What A Winter

February 23, 2011

Sorry not to have been posting much for ages, but I have just been getting on and driving my ancient RAV4 and although it is now showing its age bigtime, it is still just about keeping going (and a new temperature gauge sender calms the nerves no end!).

What really has impressed me is how well it dealt with the extreme conditions during December and January — and without winter tyres being fitted. One journey from London to the boat in Aberdeen looked at best speculative: I sailed up a snowy Shap summit in Cumbria and thought that this would be the most testing part, alas the snow was much thicker on Beattock and I thought the game would be up there. Fortunately, this and the later M8 was just about passable in the trusty RAV (although many other cars did not seem to be finding it so), but was told by my radio that the road to Aberdeen was closed. Again, the going was not fast, but I pulled up on the quayside along with a couple of trucks who had also made it through a good foot or more of snow — quite a testament to a sixteen year old RAV that is far from being in the first flush of youth!

A most impressed owner.

George

February 23, 2011

Sorry not to have been posting much for ages, but I have just been getting on and driving my ancient RAV4 and although it is now showing its age bigtime, it is still just about keeping going (and a new temperature gauge sender calms the nerves no end!).
What really has impressed me is how well it dealt with the extreme conditions during December and January — and without winter tyres being fitted. One journey from London to the boat in Aberdeen looked at best speculative: I sailed up a snowy Shap summit in Cumbria and thought that this would be the most testing part, alas the snow was much thicker on Beattock and I thought the game would be up there. Fortunately, this and the later M8 was just about passable in the trusty RAV (although many other cars did not seem to be finding it so), but was told by my radio that the road to Aberdeen was closed. Again, the going was not fast, but I pulled up on the quayside along with a couple of trucks who had also made it through a good foot or more of snow — quite a testament to a sixteen year old RAV that is far from being in the first flush of youth!
A most impressed owner.
George

Nice one George - sounds like quite an epic. You forgot/chose to ignore the ferry journey once you got to Aberdeen. If I were a betting man I would have a small wager that it was not without it's excitement at that time of year. It would all seem pretty good fun sat by a decent fire with a small measure of your local "internal chest embrocation". I've only seen Orkney in the dark from the deck of the ferry to Shetland, but I have it marked down for a visit - with the RAV.

February 24, 2011

Yep - RAVs are for life !!!

February 24, 2011

Nice one George - sounds like quite an epic.

It was, I have done this journey many a time, but this was way out in front when it comes to its epic status — almost as nail-biting as once when I drove a Singer Chamois (aka Hillman Imp) from Orkney to London with a known leaking head gasket!

You forgot/chose to ignore the ferry journey once you got to Aberdeen.

Actually, this was not too bad (very much worse last week, for example), but the few of us on the ferry did laugh quite a bit at the evening tele news that told us we could not have got to Aberdeen without getting stuck in a snowdrift.

I've only seen Orkney in the dark from the deck of the ferry to Shetland, but I have it marked down for a visit - with the RAV.

In the winter you cannot see it any other way, of course, but do fill up your tank before venturing forth, petrol has just hit well the other side of £1.45 a litre on the off islands.

When