[X]

Monthly Archives: April 2013

LouiseLimbLouise Limb

Land Rover Freelander TD4 ES Buying a ‘new’ second-hand 4×4 is always daunting, yet as I open the first of two service books in the neatly presented folder and survey the almost spotless leather upholstery, I feel better. The passenger seat looks barely used, the back seat pristine. At first glance, only the slightly worn leather covering steering wheel bears witness to the 200K mile club membership the Freelander has earned itself. The first full service took place at Herbert Engels dealership in Krankelsweg on 16th January 2002, with 5184 miles on the clock and the most recent, including the air con in July 2012 at 200,513 miles at Hunters Land Rover in Derby, along with replacement of a chafed intercooler hose. Further inspection of the most recent of the pile of photocopied receipts reveals that the brakes were overhauled in November 2012.  A tiny patch of rust under the rear nearside window mars an otherwise near flawless body, joined by a couple of superficial car park dents along the doors and the road grime of one last sleet filled journey from Essex to a family run garage in Skipton where the last exceptionally careful owner traded it in for a Freelander 2 (also with a fair few miles under its tyres).

May 2013 Issue of 4×4 Magazine

May coverIn these times of hi tech complication, smart this and Twit-Faced that, it feels almost cathartic to just get back to basics. And that is certainly what this magazine’s friend and former colleague Ros Woodham has done this issue in her excellent tale of driving to Morocco. Now Ros has a slight advantage over most of us in that she lives in Spain, which is quite a major step nearer the Saharan sands than Surrey, but what we liked about her tale was how uncomplicated it all was.

Firstly, she used her loved, but certainly not pampered, 28-year old Land Rover, and then threw in a tourist map, a compass, her boyfriend and headed south. You can read the story in this issue, but it does make you realise that overlanding is more about the state of your mind than the state of your bank balance. It’s also worth considering that if a trip like this is on your ‘to do’ list, global political tensions are limiting exactly where you can explore; and nowhere is that more obvious than North Africa. Could Morocco be one of the last bastions of overlanding dreams?