Parkwood 4x4 Centre

"Tong", 12/02/12

A couple of times a year, I like to make the pilgrimage up to -

Parkwood 4x4 Centre in the tiny "Tong" Village betweem Leeds and Bradford. It's been my favourite site for many years, I've been going there for something like fifteen years!

It also made a good meeting point to drop off some wheels and tyres I had sold on eBay (Yes, off the X90, I'm afraid / ashamed to say that it's not going to be finished and I've been selling off the parts).

So first thing Sunday morning, around 7am -

I squeezed 3 Recip Trials tyres into the back, on top of my spare...

And another two on the passenger seat... Bit of a squeeze!

I then realised I couldn't see out of the back window, and I'd smashed my driver's side mirror against a tree on our last trip out, the 18th of December! Our little group hasn't been out for a while due to other commitments, Christmas, New Year, Brett's Wedding to the luly-Lynne, and with our next trip not scheduled until the 4th of March, I needed to get out and get my tyres muddy! Hence wandering off to Tong on my own, and conveniently to meet the tyre buyer at Tong's gates too...

Sorry, I digress, rambling off again as usual... So, I quickly swapped the mirror for a spare I had in the garage, and set off for the hour and three quarter trip to Yorkshire...

Worth the trip though, and my sister-in-law lives in Pudsey which is only a couple of mile from Tong, so I normally drop in for a cuppa while I'm there!

The gearing seemed suprisingly better now the 5.125:1 Diffs are fitted, and on the motorways it was doing 70mpg at 4,000rpm - the speedo is still slightly out due to the size of the tyres...!

A smattering of snow on the way...

I was worried about going over the moors, as with five tyres in the truck it would have been a bit of a chore climbing the inclines with the gearing upset by the larger tyres, but I needn't of worried as there were 50mph average speed camera right the way up the M62, so I had no problems keeping up with the flow of traffic...

I got there in good time, and was sat at the gate at 9:30 waiting to meet the tyre buyer. He was as prompt as me, and we soon exchanged notes for rubber, so a bit more going in the bank to settle my debts and loans, one of my new year's resolutions this year.

So I signed in - Parkwood4x4 insist on seeing your V5, MOT and Insurance - and grabbed a cuppa and a bacon, sausage and egg bap.

Surveying the car park of amassed vehicles waiting to go in, there was a majority of Land Rovers, and a few other marques, and 5 Jimnys and 3 Vitaras. Not knowing anyone there, as I'd gone on my own, I tagged along behind 3 equipped Jimnys (ironic really, as I usually 'lane with the rest of the group - in 3 Jimnys!)

A bit of snow on the ground, and I follow the three Jimnys - Green, Red then Blue - onto one of the black lanes - note the arrow on the tree, Parkwood (I keep wanting to call it Tong!) have very well laid out routes with Blue (anyone), Red (Tyres and a Lift) and Black (Kitted up and with a Winch).

Swimming through some of the waterholes... note the steam off the radiator...

A bit of ice-breaking, it's fairly thick and needs a few runs at it to get through...

You can see the sheet ice cracking...

But there's too much of a length to go out, so the green Jimny bails out onto the bank behind me...

Along the bank, and through another frozen water hole...

Following the red Jimny...

Then looking back at the blue Jimny coming through...

Ice-cold swim, poor Jimny!

And out the other side... I found out later that this was the lad's first time out in it since buying it... a baptism of fire indeed, or rather an icy bath!

Up an interesting gulley... I smile to myself at this point, as this is the area I first met Andy Whalley, many years ago...

Further up and the blue Jimny grounds out, at the very same spot I did during the JimnyMeet last year. He's running smaller tyres than the rest of his group, so the red one backs up to give him a tug forward...

Later, coming the other way... Terry, one of my best customers, in his trick Calmini / Bits4Vits prepped GV.

xSkirting the top of the lake, and round the left and up the gulley...

Nice and white... we've had no snow where I live  ... Yet!

Again the blue Jimny bottoms out... Tong , ah, I mean Parkwood, allow up to 35" tyres, so some of the ruts are deep...

So we leave him to have a wander on some of the other routes, and I continue to follow the red and green Jimnys...

Very capable Jimnys too, I'd have a Jimny if I didn't sell Vitara parts for a living!   One day...

Pausing to rescue a beached truck...

Top end of the lake again...

... and climbing out of the rocky gulley...

Quick dip again...

Dodging a drowned Landy... those seats are going to be wet in there...

Dropping down a deep gulley, follow the leader stylee...

LOL!

Liquid mud, no good for the brakes!

Stuck? me? Nooo... I'd just pulled a truck out on the left of us, and as they were stuck, we all winched out of the side of the gulley we were in...

Ummm, and that's all the pictures I took! Apart from this one -

After having a cuppa, I followed the dumper truck back into the site, looks like he had a bucket full of hardcore for an emergency repair somewhere!

So, having offroaded from 10 til 2, I'd had enough of going round in circles by then (hence the preference for 'laning?), and went back to the car park for another cuppa, wiped the lights and plates clean (keep the Police happy!) and then wandered round to my sister-in-laws for a cuppa, before wandering back home.

Another great day at Tong, err, Parkwood! No damage, although a front CV was clicking away towards the end, so that's going to need replacing soon, ready for our next laning trip on the 4th, up in the Peak District once again, so another blog then!

Many thanks to the three lads in the Jimnys for letting me join their group for much of the day.  They suggested trying Cowm Quarry one day, as I've never been there, so that's another one to pencil in the diary...

Hmmm, just been working out the fuel consumption for the day... it stopped me going in January, the thought of the expense for the day... But when I left on Sunday morning I had a quarter of a tank, I filled up at Chester and put £28 in, and then drove to Tong, drove round all day, then filled up before coming back, another £42, and got home with a quarter of a tank left, so that's £70 for the day. Considering it's a hundred miles there, and a hundred back, and driving round in circles for four hours, that's a lot better than I expected, part of it must have been the 50mph average speed cameras that kept my speed, and therefore my revs down... Chuffed with that, and chuffed with my truck... must get out more often!!!

Dave

(Based on 1 comment)