MacMillan 4x4 Challange 2008

Hi, I’m Janet McPherson, a member of the Ride Drive team covering the Manchester area, and this page is about me and my mate, Tonka.

Tonka is a modified 1990 Land Rover 90 TD, and is what I use in my latest automotive pursuit, 4x4 off–roading. I am going to tell you the story about a very special event in which I took part in during March 2008 – the MAC 4x4..

For those who are perhaps unaware of The MAC 4x4, it is an annual 4x4 vehicle driving event that is run on behalf of MacMillan Cancer Support and involves several teams of two people in their respective 4x4 vehicles raising money for charity through sponsorship. It is not a race, but an off–road and on–road navigation rally.

Officially the event is non–competitive, and it is certainly not timed, although the MSA (Motor Sport Association) are involved in its organisation, and there are prizes for winners of various categories. The challenge element is that of endurance of both vehicle and driver, as teams are driving most of the day and long into the night.

On Friday 7th March 2008, and after getting up at 6.30am for a 7.50am start (well a girl still has to look her best, even if she is going to start playing in the mud) I drove Tonka from Ramsbottom in Lancashire down to Shropshire from where the event was to begin. By my side was my husband, Graham, and his job for the whole expedition was to navigate.

Sixty 4x4 vehicles were assembled in the town of Craven Arms

I really think it’s really cool naming a town after a pub. However, the assembly point was at Britpart, a parts supplier for Land Rover vehicles. After signing in, and the usual scrutineering had taken place, there was a little time to chat to competitors we met last year. Of course, they all had to make comment about the trophy dent from Tong in Tonka’s front wing, but we had a laugh whilst we caught up with each other’s news.

Whilst this was going on, Graham affixed the official competition number stickers, and the ones from Britpart, to Tonka’s bodywork and we were just about all set to go.

We were then marshalled into a running order and I met Russ Brown’s co–driver from the TOR 4x4 magazine, who turned out to be a very charming young lady. After lunch I bought a plaque from Tim (Team 13), struggled to get it on the vehicle, but was then assisted by Gareth and Tom. It’s amazing how the dumb blonde helpless woman act always works!

Driving over Bridpart’s own off–road driving course

First section of the event was a small off–road course actually at Britpart. Brilliant! Tonka coped well with his new propshafts and by the end I was all fired up for the rest of the event. Graham busied himself with filling in the questionnaire we were given at the end of the course, and I don’t know if he had to plot the route from there or what, but I kept silent before we turned right out of Britpart’s yard to ……… somewhere??? At least I had one of Lucy’s lollipops to keep me going.

Actually, we were off to Church Stretton, then west into the Clun Forest area for an extensive off–road orienteering section. It wasn’t long before I found myself in among the trees looking for clues. We finally emerged at Montgomery, and from there we drove north up the A483 and A5 to Oswestry.

We ended up at a service area where we were told we would drive aboard a ferry bound for Ireland, and it was here that I started wonder that had I let myself in for? Not many people know this, but I only have to look at water and I am seasick. However, I was prepared, and I stopped eating food and started eating stugeron tablets.

No amount of pre–event route planning
can account for road closures

Anyway, we set off and then encountered our first problem. As the A5 had been closed between Oswestry and Llangollen, we were diverted away and couldn’t complete several of the navex questions we had been set. Eventually, we arrived at Llangollen, where we rejoined the route proper. It was then on into CORC (our off–road club) territory, leaving the A5 at the Sun Inn, driving up into Ceiriog Forest.

The event isn’t just about driving around a route, as you have to answer questions, and identify landmarks as set out in your road book. Our route took us through Llanarmon and the Tanat Valley before swinging north again towards Llandrillo, eventually arriving in Bala at about midnight.

Our destination here was the impressive Bala off–road centre where we drove around the site searching for marker boards. You eventually come to hate these. They’re little things cut down from old vehicle registration plates to about the size of a packet of fags, and which carry two characters from the original number.

The organisers constantly use the marker boards and have become fiendishly clever at hiding them in trees, bushes etc. making them hard to spot. They even place them so you can only see them in your rear view mirror as you drive past! This doesn’t sound too hard, but if you’ve ever driven on one of these sites in the daylight, think about doing it in the dark when you’re already tired out.

The first day would be over at the ferry terminal at Holyhead

This was the last of the sections for the day, and from here it was a straight run down the A5 to Holyhead and to our overnight accommodation. Our refuge for the night consisted of the Stena Line ferry terminal car park, arriving there at about 3.00am. This may sound like an awful place to spend the night, and it was, but by this time we were too tired to care.

