The full length video of Day One of our trip to Mid Wales (Day Two video to follow when it’s ready!):
April Sunshine in the Lanes…
A day out around the lanes of North Somerset – the tracks were dry and dusty after 3 weeks of sunshine and no rainfall – what happened to “April Showers?”!
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Marksbury Greenlanes in February
A day on the lanes around Marksbury Plain near Bath with fellow North Somerset Land Rover Club member Patrick in his Series III.
Winter Snow Trip in the Mendip Hills
We just spent 2 days out and about in the Somerset’s Mendip hills, in the deep snow that we were lucky enough to get this year (speaking as Landrover drivers of course, everyone else is fed up of it!). Day two featured a nice rescue job for us. On top of the Mendip plateau there’s a depression at Charterhouse, where the lane dips down into a small valley, where ancient Roman and older copper mines are found and the landscape is pitted and worked making it a real magical place – in the snow it looked even more wild and rugged. So traversing this fantastic landscape in very cold and fog-bound conditions when we came around the bend in the depression we found an astravan stuck in the snow, unable to make it up the climb. He’d gotten into the valley OK but couldn’t get out at either end – by the time we arrived he’d been there 2 hours, with no mobile signal and was resorting to try and dig out the snow ahead of his vehicle, using a dustpan and a screwdriver – he’d managed about 8 feet, so only another 400 or so to go. Anyway, lucky chap the LRE crew turned up well equipped with a TD5 defender and Hicap, and Simon “The Engineer” had his tow rope out again in no time for another rescue. He’s used it plenty in recent days, delivery vans, a milk float and even a forklift have been pulled out of the snow by his trusty TD5!
Here’s the video of the trip and the ‘rescue-event’
And here the ‘rescue’:
Series IIa Rebuild Project – Kick Off!
We’ll be covering a great Series IIa rebuild project over the winter months – here’s the video to set the scene, full project-start post to follow soon…
Black Kelly Kettle?
Well yes and no – it’s an “Eydon Kettle” or STORM kettle, and originates from the simple copper kettles made in the West Coast of Ireland fishing communities, the same part of the world as the more well known Kelly Kettle company kettles, but these are made in the UK by the Eydon Kettle Company founded in the 1970 and now going stronger than ever with worldwide interest in and use of these fantastic devices. The exciting news, they’re now bringing out a black version of the “Popular” model which will be on sale from Jan 1st and by all accounts it will be very distinctive. We’re expecting one in the post at the moment, and will publish a feature here on it, so stay tuned…!
[Update] – The Black Eydon Kettle arrived today and it’s a beauty! More to follow….
Buzzard Lane, Compton Martin
Landrover Exploring in Autumn starts here… Kelly Kettle Tea in the woods near Compton Martin.
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Into the lane... carpet of autumn leaves hadn't been disturbed since the start of autumn a week ago..
The Defender stopped in a small grove of trees, a footpath up to the fields to the right, a great spot to watch out for deer grazing in the fields.
The track winds around through the trees
Kelly Tea stop. Kelly Kettle (brand new 3pint stainless steel one) and some pine sticks ready on the tailgate for starting up a brew.
My Opinel knife was used to shave off some thin strips for getting the Kelly started: quite a lot of rain the day before meant the twigs on the ground were wet, so my stack of these sticks I keep in my 'bushcraft bag' came in handy. Swedish Firesteel can be relied on of course, and in the Kelly base here I used some fluff gathered from the tumble drier at home which makes excellent tinder.
Embers firing up...
The Kelly placed on the ground once it really gets going.
Feeding the flames, and looking forward to some hot tea.
Gathering more fuel - once the pine sticks had gotten it started, there's enough heat in it to use any fuel off the ground even if it's damp.
The Landrover is almost completely camouflaged with the mix of green and autumn leaf colours...
Hot tea by the brook...
Beautiful carpet of autumn leaves on the track.
Ready to get going again and explore the rest of the track.
The track emerges from the woods into pastureland at the North end.
Somerset Safari!
Welcome to Somerset Safaris. We run dedicated off-road Land Rover tours through the magical valleys and hills of the West Country. Experience the wild nature of our own country at first hand, driving on off road tracks and lanes and witnessing the changing seasons, the best of UK wildlife up close, and the thrill of an ‘overland’ safari tour.
Our Vehicles
We use only Land Rovers – the best off road expedition vehicles ever made. Most tours can accomodate up to 6 visitors, each with a window seat from high up in our off road capable Land Rovers.
Land Rover Defender and Discovery
Normally we take a comfortable Land Rover Discovery TD5 with 7 seats, and our Land Rover Defender 110 hi capacity pickup, which will carry the cooking and camping gear (for overnight stays) as well as providing a stable viewing platform for our telescopes to watch deer and other wildlife from on the various tour stops around Somerset.
A Ford - river crossing in the Land Rovers in Spring
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Not Just for Summer.... Snowbound Safari!
Explore the magical Chew Valley, on off road tracks and hidden lanes, the Marksbury Plain area, the beautiful moorland and steep hills of the Mendips, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Watching Deer from the Land Rovers
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A Roe Deer resting in long grass
We drive through our past history exploring ancient Roman lead mines at Charterhouse, and the magic of Glastonbury Tor and the Somerset Levels, “King Alfreds’ Wessex” through the mysterious marshes where King Alfred’s cakes burned!
A Typical Somerset Off-Road Track
We’ll see Roe Deer at various times of the year, will stop to watch the enigmatic badgers emerging from their setts, and see countless other wildlife and birds along the route, including in Winter, rare migratory birds at the nataionally famous birding site, Chew Valley Lake.
The Land Rover Emerging from the Trees
Overnight Safari Camps
Longer tours (2 days) include an over night “bushcraft camp” where we’ll cook wild food, learn some basic firelighting and shelter techniques and spend time around the campfire, and experiencing the sights and sounds of nature around the camp.
Our Hemp-Cotton canvas Safari Tents
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Inside the Safari Tents.
Camping is in our own hemp cotton canvas Safari tents, or in our Australian swag bags, for those who want a night right under the stars in good weather.
One of the Ancient Drovers Tracks in the Mendip Hills
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Somerset Woodland Bluebells - cover the woods in May
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On Safari... Somerset Style
How does it work? Simply book your tour with us, then drive to the meeting point at our Office (with secure parking for overnight tours); we’ll drop you back at your car and the end of the tour or overnight camp.
Join us for an unforgetable UK Safari experience, families or work groups catered for. Book now by contacting us through the enquiry form here.
We look forward to welcoming you to Somerset.
PRICES:
1/2 Day Safari trips – £40 pp
Whole Day Safaris – £60 pp
24 hours, Overnight Safari Camp Tour – £120 pp (includes food, tents, sleeping bags etc.)
(minimum group size 4, Maximum 6)
Land Rover 4×4 Driving Experience
For those interested in Off-Road driving we can end the tour at one of the West country’s best Off-Road courses at Shepton mallet or Churchill where visitors can get training from experienced instructors before trying thier own hand at driving a Land Rover off road!
The Off Road Course:
XtremeOffRoad 4×4 Course prices:
Instructor Driven: £30 pp
Self-Drive with Trainer: £60 pp
