The 18th of December 2011, a week before Christmas Day, and our little group have planned to meet up and drive some local 'lanes...

Gathered outside my shop after having Sausage and Bacon Baps at our house next door...

Left to Right : Gary and son Harry in the first green Jimny, Brett and Adam in the second green Jimny, me in Stealth in the middle, Andy in the Red Jimny, and Ben in the Toyota LandCruiser.

And we're off! Following Brett and Adam, our navigators for the day once again...

A few miles inland and the roads still have some snow on them...

Our first 'lane of the day... what's that sticking out of Brett's Jimny...

Ah, a loose gate, no hinges...

Looking back at Ben's Big 'Cruiser...

Tight scratchy 'lane...

Bit tight!

Err...

And then the 'lane opens up...

And out the other side...

Next 'lane, and this is the one we've come for! Super tight lane...

Not too bad to start with...

The bushes encroach a bit...

Bit scratchy!...

Brett, and Adam, in the distance... you can see one tyre track of the 'lane... the other tyre is in the bushes!

Like this! No good for the paintwork!

And then the 'lane opens up a bit...

And the fallen tree we encountered the first time we drove this is still on the ground...

Stopped, waiting for the rest of the group to catch up...

Brett's YouTube Video up to this point.

Ben in the Big 'Cruiser behind... a big crunch as he pilots it over the tree, rather than round!

And we're off again...

Awesome 'lane this one!

Back to scratchy...

Really tight...

Then the trees start to encroach...

That one's close?!

The 'Cruiser is a tad bigger than my "Stealth" Vitara, and gets rather close to that tree...

I jump out and walk back to watch Ben past the tree...

Brett's YouTube Video up to this point just past the that tree!

And we're off again... After the big 'Cruiser slides past the tree...

Dropping back down towards the river on the valley floor...

Still tight and scratchy!

And we can see the hamlet in the distance... 

Tight between the tree trunks!

Approaching the end...

The final drop...

And between the fences to the gate at the end...

Looking to the left, and the river is full after the recent rains...

Popping out at the end, in between a house and it's outbuildings...

As we turn onto the tarmac Ben shouts that he can't get full left lock...

Ahh, that will be the cause of it... a bent steering bar! = Big Tyres + Power Steering + Tree Stumps!

Out comes the jack...

And a tug with Brett's winch pulls it straight...

While Stealth with his hazard lights on acts as an impromptu road block whilst we effect the repairs... 

Next 'lane... One we've driven the other way a couple of times, but this time Adam directs us the other way... it's amazing how different a 'lane can appear when driven the other way round... 

Glorious views... part of the attraction of Greenlaning...

Remnants of tarmac under the grass...

A light carpet of snow in the distance...

Yup, a bit of snow... hopefully we'll encounter more later in the day?  

Dropping down to the gate...

Waiting for Andy to catch up, after closing the gate... Gary in pensive pose...

Slippery roads...

Fantastic view of the coast!

Another 'lane, that drops us back down towards the coast...

Overgrown and twisty in places...

Still a bit scratchy but it's been trimmed fairly recently on one side...

Steam off Brett's exhaust splashing in the puddles...

Another 'lane, this one is one we hadn't driven before, but was on the council's definitive list, so we thought we'd have a look...

Another tight overgrown 'lane...!

Not much use by the look of it...

A nice drive though...

 

 

Brett's YouTube video of the descent...

Fantastic views over Colwyn Bay...

Snow on the hills in front of us... just round the corner we stopped for a drink, and Sausage Rolls prepared by Brett with assistance from (the lovely) Becky, and diabetic Mince Roulards, made by my lovely wife...

Another 'lane, one we hadn't driven, but was again on the council's definitive list...

Ah, we'll not be going far on this one then...

Reversing back I cracked my driver's side mirror  on a tree...