You could forget food, forget coffee, as as we wanted was to crawl into our sleeping bags in the back of Tonka and try to sleep. However, I couldn’t help wondering about the team behind, who had pitched a tent between our vehicle and their own. Well, if you know Tonka, his handbrake can be a bit dodgy.

About 5–minutes later (well it was about 4–hours actually, but it didn’t feel like it), we had to get up and board a Stena Line ferry to Ireland. Being awakened by the sound of diesel engines, I climbed out of sleeping bag to find everyone lining up to drive their vehicles aboard the ferry that was to sail ay 9.00am.

After taking more motion sickness pills, I realised I had not cleaned my teeth! It doesn’t matter how dishevelled you look, as long as you can clean your teeth, not much else seems to matter. Anyway, I was directed to take Tonka to a position at the front of a line and it was there I decided to brush my teeth in full view of all the other competitors whilst waiting to board. The things you do for charity, and no I didn’t have a wash, I was still in the same clothes as the day before, but it didn’t matter. Well I had brushed my teeth, after all!

Sixty 4x4 vehicles boarded the ferry bound for Ireland

After boarding the ferry I went straight to the back and sat down near an exit so as to maintain a supply of fresh air.

We hadn’t seen the forecast, and so didn’t know about the worsening weather and expected storms. Needless to say the crossing was as rough as a badger’s nether regions and people were honking up everywhere, but I actually managed to keep it all together for once.

The general fun and frolics during the crossing were greatly enhanced when the team navigators were handed a set of maps with which to plot the routes in Eire.

Graham set to work on our plan whilst I tried to help, but trying to use a roamer and to plot map references on a pitching ship with gale force winds blowing through the doors was ridiculous.

The Six Nations was on
and the boat was full of Welsh rugby supporters

There was good news on this journey. Wales were playing Ireland in the Six–Nations in Dublin that day, so the boat was full of Welsh supporters going to the game. It was funny watching the welsh guys staggering about, desperately trying to hang onto their pints of Guinness.

It was also interesting to see that most of the supporters were in fact young females with an alarming predilection to short skirts and black stockings – even garters in a few cases. Well, it kept Graham amused and made the journey go a little faster anyway.

After just over 2–hours later we disembarked – and I had survived! Sixty 4x4’s piled out of the SS Venus onto the Emerald Isle at Dun Laoghaire, but within 4–miles of leaving the ship, another competitor told me I had no brake lights. Not wanting to stop in the town, I carried on driving until I found a place to pull over on a country road.

As I parked, a lovely local man, obviously seeing a damsel in distress, asked me if I was okay. While I told him I was only stopping to see if my brake lights were working, it was unknown to me at this point that Graham was more than a little bit lost. “I am never lost…I am just trying to find where I want to go…” Anyway, I digress again. I told the man that I was okay and we moved on, deciding to just flick the side lights on when I was braking to warn the driver’s behind.

Graham somehow found where he thought we needed to go, but before long we met up with 4x4 vehicle’s coming from every direction at a set of cross roads. We were not the only ones who were lost, it seemed!

Once bearings were re–established, we rattled down though the most glorious lanes, and the HOUSES!!! I have never seen so many gorgeous houses in one place. Graham got all political, going on about EU money etc. but I was just admiring the driveways and the treble garages that I could maybe fill with nice cars, if indeed I lived in such a place.

In fairness to Graham, the Irish OS maps are different from ours, as they are not as detailed. For a start, the Irish don’t like signposts showing you how to get anywhere, plus the roads are being developed and changed constantly. Once Graham had identified a local golf course on the map, he could then direct our progress with more confidence.

Eire is a beautiful part of the world

If you ever get the opportunity to go over to Eire and drive around, take it! What a beautiful country it is. The people were friendly, the drivers courteous and patient and the scenery was wonderful.

Our route was generally northwards, and after about seven hours, we crossed the Ulster border at Aughnacloy (ironically now only marked by a sign advising that speed limits are in mph, and not kph). This used to be the bandit country around Armagh, Omagh and Enniskillen.

Our destination was another off–road site, at a place called Todd’s Leap, where we spent a pleasant hour on a fairly small but quite extreme course with lots of hills, side slopes and mud! Then it was a straight dash to Belfast and a remarkably smooth ferry crossing to Stranraer (still overdosing on the motion sickness pills though).

Just when we thought we were at the end of the stage,
there was another 80–miles to go!

