Cannock Chase Pics

[andrewlee31]

Been to cannock chase today with www.bofa4x4.com had so much fun i cant tell ya!!!

small group of me two landys and a paj, first time i have taken mine off road properly and damm what fun!!!! amazing how much abuse my surf would take even with A/T's on!!

well run, well organized and damm nice guys to boot.
cannot wait to go again, highly recommended.

[jotto]

Been to cannock chase today with www.bofa4x4.com had so much fun i cant tell ya!!!

small group of me two landys and a paj, first time i have taken mine off road properly and damm what fun!!!! amazing how much abuse my surf would take even with A/T's on!!

well run, well organized and damm nice guys to boot.
cannot wait to go again, highly recommended.

Looks like you had a great day. glad to hear that Bill looked after you alright, he is a great bloke its just a shame he is Scottish and drives a pajero

[RSA Surfer]

Hey leave the Scots alone

We all live together on this little island.LOL

Must say looks like you had a GREAT day out.

[Vagrant No2]

he is a great bloke its just a shame he is Scottish and drives a pajero

But remember he has 'emigrated' south .

[andrewlee31]

bill did say he wants you vagrants up here to get you stuck after telling me he got boged down on the side of the road!!

this is a copy of the write up on the plcuk site by steve ray, the guy with the blue landy, hes a little more eloquant than me

WHAT A CRACKER!

Brilliant weather up the Chase today - thanks Bill & Colin for a great day out. What a difference 2 weeks makes! Whilst it was very wet two weeks ago, a lot of the Chase had dried out now and the dust was certainly flying in places - although it was still wet in some areas.

Meet at Marquis Drive, followed by convoy to the 'sand pit' for a bit of practice for the new arrivals, then split up into two teams to tackle the terrain. Firstly, Colin and Spanners (Tony) went off with 4 other vehicles: including a Diahatsu, Challenger, Zuki and a G4 Edition 90 (53 plate! in silver) - hope I've got 'em all right. Colin at the front and Spanners bringing up the rear - a Landie at each end, so they'd be alright

The second group consisted of Bill, Drew (first time off road in a Toyota Surf 3.0l), Chris (Doodlebug) and me. Rather than do the 'normal' route, inspired by the sunshine and the drier conditions, we set off for a series of different challenges.

First stop, the Steps. Bill decided to 'crawl' up - taking it nice and slowly (muttering something about that's how he likes to treat all his women ). Drew made several valiant attempts, but the fact that the Steps are becoming badly eroded meant that he had to take the alternative way round - the one and only time he didn't make it all day! Following the challenge from Wills, I too went up in 1st almost on tick over - no probs for the Green ovals, followed by the blur of a red Disco as Chris stormed the steps. We met up with Drew the other side and off the team went for adventure on the rest of the day's challenges.

Before long, we were off through some of the sticky stuff. Drew gaining more experience (and confidence) by the minute as he followed Bill through the mud 'n' trees, with a 90 and a Disco close behind. The shrieks of delight from the Surf only reinforcing the joy of a great 'first time' off road experience.

Ski Slope - you know the one. That great big decent through the trees, with a right hand twist at the bottom and a nasty V at the bottom that'll test the approach angle of your motor. Bill lead the way, followed by Drew (you should've seen the smiles on his face and that of his good lady at the bottom of the hill). Then me in the 90, followed by Chris in the Disco, select LOW 1 and off down we went - no fuss at all.

Two weeks ago, Chris, Steve R and me all tried to go back up the Ski Slope - hindered by the mud and rain making the bottom 20 - 30 yards treacherous. As I mention earlier, the terrain had changed in 2 weeks and there was much better traction to be had. The green ovals were not going to be beaten on this day.

So, with the sun beaming down on us, it was decided that Chris should go first in the Disco (as he had a winch) in case he needed a little assistance for the last few yards. No fear. The winch stayed unused and Chris (with me riding shotgun) drove straight up the Ski Slope without any fuss at all. Back down on foot this time, jumped in the 90 and I too drove straight up with out incident. "Looks like you're getting good traction" came the voice of the young-ish, blond-ish chap at the bottom as the CB crackled into life. It was time to restore some honour to the Japanese marque!