The next lane... was one we tried to drive back on the 26th of June , and we were faced with -

A blockage in the 'lane, a big concrete block with a cone on the top -

The "NO ACCESS" sign didn't look convincing at the time, and after reporting the blockage to the council's Rights of Way (RoW) officers, they said the landowner was well known for it... Many emails were exchanged between our Brett and the council's RoW officers, and just before this planned 'laning trip we heard back that the landowner had been served with legal papers to make sure he did not (illegally) block the RoW again, this route is a BOAT (ByWay Open to All Traffic) after all, so it's status is under no question at all... 

So, today, with a victory to land access under our belts, we get - we assume - to be the first to drive it for a long while...

This is the spot where the big concrete block and cone were last time we were here... so it looks like a go'er?

So up we go!

Yup, quite overgrown, with no evidence of use for a good while... 

Over-hanging trees next to the rockface... a nice 'lane...

More rock face and over-hanging trees, Brett walk back and uses a branch off the ground to push the bow of the tree up over Stealth's roofrack...

Clear with just some Tinsel-damage!  

Brett's YouTube video of out progress up to here...

Ben behind me in the big 'Cruiser...

The undergrowth (or rather, the overgrowth!) has attacked his roofrack and shifted it back a bit on the gutter mounts...

Looking back to where I'd just come under with the help from Brett with the branch...

And looking forward to our next obstacle, a half fallen tree...

Ben's tall 'Cruiser won't creep under the half fallen tree, so we lop one of the bows off.

Looking back up towards Stealth on this spectacular 'lane...

A bit more tree trimming, and the Big 'Cruiser sneaks under the overhanging bow.

The next obstacle... Brett's Jimny and my Vitara have crept under the trunk of the fallen tree, but the 'Cruiser is a bit taller... so we try and direct him under...

But to no avail... The tree is immovable without a chainsaw, etc, so we flatten the bank slightly with mini-shovels...

And the 'Cruiser manages to creep carefully under  Adam and Brett with mini-shovels... good work guys!  I get the easy job, doing the blogging!

Behind the two other little Suzukis (Both Jimnys) sneak under the trunk... 

And off we go a bit further...

And into some overgrown undergrowth... Brett stops...?

Brett's YouTube Video up to the stoppage...

Another fallen tree...

The big 'Cruiser behind me... and a good view of Stealth's low slung roofrack, with mountings for waffle boards, ground anchor and HiLift Jack...

Teamwork ensues again... the guys with saws and axe, and me with, errr, the camera , but that is my role!  

(Natural) obstruction removed, and we're off again...

At the top, another road cone, trying to put off genuine people who wish to access this RoW, a legal byway, a BOAT...

So, a minor victory, in getting a nice RoW re-opened... we will inform the council's RoW officers that we managed to get through, that the man-made original obstruction (the concrete block) has been removed, and that we have moved the natural obstructions in the RoW, and that access has been re-opened.

And we're off... once again...

Spectacular view to our right on the way, and the promise - hopefully - later of some snow on the ground?

Next 'lane, a nice rocky climb up the side of the valley, around the Betws-Y-Coed area by now...

Up we go... I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

 

 

 

Bit tight?! 

 

 

 

 

 

At the top we meet a group of 'crossers and a quad, so we pull up and wait a while as they go down...

Brett's YouTube Video of the crawl up

Then we turn round and crawl back down again...

Behind the Big 'Cruiser, this will give you more of an idea of how tight it is!

 

 

 

Mind that tree Ben!

 

 

 

 

At this point I got out and positioned myself between the 'Cruiser and the bank on the right, and leaned hard onto the 'Cruiser to get it away from and past the tree!

Back in the truck, and catching up with Ben who's sailed down the rest of it...

But back at the bottom, the steering bar has bent again...

The jack and winch soon get it straight again though, and after a quick break (we never stop for long!) we're back on the road again...

Out of Betws-Y-Coed and heading for Capel Curig area...

And our next 'lane... over the top to Dolwyddelan...

