busy doing other things, but I do hope to be out and about more often and doing a few more upgrades in 2017

Yorkshire

We made it up to the Yorkshire Dales

The new suspension really made a difference on the country roads. We can now go into corners with some confidence and the whole driving experience is improved

Katy only blotted her record once with a loose connection to the starter motor - another fix for the list, but once wobbled we were able to get out for some adventures

This is some classic British engineering in front of more of the same. Katy parked near the Ribble Head Viaduct a real trainspotters place of worship. It was being planned to be demolished until Michael Portill stopped those plans and made them refurbish it

We managed a bit of off-roading on the lane up to Alum Pot which is a real cavers place.. it's got dry bits

And damp bits...

To finish the Cave Rescue Organization based in Clapham where we were staying had a practise on Sunday morning so we just had to move along and join the line-up for a picture

A wonderful part of the world well worth a visit

Oop North

After our mini disaster with electrics it was good to be on the road, but to be honest we'd lost most of the day with the problems so our idea of getting up to Derbyshire by early afternoon and having adventures was abandoned.

The new plan was to simply drive to the Bakewell area and find a campsite. Nothing much to report except she ran well and we made it in good time

After purchasing some of the authentic Bakewell puddings (not pies or tarts) we headed up to Yorkshire in driving rain and reached there on a single tank of diesel meaning we had done over 350 miles (some of it quite twisty). mind you the £105.00 to fill the tank back up again was a bit painful

We settled on the drive at my sister's house and there she stayed for a few days as a spare bedroom whilst we visited family. The first night was the windiest we have spent in her and there was definitely some movement so we were glad to be in a sheltered spot.

We did some sightseeing including a wonderful day out at Whitby which was simply wonderful to walk around in the sunshine as you can see