Having been too slow to book the self drive day at Eastnor in April, I have managed to book on to the day on 16 June.

The idea, as I understand it, is that you drive your vehicle in a convoy which is led and followed by LR staff in LRE vehicles. Each vehicle is given a radio and you are given instruction about obstacles etc. as you go round.

I'm told, by LRE, that it is designed for off road virgins like myself. Really looking forward to taking the RRS off road even if in a somewhat contrived fashion. But I like the idea of having someone there who knows what's going on

Has anyone else done one of these days? Anyone else going on the 16 June? 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

I've done it in a freelander 2 (was the only 1 there on the day and coped just fine)

Its exactly as you said, you leave in a convoys, LRE guy up front, and 1 behind...with 5 vehicles between them. Everybody has radios, and some vehicles are kitted up with winches etc incase somebody gets stuck

You do get to push your vehicle's abilities quite a bit, but nothing too insane or damaging.

VERY good day out.

Thanks for the heads up about the Eastnor Self-Drive on June 16 - signed-up and so looking forward to driving my own Sport off-road. Driven one a couple of times during Land Rover Experience days, but never my own.

Had a bit of a battle getting off-road insurance mind, but got there in the end! 2011 Range Rover Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE

Where did you get the off road insurance and how much was it? 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

After a bit of a struggle ringing around, I took out a policy with Adrian Flux. My insurance was up for renewal, so I wanted to ensure that I was insured for Green Laning as well as off-roading on my new policy, but it would appear as if not too may insurers are interested in cars worth over £30k.

I have it in writing now from Adrian Flux that my policy covers me for use at a 4x4 off-road centre - such as LRE - although I'm not insured for time trials and competitions. The actual policy is with Equity Redstar and was arranged through the 4x4 department of Adrian Flux. 2011 Range Rover Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE

Ah, I see. I'm going to have a chat with my insurer about use at Eastnor although the small print does seem to exclude anything that isn't driving on the Queen's highway.

I might ask a trackday insurer as they will usually do a one day policy.

I might try Adrian Flux too, thanks for that pointer.

To be honest, I'm more worried about insuring for 3rd party liability than insuring the car itself; the former is a potential bottomless pit if someone claims, the latter is at least a quantifiable personal risk.

When my insurance is due for renewal then I might change insurer. Thing is, my current one is pretty good and we have a multi-car discount etc. ... tricky. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Typically a few days after I took out the insurance with Adrian Flux, I had a call from NFU Mutual who would cover me for Green Laning AND off-road - and all for a tenner more than I paid - so worth giving them a try too. 2011 Range Rover Sport 3.0 TDV6 HSE

I've done the Convoy days with LRE Scotland in both a Defender and a Disco 3 ... The first one convinced me to chop the defender in for a disco.... basically i came to the conclusion i was never going to do anything on my own that a D4/RRS could not handle.

Have Fun 2011 MY- RRS HSE - Zermatt -Ebony-Piano .... its a monochrome world

2006- BMW Z4M Roadster -Titanium Silver

Club - Ex Defender & Disco 3

I spoke to my insurance company who confirmed that if I'm off road but somewhere public (a green lane for example) then I'm covered. If I'm off road but somewhere private (LRE presumably) then I'm not covered.

I guess anywhere that is publically accessible and legal to be driven on/around has to be covered by virtue of the Road Traffic Act.

Anyway, I'll check the public/private status of Eastnor before paying for more insurance.

I guess it might be just as easy to buy a trackday insurance this time and then change at renewal time in August. Although I wonder if all insurance companies might make the same public/private land distinction? 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Well, I went to Eastnor on Saturday. Perfect weather for it - wet on the day and had been wet for days before. So lots of water and mud around.

The day's session starts with coffee and biscuits. Then the most simple of briefings. The cars were each checked for battery security, steering play, brake pressure etc. All very informal although they would doubtless refuse entry to the grounds if anything was found. No problems within our group.

