Overland with Kids

During beginning May (bank holiday weekend), we undertook some professional training in order to familiarise ourselves with our Land Rover better and understand how to get the best out of our vehicle. Up to this point, we had only ever driven ‘on’ road and didn’t really understand the vehicle 4×4 capability in any great detail.

Not that we’re planning on any serious off-roading or anything but would be nice to know what to consider if we want to get off the beaten track from time to time.

Wow! What an experience we had! Grandma and Grandad looked after the children for the weekend and we began with a full-day ‘Level 1′ adventure training session at the Land Rover Experience Centre, Rockingham Castle. An equivalent vehicle to our own was supplied and this introductory course took us through all the basics of off-road driving across various terrains.  The first part of the morning was spent in the classroom looking at the vehicle build, 4×4 capability and gradient approach/departure considerations via presentation. This also included an overview of winch ropes and what to look for in choosing re: types and purposes. We were able to get to grips with the skills required for off-road driving which included observation, planning and manoevering. We tackled obstacles such as water, steep inclines (Anne’s favourite) and slide slopes, ruts, ditches and mud. We discussed our intended trip and were provided with several tips to consider e.g steel wheels versus alloys etc. We really enjoyed the course which cost £550 for 2 people for the whole day with lunch included. We were issued with a certificate afterwards, a pre-requisite for performing any advanced courses. No longer feeling naive but competent and in awe of vehicle capability, we did feel in need of more practice and luckily we had already pre-empted this - an immediate further 2-day course at Greystoke Castle in Cumbria at a total cost of £865 for both of us.

Neville, the proprietor at Greystoke, was fantastic and a real mine of valuable information - clearly a very experienced and knowledgeable tutor -the real benefits being his own personal travel knowledge of the world from having visited what appeared to be most of it along with vast practical skills and experience.

Prior to meeting Neville we had already provided him a high-level overview of our intended route and duration in each country. In addition, details about our vehicle and our plan to travel with our children. The agenda was ours essentially to define and build ahead of time to get out as much information and detail as possible. We had the run of the estate with a real quarry, hills, tracks, cows, sheep, fields and more fields, water, mud, ruts, gates of all shapes and sizes to contend with. Nothing was manufactured to provide off-road environment. By the time Neville had finished with us we felt like real professionals. Very practical training and recovery and self-recovery was included, hill climbing and failed hill-starts, route finding, choice of vehicle, expedition equipment and preparation, sand considerations, vehicle loading, layout, specialist equipment, driving, body language, adventure medicine, fire training, first aid, clothing, security, safety, best practice advice,  plus details on infrastructure, culture and considerations in each country along our route. The list was endless and we came away with full heads. We stayed at The Stafford, a new B&B on the grounds of Greystoke Castle itself. The Stafford had just opened and we were one of it’s first guests. We were really impressed  - £65 for 1 night - room lovely and comfy (we had the whole top floor to ourselves) and the breakfast and take-out lunch provided were huge and filling! We had dinner at the Boot and Shoe pub in Greystoke village - fab food and much needed after our first action-packed day.

We came away very confident in the skills we had gained - we feel sure that we will have no issues in off-roading or tackling various terrains.

In our view, expensive training in all for the entire 3-days, but worth every penny between the two of us - to do properly, confidently and proficiently. Plus we got to spend some time together and see some beautiful parts of the UK we hadn’t seen before.

 

Vehicle Preparation