Greenlaning

As threatened, I have returned from an enjoyable day in Co. Durham/N. Yorks and will reflect a little on it.

I am a recent convert to driving the byways of England and Wales and am pleased that it allows me to get into the countryside and see places off the beaten track whilst taking the challenge of traversing roads which are not the usual Tarmac. Despite changes to the law there are still routes open to motorised vehicles.......look for signs that say byway note NOT bridleways, thats for the horsey people, nor foot paths, those are for the ramblers and walkers, but also can have signage such as "not suitable for motor vehicles", which is code for public road but the council don't maintain it, so go down at your own risk. The responsible greenlaners spend much preparation time on checking on Ordnance Surveys maps for legal routes.

A 4x4 vehicle is a must and preferably one with proper low range gearbox, suitable tyres and which will not cause tears if it gets muddy or scratched, so ruling out 2010 BMWs or £60,000 worth of late model Range Rover. Most of them being confined to dropping the kids off at school and shopping at Sainsburys.

I have a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, others have Landrover, Discovery, Nissan Patrols, Suzuki and various others.

But perhaps the surprising thing is that there is still lots of space in this crowded isle, we were out for 7 hours and only saw one other group of cars and a handful of walkers on the more popular spots. We covered a Roman Road, part of the Pennine Way and some hills with spectacular views.

I offer this brief glimpse well aware that some readers may find such a pursuit strange or even objectionable, feel free to post a comment, I would welcome the debate.
Lots of clubs for those interested and as always you meet nice people, many of whom would be happy to offer prospective members the chance to ride along. It just shows that even at 60, there is still new challenges and opportunities available.