Wills mighty Paj, riding high on his big wheels, made easy work of the the accent up the Ski Slope. Likewise, Drew also stormed the slope - making good use of his 3.0 litres of power and delighted shouts and horns sounding filled the air. To celebrate, down we all went again - time for a well-earned cup of tea in the sunshine at the bottom of the slope.

Lady Pam had missed all the fun. So being a true gentleman, Chris soon had her sitting beside him in the Disco and off they went to the summit and back.

Axle twisters - good photo opportunity - with the Surf and Bill's Paj grabbing plenty of 'air' and lifting the wheels at opposite corners. Sadly, we couldn't do this in our Landies. Solihull's finest managed to keep all 4 wheels in contact with the ground whilst driving over the twister (funny we seem to keep going because of this ).

Lunch at the sand pit, a natter and a cup of tea. Then off again in our two groups for more fun.

First stop - Devils Bowel.
Whether it was the sun or doing the Ski Slope in reverse, but Will's was 'up for it' more than if he'd had 3 bluies for breakfast.
Down he went and breezed back up again. Now Drew's turn. Down, down, down he went........ where was he? Was he having trouble turning round? .... What had happened?

A few minutes passed .... then the roar of the 3.0 Surf, charging back up the bowel. Almost made it. Reverse, then another go and finally a third attempt got him close. Then the team work came into play. A couple of stops and Chris lined up to winch him up. Gently does it, taking out a strop at a time as the Surf as inched to the top by the big red Disco.

When asked if he had any problems turning round, he replied, "I drove right to the bottom, turned round on the road and came back up!" (And we though there was only one way in/out). It turns out, that the fence at the bottom is no longer there and you can indeed drive right down to the road!! For good measure, young Wills checked it out.

Then I went down and back up the bowel. The drier conditions meant that a lot of the terrain was now loose and the pebbles / stones under the wheels were moving about more than normal - even in the dry, it can pose a different set of problems. Lastly, Chris popped down and stormed it back up to within 3 inches of the top. Following a p**s take from Bill, rather than engage the services of Mr Winch, Chris selected reverse. Back down he went, gunned the 'loud peddle' and within seconds was perched back on the top with the rest of the team.

More adventure followed later in the afternoon - down in the wet, slippy "stumpy" area. Down we went on the normal slippy route, looped back and down/across a very tricky side slope, with the loose soil moving as we drove it. Then we re-discovered some 'old tracks' and back to the bottom of the "stumpy" section. Let's drive up it - we were all in agreement.

Chris (with winch) to go first to test the terrain. The bottom three-quarters of the run should be OK, but the general opinion was that the issue would be with the top quarter of the track. No fear! The mighty Disco picked it's way through the obsacles, trees, roots, tree stumps and mud and in minutes as at the top. Game on, we thought. Bill's Paj, Drew's Surf and my 90 bringing up the rear commenced the climb. However, the top quarter was to prove a real test. Team work again. Pushing, shoving and plenty of spade work and Bill was through. More of the same for Drew - once he was clear of the main problem area, he powered his way up. That just left my 90. "What was all the fuss about?" commented Pam - "he just drove up in his Land Rover" - no probs (faint Scottish mutterings were heard in the background). Solihull 2 : 0 Rest of the World Time for another cup of tea.

All in all, yet another great day. Great team work, great fun, nice to meet up with old friends and to make some new ones too. All rounded off with a 'lemonade' in a local hostelry!


Talking to Colin and Tony (Spanners) afterwards - they seemed to have equal amounts of fun too - see you up there soon!

Sorry - didn't take any pics - although I think Drew took about 700. Lookout for him - think he'll be on here soon

[laser_jock99]

Sounds like a good day out!

Are there Rights Of Way going through Cannock Chase or do you have to pay the landowner for the privilage?

[andrewlee31]

its all barriered off the lads from bofa have keys and permission from the forestry comission. its not a cheap day out at 55 quid, but the money goes to the forestry and insurance for the trees!!!!!! bill and colin run it for a hobby not to make money.

worth every penny in my opinion. im going again in a fortnight!