Our group consisted of a FFRR, a D3, a couple of D1s, 3 Defenders and a VW Touareg. Oh yes, and my RRS TDV8!

The group was split in to a 5 and a 4 with a leading LRE Defender 110, the same between the two groups and another at the rear. So 3 LRE Defender 110s to keep us all safe.

The trip started on gentle tracks - moving from broken tarmac to a gravel-type surface. Initial obstacles are of the concrete type and a shallow wading ditch. It feels like you're doing good stuff but is obviously fairly straight forward. After a bit of this, some further tracks with deeper wheel tracks etc. This part of the session was all quite simple although, at the time, it felt like we were putting the vehicles through their paces. Little did we know.

The session was split in two with a brief break for a cuppa / sarnie after about an hour. After the break, we spent an hour and a half in the woods. The tracks got quite "interesting" in places. Indeed, at some points watching the lead LRE vehicle made me wonder if I'd bitten off more than I could chew. The RRS? It didn't miss a beat and made the whole thing so very easy. Never once did we lose traction or bottom out (although the side steps did rub on a couple of narrow steps). I used Mud & Ruts on Terrarin Response with the Low Ratio box and Off Road height selected. Low 1 and 2 was used throughout with occasional forays in to Low 3 for some tracks.

When we came to the wading trenches, the lead LRE asked us to wait while he went ahead as they were "full up" and he didn't want us to risk our vehicles if they were too deep. He got through and said it was fine although as his mats got wet, we could elect to go around if we liked. Of course, we all went swimming (except the Touareg - it's owner wasn't sure about it's wading limits, or where the air intake was, so sensibly elected to bypass the wading). Interestingly, the instructor said that the RRS had the deepest rated wading depth of our group of 3 Defenders and a D1. The RRS went through nicely with no leaks. I did notice later that the outer door seal on the NSR door had let a little water through but the inner seal had dealt with that and my carpets are nice and dry! I measured the tide mark and it seems that the water was some 600mm deep. This was my first proper attempt at wading and after some instruction, my second run saw a proper bow wave and a "well done, perfect" over the radio. On my first run I'd been too slow it seems.

I was amazed at how easy the RRS made the whole business of going through rough conditions. Whilst we didn't see any deep mud, there was a lot of water about and the ground looked like it would be difficult to walk on in places. The Sport never broke traction and the HDC was brilliant when we used it. The Pirelli Scorpion ATR tyres were also excellent and appear to have suffered no damage. They gave great traction throughout.

So, in summary, the Sport is very capable off road (in the situations we put it in on Saturday, anyway) and has the added benefit of being a comfortable everyday car when not off road. If anyone says to me "They're crap off road" I shall look at them with a slightly smug smile and reply "If you say so".

The only bad thing from the day is that the side steps have got some scrapes on the side trims (not that I'm at all worried by that). Oh, and I have a need to go and do some more off roading - I think I'll book another self drive as soon as possible. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Sounds a great day RRSTDV8
When I did my LRE day at Luton Hoo, the guys said the RRS was the most capable of the lot and was their 'go to' vehicle to recover everything else.
Its a shame as with all that capability, I fear I'll probably only ever use about 2%, nice to know its there if I do ever need it though  ON THE WAY: BMW F21 M140i
MERCEDES GL350 - Metallic Navy Blue w/Grey interior

GOING: BMW F31 335D MSport+ xDrive Touring
GONE: Land Rover Discovery 4 HSE - Stornaway Grey w/Black Interior (wish we'd kept it )
GONE: BMW F10 520D MSport - Carbon Black
GONE:MY12 RRS SDV6 HSE Sumatra/Ivory/Grand Black Privacy glass

Great report buddy. I may book for the next event.

Jim

Going again on Saturday (6th Oct).

Anyone thinking they fancy it should give LRE Eastnor a ring as they might have a spare place still. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed