O ne of my favourite caravanning memories is of a family trip to
a small site in the Scottish Highlands with my parents and two sisters in our old four-berth. The area had experienced an unusually hot summer, but we arrived the day the sun gave way to heavy rain.
We had a fabulous time anyway.
When the time came to return home, however, the steadies and the neat wooden circles that my dad had placed beneath them to keep them from sinking into the soggy ground were deeply embedded. No amount of pushing, pulling or profanities would budge the van from its boggy pitch. The site owner and his tractor eventually came to our rescue and pulled the tourer to the main road. My red-faced father towed the dirty van home, grumbling all the way.
More than 20 years on, we still poke fun at dad for his towing
faux pas. Granted, he didn't have
a modern 4x4 to get out of mud. But even if he had, he may not have known how best to use it.
I, of course, dreaded returning from holiday with a similar story to tell myself and wondered how
I would cope with such a situation. Could I tow my caravan safely and skilfully from a muddy field? Would I even know how best to manoeuvre it along a rough track that was still dry?
My strategy was to sign up for an off-road driving experience and combine it with a caravanning weekend. There are lots of places offering all types of off-roading days, weekends or weeks. A quick search on the internet resulted in more than 52,000 hits. How could
I choose from such a long list?
I opted for what some might consider the 'best' – the Land Rover Experience. This chain of Land Rover centres, unlike others
I checked out, provide a variety of options, from covering the basics of driving over challenging terrain, to advanced-level training and they even tailor-make courses.
I chose the Rockingham Castle Land Rover Experience centre in Northamptonshire, one of nine branches around the UK, because
I had heard great things about the area and about Sacrewell Farm caravan site in Thornhaugh. This combined with a straightforward tow up the A1 made choosing the centre an easy decision.
The programme takes place in the grounds of Rockingham Castle, which provides a stunning backdrop for a day of driving. The morning kicked off with a quick meet-and-greet and a cup of coffee, and then the experts ushered the participants into
a swish classroom. That's where they explained the basics of 4x4 vehicles and off-road driving, as well as extolling the capabilities
of Land Rovers.
In our group of ten, seven wanted to develop their skills and were using their own Land Rovers. The other two were on the cusp of purchasing their first Range Rover and had been invited along to
a half-day session to experience its impressive off-road abilities. I was to drive a new Defender. This was not my first time behind the wheel of a Defender; it was the first vehicle I had ever driven – very badly – at the age of 17, and it may well have been one of the first ones made, back in 1948.
I was excited about driving
the new Defender, but I felt intimidated by some of the other participants who appeared to be hard-core enthusiasts. So I sat quietly through the first few minutes of the session. I soon realised that I'd had no reason to feel embarrassed. During this first of two classroom sessions, we were briefed about the off-road track we would be driving along and about the Defender's capabilities. But I was surprised when I discovered that some of the Land Rover owners knew
very little about their vehicles'
all-wheel drive.
I also discovered unexpected and interesting facts in these sessions, the second of which followed lunch. I was concerned that the towbar on my vehicle would be a major hindrance should I wish to use it when off-roading. In reality, it is a great tool when it comes to driving in ruts. Most fuel tanks are located toward the back of the vehicle and, when travelling through deep ruts, the underside of the vehicle can smash into the ground, rupturing the fuel tank. The towbar, however, acts as a perfect warning device.
It was like learning a new language, but it was easy to understand. I discovered all about the low-range gears on a 4x4 and how to use them. The instructors discussed the differential lock, or 'diff lock' as they call it, which makes sure a spinning wheel can't waste the engine's power. They also covered traction control, the three angles at which obstacles are approached and more.
The subjects we covered during the day were also remarkably relevant to towing. Most of the other participants towed either
caravans or flatbed trailers, and the instructor made reference to this throughout. Although many of the conditions that we would encounter, such as ascents, descents, side slopes and ruts were not ones in which I would want to find myself with my caravan. The session lasted around half an hour, and then we all clambered into our 4x4s for our first taste of driving in the dirt.
There is a designated off-road driving course within the castle grounds, a short drive from the Land Rover Experience classroom centre. Once there, the sight of almost-vertical drops, muddy pools and deep ruts sent me into
a panic. Everything that I had absorbed in the classroom session evaporated when I saw the course.
"OK," said my instructor, "once the track starts to deteriorate switch to your low-range gears." This process can vary depending on which 4x4 you are driving. In the Defender, t his involved
a sequence of manual gearshifts
– with sweaty palms.
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