Land Rover Experience at Eastnor Castle

Hi Folks, Bunmonsta here,

Just thought I’d write a few lines to tell you about a great day out I had at the Land Rover Experience, which operates at Eastnor Castle in the fabulous Malvern Hills.

My previous off–road driving experience came from my police training, starting with the usual day or two being taken out in a Land Rover to be shown what they could do. An army off–road driving venue was used where the conditions were excellent. All sorts of obstacles and different driving surfaces were made available and I loved it.

I’ve had the chance to do more off–road driving during the various stages of my career, training for where the use of 4x4 vehicles became necessary.

A Three–Day 4x4 Police Driving Course at Exeter

It was about 15–years back when I did a 3–day course at Exeter, where I drove all sorts of 4x4’s, including a Range Rover, Vauxhall Frontera, various Land Rover County and Land Rover Defender type vehicles; including some of the original models.

It was a great learning experience that would later save my bacon in tricky situations. Back then the 4x4 vehicle market was really starting to open up with the Japanese manufacturers aggressively competing for buyers alongside the more traditional players.

As you may be aware I have done a few drives for the Premier Automotive Division of Jaguar Land Rover over the last couple of years, one of which you may have read about my Jaguar XF road test, a car I took to Spain for a press launch.

In a Convoy of Land Rover’s, Driving from Morocco to England

Before the Jaguar task, I was asked to perform was to help repatriate some Land Rovers that were in Morocco. This request came in on the Sunday just after Christmas and involved flying out the following Tuesday to Marrakech, and then to drive the vehicle back home by Saturday.

This was to be my first assignment with this crew, a highly efficient team of people who all knew their place and what to do. On this occasion I had to drive a Range Rover Supercharged as part of a convoy of 32–vehicles all the way back through Morocco, Spain, and France and to their spiritual home at Gaydon Warwickshire.

The Range Rover Supercharged I found to be a lively beast, perhaps akin to a thoroughbred horse in that it is very spirited to drive. However, it needs to be treated with respect and driven with care, but is a most satisfying drive all the same

Bringing Home the G4 Land Rover’s

Later that year I helped to bring home the G4 Challenge vehicles, also from Morocco, and these were completely different. They looked fantastic in their special orange coloured paint schemes and had all the full off–road toys on board too. These vehicles had traversed some of the most difficult terrain around the world.

The team I was working with had been given special safety instructions, as these cars had proper off road tyres with a set design speed limit to prevent them from overheating and the possibility of them blowing at speed. We kept the pace to a maximum of 85mph, even though we had a huge distance to cover.

On that occasion I drove a Range Rover Sport, and surprisingly enough, I found it more comfortable than the Supercharged. However, they are both fantastic vehicle’s, if that is the market you are into.

The Driving Trips Were Always Completed Without Pay

Our leader on these trips was Roddy Hamilton and there would always be a joke with him about the potential for getting some perks for doing the jobs. You know the sort of thing. Perhaps a t–shirt or a logo’d jacket or two, as these runs are all completed without anyone getting paid. We had pulled Roddy’s leg a few times on this, so imagine our surprise when he organised a day out for the team at Eastnor with the Land Rover Experience. Well thank you Roddy, what a great day out it was.

The whole team met the night before at a local Premier Inn. I had taken my son along, as I had planned a visit to Cardiff at the end of the off–road driving day, as we had tickets for a concert. From the hotel we drove in a convoy for the 15–minute journey to Eastnor Castle, quickly getting into the spirit of the day, as this was how we normally worked – driving in convoy.

Arrival at The Land Rover 4x4 Driving Experience

Upon arrival at the centre I was very impressed by the layout. The car park was more full of 4x4’s than at a Chelsea supermarket! After parking up, and changing into the required sturdy footwear and suitable clothing, we were met by the event coordinator, Jo Wilson.

We were made to feel very welcome right from the start, with the offer of tea, coffee and biscuits. This more usual format would have been to be provided with sausage and bacon roles, but as we had already eaten a huge breakfast, we passed on that one. We certainly learned our first lesson there.

Our crew were introduced to the instructors by chief instructor, Tim Pellet, who delivered a a short, but all–important safety briefing. Then, we were allocated our respective vehicles. There was a Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, the latest Discovery, the Freelander 2 and the Defender, all of which were presented in matching paint jobs and in gleaming condition.

Allocation of 4x4 Driving Instructors

We were split up into pairs, one pair to each vehicle, and joined by an instructor. My day started in the Land rover Defender with James and our instructor, Ken. Having been formally introduced to the vehicle, and had all the technical aspects explained, including the new anti–stall feature, I followed his instructions as I set off towards the off–road tracks to be used for the morning session.

I had the opportunity to experiment with the anti–stall feature by pulling away in second gear. Being guided of course by my on–board expert I took my foot off the clutch before releasing the footbrake! This was driving up hill too, which was even more amazing. This vehicle certainly had been improved upon since the last time I’d driven one.

After driving our respective Land Rover models for a while, everyone was asked to swap round, which involved going to the next vehicle ahead in the line. As I had been allocated vehicle No.2 I was now at the head of the convoy. This gives everyone a chance to drive each car.

Everyone Had Chance to Drive Each Model of Land Rover

I enjoyed the chance to drive every model and was majorly impressed by the Range Rover when it was my turn with that one. Taking it through a particularly deep, slippery and muddy section there was a bizarre feeling, because I can honestly say it didn’t seem as slippery as it looked. There is now so much technology on these vehicles that it does a lot of the tricky stuff for you.

