Off Road in London?
In many countries they have the enviable luxury of thousands of acres of beautiful countryside in which to roam free in their 4 wheel drives. Australia, Canada & America, how we envy you. As you enter Europe, populations increase whilst land mass available starts to shrink at a frightening rate. Enter a city the size of London, local government frowns upon us driving in the parks whilst others go about walking their dogs or flying their kite. Living in London one would expect to travel 50 or more miles to find a place to get ones tyres dirty.
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However, hidden only 7 miles from the Tower of London in an easterly direction as the raven flies is London's best kept off-road secret. On the last Sunday of every month, those few who have been quietly whispered the word, load their high lift Jacks. Pull the tow ropes out of storage and quietly head to a south east London suburb called Thamesmead. |
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4wd.sofcom.com/News/1999/990309.London.html |
Gently nestled beside old mother Thames and the housing developments of Thamesmead, Plumstead and Woolwich lies a vast tract of land that until very recently belonged to the central government war department. Now that the cold war has melted a little, the benefits to the 4x4 community are now becoming available. Cheap and plentiful ex-military Land Rovers to play with, and ex-military sites to play on...... yes...... there is a God! |
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Being a none conformist, I chose not a Lode Lane product, but something a little different, a UMM Transcat (right) from some wine growing area of Portugal. Built from the parts bin of many European car manufactures with a very solid chassis of French origin, my Transcat turns many heads, most to say "what the hell was that". It's basic, solid, reliable and puts to shame many vehicles costing more than I can afford. |
 UMM Transcat |
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So if your stuck in London, and you happen to notice that it's the last Sunday of the month, quietly find your way over to Thamesmead for the best four wheel drive fun in London. The photos are from the last off-road London day on the 28 Feb 1999. As you can see not everything comes from Lode Lane. - Graham Ellis, 3/1999. |