Through the gate and onto a familiar 'lane (some will recognise it I'm sure)

Jimny, Jimny, 'Cruiser, Vitara...

Jimny! Poor Andy's at the back on gate duty...

Ben hasn't driven this lane before he remarks on the CB, so the two Jimnys pull over and let him go first...

Climbing up past the rock we've posed on so many times over the years!

Our little convoy snaking up...

Now following Gary...

 Love this lane...

Gary, with son Harry, climbing up the bend ahead of me...

And approaching the rock steps...

Lockright and crawler box make light work of it...

Andy climbing up behind me...

The sun setting, very early, in front of us...

Impressive, huh?

Brett's YouTube Video of following Ben up...

Still rising...

And up the top and over moorland...

 

 

 

 

 

I've stopped to shut the gate for Andy

Andy's awesome little red Jimny "Just truddlin' along" professes the sticker on the back...

Last stretch to the forestry...

And through another gate!

Dropping back down into Dolwyddelan...

 

 

Hmmm, more snow!, as we head towards Cynwyd, to take in the Wayfarer! 

Pausing on the way for a look at the "Corwen Carwash"... errr, not today thanks!

Up the tight end, the furthest, of the Wayfarer...

 

Brett's YouTube Video of the start of the Wayfarer...

There's a good few gates over the Wayfarer, so I pull over and wave Andy on, so that I can take a turn shutting countless gates...

 

Twisting round the boulders...

Some deep puddles!

Oooh, it looks white ahead?

Ah, yes, smatterings of snow still on the ground...

Getting whiter!

With brown puddle spashes... 

On the bridge, but no time to pose for a photo like I usually would, as we're beginning to lose the light...

Another gate to close...

Climbing up...

More gates...

Catching up after shutting a gate...

We seem to approaching mist?

Yes, a bit of a white-out!

No views today, visability is dwindling...

Getting worse as we approach the top...

And the snow's getting thicker!

Brett's YouTube Video... up to the summit of the Wayfarer...

At the top, a good 6" of snow, and a snowball fight ensues!

Strange place to find a concrete breeze block on top of a snow drift... we know what's under there then...

Digging down, we find... 

The visitors box! A metal box bolted to the rocks, full of visitors books, a lot of people who walk / ride / drive over the top stop and leave a note in the books...

So, above it we should find... under this snow...

The Wayfarer plaque!

End of the snowball fight, and back to the trucks, it's cold and inhospitable up here!

STEALTH!

Off we go... following Andy down, bringing up the rear and shuting the gates...

The light's fading by now... but it's only just after 4pm...

 

Eerie in the halflight, caused by the setting sun and the mist...

And hard to see the obstacles...!

The tin-shed shooting hut...

Steam entering the deep water before the climb up onto the railway sleepers laid over the swampy bit...

And down the stream like, stoney road... we see lights coming the other way...

A group of three Landy's back up a side lane to let us past, thanks guys

The concrete bridge towards the bottom...

And the drop back down towards the tarmac road out of the valley...

The fading light causes the camera not to auto-focus very well, and Andy's Jimny has tracer-lights...

At the bottom, and the lights of the Hand in Llanarmon D.C.

With losing the light, and we were all low in fuel by now, we followed the road out of the Ceriog Valley, and refuelled on the A483, and made our seperate ways home...

Another excellent day's 'laning...

More Pictures of the day here - Ben's Photobucket! 

Many thanks to Brett and Adam for leading and navigating and opening all the gates, Brett and (the lovely) Becky for making the Sausage Rolls, Andy for shutting most of the gates, and to my lovely wife Sarah for making sausage and bacon butties, tea, coffee, and Mince Roullards! And to Ben, Gary and Harry for the usual excellent company, commadery, and banter over the CBs... Cheers Guys!

They'll be no 'laning trip in January, as a few of us have other commitments, not least Brett getting married to the lovely Lynne, so we will be gathering for that! So we'll be back in February for our next trip...

So, to all our viewers of these blogs and videos -