Laning Trips
The Club organises monthly accompanied Laning trips
Salisbury Plain Year end laning trip 2019
Have done the usual formalities of loading up computers and navigation devices some decide to install recovery gear instead of fail to prepare, or should it be prepare to fail ? All fuelled up we head in convoy to the easier lanes around Amesbury and after a short while we find ourselves exiting beneath the motorway culvert and heading south towards the Ridgeway.
Driving through the numerous villages en-route it is evident that the river Avon has breached its banks along its entire length and it is hard to distinguish the rivers course from the surrounding flood plains so we drive in elevation to Wilton and the (almost) start of the byway. Having previously driven the first 500 meters on an earlier trip and finding it extensively overgrown and more akin to something from the Borneo jungle challenge we elect to commence at the racecourse to avoid possible damage and the need to bring out the paint brushes again. Being a long lane we decided to stop for a “tea” break and make use of the field latrines , all refreshed we continued to the end of this byway and now head north with a thirty minute roadwork drive ahead of us to the Salisbury plains.
Just south of the plains at Stapleford it`s time for a change of drivers in the lead vehicle and now we are heading towards Stone Henge and the monument, which has literally hundreds of visiters attending and long queues for coaches to the visitercentre. A quick wave to the resident druid community that are encamped by the henge as we pass by, and onward to the more muddy areas around Larkhill . The call comes over the comms “ horse riders ahead” so we duly all pull of the track with engines turned off , the passing riders gratefully acknowledge the jesture. With six defenders all restarting their engines in unison it was remarked that the ensuing smoke cloud was like a scene from the battle of the bulge film when the panzer tiger tank division fired up .
Starting to lose the light now so onward through the muddier sections around the” village “were as Clarkson would say “speed & power” are the order of the day soon arriving at the place where some members opted for the deeper aquatic route so of course videos at the ready but all ok. Time to think about heading home so navigation set for passage along roller coaster byway leading to Yarnbury castle which was full of water, and upon exit all vehicles where remarkably void of mud which had been so generously collected throughout the day
Clean up time now, pleasantries exchanged, another successful adventure with no damages and no dramas, although a large bush did leap out in front of the lead vehicle a one point, everbody safe,250miles round trip. 73`s to those that know and a happy new year to all.
Report by Chris West
