4x4 offroad day gift
Discussion
Well I can definitely recommend Berkshire 4x4 ( http://www.berkshire4x4.co.uk/ )after our "experience" this morning.
My best mate and I have both turned 30 over the past few months, and this was our birthday day out. Neither of us has any proper off-roading experience and neither or us had had any tuition previously.
The "fleet" at Berkshire 4x4 is a combination of diesel Discos and petrol Cherokees - we were in a Disco. A real eye-opener to see what these vehicles can do in pretty much "stock" form, and pleasing to hear that my tired old Cherry is pretty much capable of the same!
We arrived just after 9.30am. After a safety and technical briefing (where they explain how your centre diff works, and stress the need to keep your thumbs out of the way etc etc) we were off. We were doing the "Discovery" package, with over 50 mins driving each. The instructor was excellent, patient, didn't talk to us like we were idiots, and was very encouraging. We'd turned up in my old Cherokee and so all the way round the instructor was explaining any differences we'd find if we tried this in the Cherry and giving lots of helpful hints for prepping the car, doing a bit of week-end off-roading with clubs and so on.
The course was varied and (for us) testing - a couple of very steep climbs and falls, which were pretty awesome for beginners like us and pretty petrifying for the passenger. Perhaps for some of the old-timers on here, it would be pretty tame stuff, but for novices like us it was ideal.
There were just the two us of in the car with the Instructor, so we got to watch each other get it wrong, and learnt from each other's mistakes. Much of what you are taught seems counter-intuitive at first (coming over the blind brow of a hill and being told to move your feet away from the pedals, for example).
And they recommended a good pub just down the road for lunch afterwards. Just got home.
Excellent trip - highly recommended. Now looking at Mud Terrain tyres and planning a trip out in mine! So I think I've caught the bug!
My best mate and I have both turned 30 over the past few months, and this was our birthday day out. Neither of us has any proper off-roading experience and neither or us had had any tuition previously.
The "fleet" at Berkshire 4x4 is a combination of diesel Discos and petrol Cherokees - we were in a Disco. A real eye-opener to see what these vehicles can do in pretty much "stock" form, and pleasing to hear that my tired old Cherry is pretty much capable of the same!
We arrived just after 9.30am. After a safety and technical briefing (where they explain how your centre diff works, and stress the need to keep your thumbs out of the way etc etc) we were off. We were doing the "Discovery" package, with over 50 mins driving each. The instructor was excellent, patient, didn't talk to us like we were idiots, and was very encouraging. We'd turned up in my old Cherokee and so all the way round the instructor was explaining any differences we'd find if we tried this in the Cherry and giving lots of helpful hints for prepping the car, doing a bit of week-end off-roading with clubs and so on.
The course was varied and (for us) testing - a couple of very steep climbs and falls, which were pretty awesome for beginners like us and pretty petrifying for the passenger. Perhaps for some of the old-timers on here, it would be pretty tame stuff, but for novices like us it was ideal.
There were just the two us of in the car with the Instructor, so we got to watch each other get it wrong, and learnt from each other's mistakes. Much of what you are taught seems counter-intuitive at first (coming over the blind brow of a hill and being told to move your feet away from the pedals, for example).
And they recommended a good pub just down the road for lunch afterwards. Just got home.
Excellent trip - highly recommended. Now looking at Mud Terrain tyres and planning a trip out in mine! So I think I've caught the bug!
Edited by wrighty78 on Tuesday 26th May 15:09
Edited by wrighty78 on Tuesday 26th May 15:22
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