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Karl a very good friend of mine recently invited me out for the day one sunday to go to an off road day organised by Gordon Lamb in Sherwood Forest.A short drive to Karls abode into his 90 and off we went to Sherwood Forest just past Centre Parks holiday centre on the A614 Nottingham road onto a site used for paint ball games and quad bikes,
Its normally deer to be seen in Sherwood Forest but on this fateful day this camel was seen lurking in the woods
Parking the 90 next to a row of shiny Freelanders,Discovery's and Range Rovers we made our way to Gordon Lamb's control centre where we could book ourselves a ride around the off road course in new shiny shiny vehicles but decided against this in favour of taking our own 90 round the course.At the control centre free bacon butties,tea and coffee for breakfast was definitely an added bonus of which I had to partake of several and ditto the burgers at lunch time.
After a couple of hours driving round the off road course boredom set in so we decided to finish the rest of the day with a few green lanes in the area.
The first lane took us from the A614 at SK649743 to the B6034 at SK613716 this a RUPP which meanders through the forest and it was on this lane that something happened that could be termed humorous to some people.
At one point on our journey through the forest three incidents within the space of as many minutes happened which lead me to believe that the lane is haunted by the ghost of Robin Hood.As we were driving along the lane we came to a very loud and bone jarring dead stop,fortunately we were both wearing seat belts or we would have been kissing the windscreen good style.When I got out to investigate I found we had hit a tree stump in the middle of the track,hidden in a clump of grass,fair and square on the front diff.Within a minute of our loss of forward momentum a group of cyclists passed us only for one of the group to end up in a most undignified manner sprawled out on the muddiest bit of the lane much to the amusement of his comrades and ourselves and no doubt the ghost of Robin Hood.
The 90 tackles a specially prepared side slope.
After reversing off the stump and finding no apparent damage we continued on our way for about fifty yards when I noticed my glasses were not on my face where they should have been.A quick search of pockets and Land Rover proved fruitless so it was with a sense of the inevitable that I walked back to where we had hit the stump to find that the inevitable had happened in so much as that when I got out of the Land Rover to asses any damage my glasses had fallen from my pocket onto the track to await summary execution under the wheels of Karls 90(to add to the humour the spectacles were new as I had lost my other nearly new pair in the Chesterfield canal only two weeks previously rescuing my stupid dog who had jumped in and couldn't swim).No doubt Robin Hood was having a field day.
The next lane we travelled is directly opposite the last lane and we crossed theB6034 to start this lane and meet the most obnoxious person I have ever met.This lane takes you from SK613716 to SK601714 and there is a sign to say that it is a RUPP.The lane is quite narrow and over grown in places but passable if you don't value your paintwork to much.
One pair of brand new specs after being run over by a 90
At a particularly over grown section we met a cyclist coming in the opposite direction so pulled over into the undergrowth to let him pass.Our usual cheery greeting was met with a tirade of abuse to the effect that we shouldn't be there and that he was some kind of ranger and was going to report us,we told him the lane was a RUPP but it made no difference so we bade him farewell and continued on our merry way.This lane finishes nicely to run straight into the next lane which runs from SK599714 to SK586720 a pleasant lane with woodland on one side and fields on the other.
At the end of the lane we turned right to the B6034 and turned left to pick up our next lane from SK597758 only to find that some countryside hero had blocked the end of the lane with some very large tree trunks and being on our own we had neither the power or the tackle to remove the obstruction so reluctantly we set off to travel some short lanes on our way back to Karls abode in Brimington.
The first of three lanes on our return jouney took us to Whitwell off the A619 opposite Arrow farm at SK537779 to SK532769 then onto Clowne to pick up a pleasant lane through open countryside from SK500752 to SK502735,we then joined a minor road to pick up our last lane of the day from SK483755 to SK471763.
The green laning done for the day we headed back to Brimington to pick up my motor and head off home to Maltby.As we parked the 90 on the drive we noticed a small oil leak from the diff as the spectre of Robin Hood descended upon my friend in the shape of his wife,who loves and cherishes the 90,who told him in no uncertain terms what he could do next time he wanted to take the Land Rover out laning and to make matters worse for the unfortunate lad he had at the time an old series motor we could have gone out in.
All in all a very good day out with a few laughs and if it kept the ghost of Robin Hood happy all the better.
Cheers LES. May the green oval be with you.
The haunted lane through Sherwood Forest
DON'T DO IT KARL
"Don't do it Karl" I said as I had said it to him on numerous occasions and on this occasion it had the same effect of him taking no notice,giving me a silly grin and continuing to do it anyway.
On this particular don't do it karl day I had driven down to his abode at Brimington to go green laning with him in his newly acquired Discovery.
We had heard of a good set of lanes called the Ashbourne triangle which is a bit misleading as there are only two sides of the triangle that you can traverse.The weather had been rather damp to say the least and as we set off the day was still a little drizzly.
When we arrived at the triangle the first half mile or so was quite solid with just a couple of gates to get through.As we passed through the second gate the lane started to become a little bit more muddy with a few pot holes.When we reached a stretch of about 100 yards which was badly rutted due to agricultural use and the ground conditions being what they were I said to Karl "Don't do it" only to be met with the silly grin and words to the effect of hang on.
Oh what fun on a dismal day
Ten yards into the ruts and the Discovery came to a rather abrupt halt with both diffs well and truly grounded,I looked at Karl to see that now familiar grin and the words "Oops mate".
We tried for about an hour to get the Land Rover unstuck using the vast array of self recovery gear that was available namely in the shape of a two ton trolley jack but all we succeded in doing was bending the tow bar.
Eventually we admitted defeat and I walked back to the start of the lane to try and get help.I decided to try and flag down a passing Land Rover but for about half an hour all I got was a few cheery smiles and a wave back as I stood there in the rain trying to get someone to stop.
In near desperation I stood in the middle of the road and made the next Land Rover to appear stop and as soon as the unfortunate victim stopped I jumped into the passenger seat determined not to let him go.
I explained our situation to the young lad driving the Land Rover and he said he didn't have a tow rope to help us but as I had got into the Vehicle I spotted a rope amongst all the clutter in the cab so I pulled it out and then the poor unfortunate had no option but to be guided down a lonely country lane by what could have been a totaly barmy stranger.
The first time we tried to pull the Discovery out the rope snapped but fortunately on the second attempt the rope held and he managed to tow the Discovery onto firmer ground.Many many thanks to that lad on the day he was a true gent.
The rest of the day was spent playing on safer lanes and in the ford at Tissington but I have no doubt what so ever that when I next say to Karl "Don't do it Karl" I will get the same response as I did this day.but it does make for an interesting day out.
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