Quad Trek

Quad Trek Leader training in south Fife last week, here on top of Largo Law looking down on Leven with the big new wind turbine in the Forth. Very exciting Quad Trek with good machines and a very good track,  I would highly recommend it. Give us a call for details.

Sinking feeling

The big pond is now full of water again!!
Looking down the newest slope.
The site is returning to normal after a very dry summer, brilliant.
SORC visiting 15th December for their annual Christmas treasure hunt.
Sunday 12th January Red Cross Charity Day.... come and drive a 4x4 around the site, owner driver volunteers needed!
February's Snow Bashing event.. date to be advised depending on the snow.

Clearing bushes

Been clearing overgrown gorse bushes this week from the tracks for the Mad on Mud Club members and also teaching in a Kia Sportage, it is very able but just lacks a low box.

Disco

Occasionally punctures happen, right at the end of a very enjoyable BYO session with the latest Disco. Great fun and very well driven. I did do some of the work! Just took a break to take the photo!!

Police Blue

Teaching today in an ex Rhodesian Police Land Rover, it was bought in Scotlandwell!!
Great fun but very hard work without power steering, it is going to join the Mad on Mud Club.
Still very dry on the hill but no doubt the rain will arrive soon.

busy September

I am normally playing golf for most of September but this year the training has not let up so it has been work, work, work!! Quad training near Drem today and a budding Club member yesterday.
Golf tomorrow!

Jeep

Teaching in a Jeep at the start of the week, good fun and didn't get stuck! Finished the last few days teaching ecologists from Edinburgh for renewables work. Golfing next week so I'll be having a few days off. Club BBQ this Sunday 1st September on the hill camping site, I am doing sausages and burgers for eats but bring your own drinks and PLEASE LET ME KNOW if you are attending.

Training

A selection of some of the vehicles we provide training to the British Off Road Driving Association standards on. BORDA is HSE approved and we can come you to do the training or do it here with our special dedicated training areas.

summer at last!!

JCB and I have been cleaning out the big pond for the first time in a few years, the mud gathers in the middle as people drive around it making it impassable. It has been so wet for the last couple of years that we have not been able to clean it out but all the mud is cleared now so who is going to be first to drive through it??!!
The Partridges have had a successful breeding season, although late with the cold spring, on the hill and we have quite a few mums with chicks around the tracks. Please look out for them and leave them in peace, if you see a Partridge very close to you it normally means she has chicks there  and you will hear her cheap cheap cheaping for them.
I was on the very top of hill (1023 feet) yesterday with Mark, who has just joined the Club, during a thunderstorm and we had a few snow flakes on the windscreen! Nearly the end of July!
  

June

Great fun with a lovely couple from Edinburgh last weekend who brought along their Jeep for a BYO session, it had lot's more mud on it by the time we finished!!
Club members having a usual weekend gathering.
The site is drying up a bit at last and I hope to get some of the water splashes cleared of the thick mud that has gathered in them over the next week.
Finally I will try and do this blog a bit more regularly!

Parking

Needing a traffic warden at times on the hill!!
Some of our local Mad on Mud Club members having a chin wag on a Sunday afternoon, as well as doing some pretty crazy off roading.
Last winters winds and frost have been so severe all the east facing gorse bushes have been scorched as you can see in the pic, flowering this year is three weeks behind.

April

Finally some dryish weather has arrived which has allowed us to get on with some site maintenance, as you can see the view from the digger can be amazing while I'm working. I have spent the last few days clearing bushes from the tracks so that the vehicles don't get scratched and also I've been trying to fill in the holes on some of the steeper slopes where wheelspin is a big problem.
Other pic is of Alan and Alison from Aberdeenshire who brought their own Shogun for a BYO training session at the weekend, we had a great time and Alison had her eyes closed for most descents!!

Training

Just a wee plug for Meldrums  who help us out hugely by supplying some of the ATV equipment we do training for, today a Polaris Ranger. Very good machine that will go anywhere and the diesel engined one has fantastic torque in the low box. Very cold to do a full day training on though!!

Guess what.....more snow!!!

Both our access gates onto the site, photo taken yesterday, as you can see we are still pretty snow bound and I will have to cancel the rest of the training this week, again!!!
Some of our Club members did manage to get on site and had some fun but it was pretty limited, just too many big snow drifts up there.

Snow again!

We may have to cancel the rest of the training booked for this week, yesterday was cancelled when I tried to get up the access road to the training area to find about 100 yards of waist deep snow drifts. If the access road is this bad then just what is it like higher up on the site itself.
I may try and walk the dogs up to the top of the hill today, it's still snowing now!

Busy March

Seems to be a sudden rush on training over the past few weeks, some of it pretty extreme in the snow! Mostly from renewables energy companies and power line firms, all good work and smiles all round. Back to tree planting next week and hopefully spring will arrive.

Spring Snow

A week ago I was enjoying a glass of wine sitting outside soaking up the spring sunshine but today we have snow and at times blizzard conditions! Pic is the visiting group today, they had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the snow.
We have a planning application now in with Perth + Kinross Council (pkc.gov.uk) to move the 4x4 Reception across the road to the bottom of the access track, please support it if you can. Ref is 13/00143/FLL  

Snowbashing

Couple of photos; one of the hill access road today while walking the dogs, snow drifts higher than the fences! The other photo of a very bleak wintery looking Land Rover roof pond. I think we will make our Mad on Mud Club snow bashing event this Sunday 27th from 10am, the forecast is for more cold weather so the snow should hang around till then, we may have to use the North gate to get onto site!! I will have a BBQ going for those who let me know they are coming and will weather permitting try and do the BBQ at 1230 on the hill. Tay 4x4 Club are also on our site this weekend so it should be fun.

Correct view!!

Woops I uploaded the wrong one!! It has been a pretty wet and wild winter so far, plenty of good pics and comments on Mad On Mud Club facebook page and also Scottish Off Road Driving Centre page.

The view from the top last Sunday.