Hogmonay

Three new members this week, Bert,

Roy and Lewis, in the picture joined by Ryan. They picked a brilliant time to join the site is as wet and muddy as ever.

Lewis and his Disco survived this ducking with only a very wet interior.

Happy new year to all, Wattie.

Typical December day

Wow the site is fantastic at the moment, frost coming out of the ground with rain on top making it super slippery!! The ice is about 3 inches thick on the water splashes so we must have had a more serious frost than we realised.
Pic is of our club members in the east section today about to attempt the hill. It was very good to see the Jenkins boys back after a bit of a break, they picked a really good day.
Two new members joined today, Ryan from Freuchie and Abao from Glasgow with Disco and Jeep respectively.
Hopefully I will get the pressure hose sorted this week and I'm also needing a new battery for my white Land Rover which does a lot of recovery winching which seems to have worn it out. And me!!

Scot Mud Club visit

We had ten visitors form the Scottish Mud Club today, they are a pretty well equiped lot and had a lot of fun on site. Conditions were wet and muddy!!
We are going to have a joint BBQ and camping weekend, probably in April just after Easter which i will keep you posted about.
The starter motor on the pressure hose has packed up so it will be out of action for a week or two, you'll need to wash in the water splash!!??
All the best, Walter

3 yearly Inspection

Firstly, sorry I have not been posting much lately but we have been run off our feet!
Today we had our three yearly inspection for accreditation pursposes for membership of the International Organisation of Professional Drivers IOPD and the British Off Road Driving Association BORDA. These are the organisations that certify our training.
Steve of the IOPD did the inspection and many thanks to him for his time. There are, as always, a few things we need to improve but other than that it went well.
The site is very wet at the moment and some of the new tracks are really slippy, test the depth of the water splashes before you drive into them!! All the best, Walter.

Autumn BBQ

Our Club Autumn BBQ is this weekend Sunday 25th Sept at 12.30 on the hill at the clay shooting area.

I will provide some grub, sausages and burgers with rolls, please bring you own drinks and anything else you want.

Could you please let me know if you are attending so we can buy the appropiate ammount of food.

Pic is of the balmy day we had for our Spring BBQ.

The site is super at the moment with the rain making the newly cleared tracks very slippery.

Here's hoping for a sunny day on Sunday and Scotland beating Argentina!!

Walter

Visitors

We had 22 Norwegians here today for a fun 4x4 day out, pic shows a winching demo for them.

2nd pic is of the Scottish Mud Club, who visited recently, gathered on top of the site looking out to the East Lomond hill.

We are now finished the holiday period so will try and post a bit more often. Sorry been lazy during August!!

A lot of JCB work has been completed on the site, new tracks and some bushes cleared. There is much more to drive on now and the site is looking great. Walter

SORC last sunday

The SORC brought seven vehicles on site last Sunday for their Treasure Hunt outing, pic shows them comparing notes on the north side of the site.

I was chef at a BBQ we had at the house so I did not see them at all but they found all the treasure and had a laugh.

Two new Club members this week, welcome Steven and Carl who are both locals with Hilux and Range Rover. Carl brought his RR back from New Zealand with him!

The builders have just started the new house for my parents in law just below reception, there may be the odd builders van parked in the car park but hopefully they will keep the place clean.

Tay 4x4 Club booked in for this coming Sunday 31st. All the best, Walter

Balvaird Charity Day

We took part in the Charity Event run by neighbour John MacGregor today, pic shows the event and two of the three vehicles we had driving guests around our 4x4 site.

It was a great day out, very well attended and they should have raised a lot of money. The collection of vintage cars was, to quote one visitor, "better than the scottish motor show"!!

What's happened to summer? W

July + August

The variety of vehicles we will be training operators for BORDA during July and August.

All good fun!!

Walter

Training

Starting a new training contract for an international telecommunications company now. It should be fun as Ken and I have to train drivers for Scot Track, Polaris Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Land Rover Discovery.
The site is wet again after all the rain last week, always happens around T in the Park!!

Tractor tyres

I have scattered old tractor tyres in selected places around the site to make drivers use a slightly different track, this helps prevent erosion and allows some vegetation to grow. Please leave them where they are for now.
Pic is of our Simba looking at the tyres, I think or perhaps it's a rabbit!
5 new Club members this month with Suzuki's, a Cherokee and 110's. Plenty of water still on site but we are needing a bit of rain to make it slippery again.
We have, as usual, a lot of people redeeming Christmas Gift Vouchers at this time of year and are now fully booked at weekends until the 16th July for anyone reading this and still wanting to book. Roll on summer, Walter.