We arrived in Scotland at midnight on Saturday, only to be told that our overnight stop was in Lockerbie, some 80–miles away! We had just set off when Tonka’s low fuel warning light came on, but here there were no service stations open at this time of the morning. Luckily we had our reserve fuel supply, but having forgotten to pack the funnel, I had to make one out of a water bottle. I think more fuel was on me than went into the fuel tank!

Now, whilst I love Tonka to bits, I have to admit he’s not exactly a grand prix car when it comes to speed. In fact, on his BFG mud terrain rubber boots, his top speed in the dry, down hill and with a good tail wind, is about 60mph, but we are still usually faster than most HGV’s.

Imagine our surprise when we set off down the A75 to Dumfries, and when the Irish trucks that had travelled over on our ferry not only caught us up, but passed us as if we were standing still. By my reckoning, they were pushing 70mph and were not too fussy where they overtook us either.

We weren’t the only 4x4’s so abused, as others had also been frightened witless by the antics of these drivers. I later heard tales of how the Irish lads set up a pot of money during the sea crossing, the winner of the contest being the first to get back to the boat after unloading at their destination. How true that is I can’t say, but having witnessed their driving, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were fact.

We eventually arrived at Lockerbie
in the wee small hours of Sunday morning

We found the hotel, but it wasn’t nice warm beds for us here. Oh no, it was a case of pitching a tent on the extensive lawn area. Even so, compared to the night in the back of Tonka, it was luxury being able to lie down properly and to stretch out.

A cooked breakfast – what a luxury!

When Dawn broke on Sunday morning we actually had a cooked breakfast, made on the faithful primus stove. There was also a boiling hot cup of coffee, after all of which we were feeling vaguely human again.

At 9.30 it was the driver’s briefing, and then half an hour to plot our course before we were off into the countryside, heading for the Castle O’er Forest and Langholm. We were going great guns, had done the forest section, spotted loads of marker boards (have I told you how much we hate these damn things?) and we were soon onto the last road section without so much as a hiccup.

Half an hour to go of the stage and suddenly I had no clutch pedal

Now, this is where the MAC4x4 really comes into its own. We’d parked by the side of the road, our truck was injured, but within minutes we had at least five other trucks parked with us. There were people under the bonnet, there were people under the truck, there were people frantically burrowing into the back of their own vehicles looking for stashes of spare clutch fluid, which they had perhaps seen in there somewhere last year.

This is what you call team spirit, and finally one crew came up with the precious liquid and solemnly began to pour it into the clutch reservoir. Yippee, we thought, we’re going to be able to finish! But, as fast as the fluid was being poured in at the top, it was dribbling out of the slave cylinder at the bottom.

So, that was it then – no clutch. What were we to do? Then came the advice from all and sundry about driving without a clutch. What to do? Could we continue? Graham and I looked at the map, weighed up the terrain left to cover. However, we decided, regrettably, that our MAC event was over for this year and plotted our shortest route home.

Driving a Land Rover 150–miles with no clutch

We had to drive back to Ramsbottom without a clutch, and I had never done anything like this before, but I did it. I only crunched the gears twice in 150–miles, which wasn’t bad. We drove into the town centre at Langholm and had a blind right turn to make.

Graham jumped out to check if the road was clear for me, while I told the motorcyclist and drivers behind that I would be stopping immediately after the turn to pick up my co–driver. At that point, I was going to suggest that Graham should not expect me to stop, but he should run alongside and jump in, but then I thought I’d better not!

As I was on a high, due to my nre–found ability to perform clutchless gear changes, I asked Graham if we should continue on the original route and finish the event. When he remarked that it was at times like this that he wished he still smoked, I didn’t push it and decided just to get to the M6 and get Tonka home.

Having made it all the way home with no clutch,
there turned out to be a far more serious emergency to deal with

We made it all the way without further incident, transferred what we needed into my daytime car, and headed off to Warrington for the dinner and general knees–up that marks the end of the event. I was soon to discover that I was not out of the woods yet, as it was here that disaster struck again! This time it was more serious than ever, as I had forgotten to bring my mascara!

So that was our Mac4x4 for 2008. In spite of everything we had a fantastic time. We’d seen some wonderful sights and met some top class people. OK, we broke the truck, but at least we were able to get it home. I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired in my life, but it was worth it.

Apparently, at the time of writing, the total amount raised by the event this year was £75,000, and that should increase. One team alone raised £12,000, and Team 29, which was me and Graham, raised just over £1,200.

My thanks to all those who have donated, to Ride Drive for sponsoring us and to Graham for putting up with me, and for doing such a great job!

Article first Published September 2008

See also MacMillan 4x4 Challange 2010

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MacMillan 4x4 Challange 2008