Siberian weather!!

S..t is it cold!!! The site is still deep with snow which has frozen on top making any driving very difficult.
The only vehicle I have had up there is the Quad bike feeding pheasants again, all the wildlife certainly benefits from the feeders and they are being emptied every week.
With no sign of a thaw yet it looks as if we could be cancelling all bookings over the festive break but a the moment we are waiting to see.
Christmas voucher sales are well up on last year, what I don't understand is that we did no advertising this year and yet sales are up!!??
Pic shows the view south from the top of the hill over Loch Leven.......and Simba!
Merry Christmas to you all from Walter, Nina and Ross.

Snow and frost, very difficult.

The SORC visit today had to be abandoned as the site was just about impassable. It took them over an hour to get up the access road to the car park on the hill.

Today is the first time I have made it to the top in a vehicle, Alan and I were in his Disco with new off road tyres and it was still quite a struggle.

The JCB is useless in the snow, it is too heavy and just slides about all over the place and I can't risk using it to clear the road as it wants to slide into the fence all the time.

The forecats is for no change this coming week!!!

All the best

Walter

Back from Jamaica to the snow.

If you are wondering why the blog has been quiet with all this exciting snow it was because I have been in Jamaica for the past ten days celebrating 25 years of marriage. Wonderful, I highly recommend it!
Lying on the beach all day in 28 degrees sunshine with a rum punch in my hand and Bob Marley jamming from the beach bar, fantastic!!!
Pic shows the beach and also the collapsed polley tunnel that we keep the Land Rovers in which I arrived home to.
The vehicles are ok but the tunnel is wrecked, my neighbour told me he had 3/4 of a ton of snow on his farm weighbridge so there must have been about four tons on the tunnel.
I'll keep you posted on the snow.
Walter

First Snow of the winter

We had a dusting of snow last night and some hard frost, the snow is very little but the frost has the ice about an inch thick in watersplashes. The RAF have spent most of the day bashing it up!!!

The picture shows Club members cars which have been left here for their use on the hill. The two blue/grey discos on the left of the picture have not moved for months and I would like the owners to take them away please. If they are still here in a few weeks time I will lift them with the JCB and put them across the road in the woodland.

All the best Walter

Winter brings out the Clubs!!

Hello, we have Tay 4x4 Club booked in for the 28th November and the Scottish Off Road Club on the 12th December. We are full on the 5th December and our own Club winch challenge is on the 19th December so it is all go up to Christmas. I only allow one visiting Club at a time now, this allows us to monitor what is going on and who is doing what, sadly necessary after a few items went walk about last year!!

Our own Club has as usual picked up a few new members as the winter weather arrives and some previous members have rejoined, the site is brilliant at the moment. It is very wet and the water hazards are all full, we have had a lot of people using the site and mudding it up!

Pic is of the latest RAF group visiting for training pre deployment.

Hope to see you covered in mud in the run up to christmas!!!!!!!!!!!

Walter

Back in action!!!!

I has been a very busy September and October so far, our BORDA training is taking off. We are now able to deliver Quad and ATV courses as well as our normal 4x4 vehicle training, we will soon be doing skid steer ATV's as well.
We always pick up new Club members as the winter starts and this year is no exception, the next Club date is Sunday 19th December for our own Club Winch Challenge.
Looking forward how about Sun 17th april for a spring BBQ? Enduorland are now coming back with the bike day on Sun 1st May so the site will be closed 3 days prior to that.
Pic is of the RAF Regiment from Leuchars doing a simulated recovery pre deployment overseas.
So far they have not been stuck and have driven through everything!!! Walter

Summer BBQ Sunday 29th August

The Club Summer BBQ is being held this coming Sunday 29th August at 1pm on the hill, all members are welcome. Please let me know by email if you are attending and who you are bringing. I will provide burgers and sausages etc but not drinks so please BYO drinks. If you are bringing a few gusets please bring some food as I can't guarantee I will have enough for extras!!
The photo shows the changes at the main reception area. Wider entrance and more parking with new fencing to partially hide the semi ruined house next to us. We hope to have painted the container store by this weekend.
I hope to see lots of you on Sunday.
Here's hoping for a dry day.
Walter

Last of the snow

The snow is slowly disappearing but the frost is well into the ground and it is still rock hard underneath.
Two pics from last weekend show Alan my neighbouring farmer (!!!???) and Stewart who works for Mike Aitken 4x4 at the start of the day. Yes Alan really does use his Disco off road!!
I have just sent a new email around our Club Members (if anyone didn't get it just email me!) re the combination and some unwelcome visitors.
Lots of action on site this month as we are very busy training and I will be transplanting some trees. W

Tay 4x4 Club visit

We had about 25 vehicles out today, sunday.
Conditions were very tough in the wet heavy snow but everyone had fun and we had lots of smiling faces.
March starts tomorrow, spring is coming! So maybe the snow will disappear?
Come back soon,
Walter

Snow again

More snow on the site again today but not serious enough to affect our training or vouchers, but it did drift badly across the access road again!
The Ambulance Service have started training on site again and we are this week putting in a few new tracks as well as clearing access to areas that have become unusable. Pic shows Andrew Swan from next door making a new track in the north west corner of the 4x4 hill.
We have also clared and levelled an area for Clay Shooting in the south west corner, and please do not drive over this area as we are preparing it for grass seed. We have also put in a few telegraph posts as anchor points for self recovery and winching in selected spots on the hill.
Finally Tay 4x4 Club are coming to play this sunday 28th feb, thats it. See you all soon, Walter.

Photos update

I have been asked to say that absolutely NO assistance from the big John Deere tractor was need while these two were on site!!!

The site access road is still closed due to ice so please phone if you are coming up for advice on an alternative route.

Not much change in the weather!!

There is still a lot of deep snow on site. Now that it has slightly thawed after drifting it is really solid and very slippery where it is not deep.
It looks like we will still be closed for vouchers this weekend due to conditions.
I am getting fed up with this now!!!!

Very cold

I wish you all a very Happy New Year.
This picture is taken at the back door at the farmhouse today. We are still closed for vouchers and it looks like we will be closed all next week if the weather forecast is correct. (I hope not!)
In the Clubhouse the water has frozen for the loo so please do NOT use the loo. Alan next door has a small weather station which recorded minus 16 one night last week.
Conditions will be fantastic when the thaw eventually comes and all this snow melts, I will try and keep you posted on it.