I could hear all sorts of noises going on underneath the car, at which I looked questioningly at Alf, the instructor on this car, who explained the mechanics of what was happening. He showed me around the visual displays on the dashboard, which gave information about what the transmission was doing as I drove. The off–road performance of these vehicles was all the more impressive when I realised all of them were running on ordinary road tyres!

Taking on the Challange of the American Dips

The swapping around of driver and vehicles continued, as well as positions within vehicles. At one point we came to series of dips and hills, called The American Dips. This is where we all stopped and were asked to get out and take a look. These were severe dips and hills when on foot, so this was going to be interesting in a vehicle. However, instructions were as precise as always.

By this time I was now in the Freelander 2 with instructor, Phil. James was my crewmate and this section was really going to be a bottle–tester. As you drive over the brow of the hill your heart goes into your mouth, and I wasn’t even driving! I must say that I thought James drove the Freelander under total control, unlike those in a couple of the heavier vehicles.

When it was my turn I drove up over the first hill, and following Phil’s instructions to the letter whilst driving out of the second dip, the vehicle lost grip. This was despite my wiggling the steering from side to side, as I was told to do in these circumstances. Phil then told me to reverse until I could dip the wheels in the water that filled the bottom of the valley, before trying again.

The Freelander was Damaged, and it Just Had to be me Who Did it

This time I was to give it more power, again wiggling the steering to increase tyre–grip. I did give it more power and we surged off up the hill, this time making it to the top. However, what I hadn’t realised, due to all the noise, was I had grounded the rear bumper, pulling it out of alignment. When I stopped at the top, people came over and started taking photos, at which point I began to get worried.

I had signed a disclaimer at the beginning of the day, just like everyone else, and now I thought, “Whoops, how much is this going to cost.” However, I was reassured it was not a problem, as I had only done as I was told, and this wasn’t classed as major damage. I was also told that it was the first time they had taken the Freelander 2 over the dips.

Caught on Camera!

Another unfortunate thing that happened was the incident was captured on video camera, as you will see here.

Not to let this minor hiccup spoil the day we carried on, making our way back for a pleasant lunch at the centre. This provided an enjoyable break from driving and was a chance to catch up on individual adventure stories. The general opinion was that everyone was well impressed with both the vehicles and the quality of instruction. These guys are real professionals in their field and all have extensive experience, each having taken rigorous training courses themselves, so as to work at the centre.

After Lunch it was Back out in the Vehicles
for Some more Rugged Off–Road Driving

The outbound route this time led us to another part of the estate, and a different character in terrain. Again, took turns at driving different vehicles, and at being the passenger, over these new tracks.

At one point we drove the vehicles through some deep water and it was interesting, when the lead vehicle got stuck, to see it hooked up and pulled free by use of the winch fitted to another. There was great care shown when doing this, accompanies by a full explanation of the techniques it involved.

There was Great Care of the
Environment in Which we Were Driving

Afterwards, the ground had to be carefully tended, which showed the true professional credentials of the team in terms of their care towards the environment they work in.

After this interruption, we continued around the deep water sections and learnt the techniques for creating a bow wave ahead of the vehicle, and to make steady progress so as to keep the wave going. I did this section in a Land Rover Discovery and was impressed with the ease by which it coped with everything that I asked of it.

When everyone had driven all the different types of vehicle it was back to the centre where coffee and biscuits were served. The events of the day were discussed at a de–brief, after which we thanked our instructors, as well as the centre staff alike, for a good quality and entertaining day. We had been all made to feel so welcome, when the time case, I think we were all reluctant to leave.

It Had Been a Great Team Building Day for All

It had been great to see all of Roddy’s team back together again and under his stewardship. It was also great to share the experience with my son as well, as he learned a lot from the day; an experience that will no doubt remain with him for the rest of his life.

Before we all left we made time to gather round for a team photo. In case you are wondering, I am the athletic looking one on the far left of the picture.

Speaking personally, I would recommend the Eastnor Castle Land Rover 4x4 driving experience to anyone who drives a 4x4 vehicle, or if they are considering buying one. Whatever the case, it is still worth doing the Land Rover 4x4 Driving Experience, as you learn a lot about driving with empathy. These vehicles do have awesome capabilities off road, and it’s good to learn from the experts in real conditions to experience this for yourself.

If you are interested in doing the course, take a look at the Land Rover Driving Experience official website for more information.

If you do have a 4x4 vehicle as your main car, the best bit of kit you can get to improve performance on the road is to get some advanced driver training. Don’t forget that Ride Drive can provide all of the on–road driver training you need, no matter what kind of car you drive.

Until next time, drive safe.

First Published May 2008

WARNING – This series of magazine articles has been made available to you to read, and if you wish, to print and save, and you may do so completely free of charge. However, this permission is given where the material is for personal use only. Any reproduction, copying or publishing for any form of personal gain, financial or otherwise, or for any form of distribution, without prior permission, will not be tolerated and will be considered as a breach of copyright. Please do not abuse the good faith that has been extended to our site visitors in producing this material. If you are unsure as to whether your intended use of this, or any other written article that you find published on this website, will be offensive, please ask for guidance.

Make Your Comment

You Are Here » Home » Driving Magazine Menu » Land Rover 4x4 Experience

This page was last updated
Saturday, 29-Jan-2011

Off–Road Driving Experience With Land Rover