Three White Vitara out for a "bimble" again! LOL... Bimble is a word my mate Richie uses... not one I've heard before, it's not in my huge dictionary, so I google'd it! -

So there you go! To "bimble" is to have a bit of a wander... lol, it is a "real" word then!!!

Anyway, we thought we'd start driving some of the lanes close to home... So I've highlighted all the BOATs (Byway Open to All Traffic) and UCRs (UnClassified Roads) on Landranger sheet 116... and we thought we'd drive them all... eventually! ;)

So the first one is known as "The Conquering Hero" (no idea why?)  and runs from SJ 17791 45552 to SJ 15896 46907 when driven North West - bottom right to top left in the map below...

Visibility was low -

And the lane was quite flooded in places -

Errr, visibility? That's the "view" to the right into the valley?! -

This is the very tight gate at SJ 16261 46807 - it's hard getting a Vitara through, nevermind anything bigger... it looks like a new fence, as the old one was lying in the field beyond... made tight to put off us greenlaners I suppose? :(

And here at SJ 16081 47037 rocks have been laid to indicate the correct Right of Way -

End of the lane at SJ 15891 46907

Then onto the next lane - running from SJ 13966 63378 to 15976 65088 when driven in the North East direction, i.e. bottom left to top right on the map below -

Didn't get many photos on this route, it's a nice stony climb -

Through loads of vegetation line tracks! -

And spectacular views on the top... even better if the weather had been kinder!

Dropping back down again -

Then on to drive a BOAT that runs from SJ 16176 66083 to SJ 17106 67118, again when driven North Easterly...

Not hard to miss this one! Very rare to see a BOAT signposted so well! ;)

Nice lane that I last drove years ago - here's a picture from 26/11/02! Much more overgrown back then.

Down the hill -

Again, great signage for he Bridleway that crosses the BOAT at SJ 16771 66718

Very overgrown at the bottom of the lane around SJ 17056 67053, just before the BOAT forks left and right -

Speaking of which! When we reach the fork we meet a gamekeeper coming up the lane... and he stops for a chat, not realising that the lane is a public right of way... Richie shows him the map of where we are, and mentions we've got GPS mapping on the laptop in the vehicle behind... in the end we're there for a good ten minutes, as it transpires his wife has a Vitara! LOL

Love the little Mule! Love to have a go in that!

After the chat we do a three point turn in the fork - as planned - and head back up the lane following the little Mule!

At the top of the BOAT we turn right and head for SJ 14851 65888 to rejoin the B-roads to head for our next lane...

On the way we take in a quick green UCR running from SJ 13736 59423 to SJ 13326 60263 when driven northerly -

Nice lane! Greener than it looked on the map, looked like a UCR, just a tarmac lane, but it wasn't, quite long too -

We were heading to do the next lane shown in red again below, but spotted a BOAT just after the little hamlet of Llangwfan, and thought we'd go for a look - the one in the black oval below -

Hmmm, took a couple of attempts to find it, even with the GPS mapping software pinpointing where we were, but eventually came across these three farms gates -

The one right in front seemed to be the Right of Way, but it just headed across the field, and looks like it hasn't been used for years, no tracks to indicate it's presesence... so I squeezed back up past the church -

Bit tight that! LOL

So we turned up to start the BOAT at SJ 12996 66418, our eventual target being around SJ 12106 69008, when driven in the northerly direction...

Starting the lane through overgrown undergrowth...

We stopped to open a gate, and my Vitara wouldn't start again? Seemed like a dead battery, so Richie backed up and I bumped it in reverse to get it going again... strange?

Spectacular views to the left down into the Vale of Clwyd... sad to see all that flooding though! :( Nice silhouette of Cadbury!

The yellow route indicator on the map above gives an idea of what happened next...! I went to wind up the windows due to a bit of mud flicking up, and the laptop shutdown, and the GPS said "external power lost"...

Looks like the alternator had packed up...! Luckily we were just about by the track at SJ 12106 67988, so we limped back down the hill, with just engine braking, no servo, no power steering, until we met the B5429 where we parked up and waited for the nice man in the yellow van to arrive! -

Thanks heavens for that little yellow card! Ten minute charge off the AA van, and then he followed me home!

So, and earlish finish to the day... we'd only gone out for a morning "bimble" but even that was slightly curtailed...

LOL, new alternator, and we'll be out again soon...