Training

Picture is of our instructor Ken Swan training drivers on Mule ATV's for a hydro power tunnelling project in the north of Scotland. The ATV's are mainly used to take the blasting crews to the mining face down a steeply inclined tunnel, exciting stuff!

We have also been training their crews to drive the access road in 4x4 vehicles, the first time I went up to the site in Feb 2010 the snow was deeper than the height of the Land Rover and it has been pretty bad at times this year. They will be very glad to see the summer arrive up there.

We are always happy to go to where the customer needs us.

After a record dry April I hope we have some rain soon for the 4x4 site, and also for the garden!! All the best, Walter

Mad on Mud Club spring BBQ

We had a beautiful sunny day for the spring BBQ yesterday, about 30 people attended and I had no complinats about the new tracks I made on the highest bit of Biens Law!! Pic shows the BBQ site and the stunning view over Kinross and Loch Leven, as well as myself working hard doing the cooking! That's all for now. Walter

Last weekend + BBQ

Pic is of Luke and Bill "mudding" last weekend, having a laugh!!!!!!!!!!

Next weekend Sunday 17th April is the Mad on Mud Club spring BBQ on the hill at 1300hrs at the camping/clay shooting area in the south west corner.

It looks like we have about 30 people attending so far. If you are joining us and haven't let me know please do so asap.

I am providing burgers and sausages in rolls but please BYO drinks and any extra food you can.

Enduroland have cancelled their event on the 1st May due to lack of bookings with them, what a shame as a few locals were looking forward to the event.

Nina and I look forward to seeing you at the BBQ. Thanks Walter

High lift suspension!!

I assume this is what is meant by high lift suspension???!!! Looks great from this angle! This was in fact a gentle roll and afterwards it looks much more dramatic than it actually was although I stress I was not in the vehicle with the Club member. For those who know the site it is a steep descent in the south west corner looking out towards Loch Leven. However as always I am very relieved there was no one hurt and it is just the location that will make recovery awkward. Just completed the new fence up the side of the access road and hope to get a few new tracks made before the BBQ on Sunday next, the 17th. Walter

What I have to put up with!!

Someone last weekend had a dump in the laurel bushes by the car park over the road, I only just noticed it before the dogs rolled in it!! The culprit used a white Nike polo shirt to wipe themselves and left it behind as well! If you know who left without a white polo shirt let me know as it was pretty disgusting to remove. Generally the visiting club members had a great time and left very little rubbish, except for the dump! The Scottish Off Road Driving Centre is now on Facebook and also videos are on You Tube if you search under Glentarkie. Next event is our Club BBQ on Sunday 17th April at 1300 hours. All the best, Walter

wintery scene

Scot West Club visited today. Some as seen in the first pic, we had six visitors and I think the site at the moment is a difficult as ever!!!!!

I had to watch the rugby (not too bad a result) so did not see how the day went but they all had fun.

Alan gave his Argo a last blast with the snow tracks on and we went for a float around the big pond, a bit dodgy with the weight of the tracks!!

The new gate at the roadside seems to be working well, please lock one paddlock into the other one so BOTH can open the gate, one has a key and one a combination lock. Is spring coming????

New gates

We had some visitors last weekend, they were very well behaved and thoroughly enjoyed themselves as you can see from the photo going up to the top of the hill.

The ground is absolutely soaking at the moment and all the water hazards are at full depth. The big pond is as deep as I have ever seen it, take care!!

I have moved the locked gate to the bottom of the hill next to the public road as of today, still the same system with the combination padlock. Three reasons; firstly so that any unauthorised people trying to get onto site have to gain entry in full view of the houses. Secondly it was nearly impossible to open the old gate and get the vehicle going again in the snow. Three it makes it easier for me to manage as it is next to the houses. Next move video surveillance on the gate! All the best, Walter.

Thawing at last

Forecast to be +10c on Wednesday, fantastic!!
Pics show the two vehicles that have made life a bit easier over the past few weeks, feeding pheasants and exercising the dogs.
The Argocat is owned by Alan my neighbour who put snow tracks onto it this year. It goes anywhere even with 6 people on board.
We should be open for customers again this weekend, at last.
All the best, Walter

Slow thaw

The thaw that started last week has come to a sudden stop this week and we are still not able to take clients onto the 4x4 site. We have frozen snow and thick ice still which is very difficult ot drive anywhere in, 50 metres and your stuck. You get yourself out and after another 50 metres your are stuck again, not much fun!!
27th November was the last time a client was on site and it looks as though we will have to cancel everyone this weekend.
Five Mad on Mud Club members have been up over the festive break and I can see from the tracks it has not been easy!!??
Pic is of the big pond showing the Ochil Hills to the west, temp was -1c when i took the photo today. All the best Walter.