LAND-ROVER SERIES II
RUN BY Martin Port OWNED SINCE March 2016 PREVIOUS REPORT August
After the Le Mans trip, I had planned to give the Series II some overdue love before the next big journey. But it didn’t extend beyond replacing the points and setting the valve clearances before work took over. So before heading north, the oil and water were checked, camping gear was thrown in the back, and son Dylan and I pointed the Landie towards Shropshire.
A quiet Sunday-morning M4 comprised the first half hour of our journey, but from there on it was a combination of A- and B-roads through Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. The Series II rumbled along, despite rapidly increasing temperatures at the tail end of the UK’s second heatwave.
We had pulled into a fuel station to grab a sandwich and drink when Dylan pointed to an old David Brown tractor across the road. The memories came flooding back: I’d stood in the same spot almost 15 years earlier and pointed out the very same tractor to C&SC’s late chief sub-editor David Evans. He had given me a lift to Leominster to collect my auction-purchase Porsche 912, and we had stopped at the same garage so I could buy him lunch ‘for the road’ as he carried on back to London.
We continued on our way, stopping at the gateway to Hampton Court Castle near Hope under Dinmore for a photo, then in a shady lay-by to cool off.
With just 35 miles left to cover until our overnight stop, we relaxed for the final hour of driving – before finally arriving at Foxholes Castle campsite, in Bishops Castle, by mid-afternoon, at which point an exhausted and overheated Dylan collapsed on the floor and lay face down while the warm breeze offered slight relief.
The campsite was set within the stunning Shropshire countryside, and the presence of the Trans-Africa Series II wasn’t entirely out of character: rumour has it that Haile Selassie, former Emperor of Ethiopia, visited Foxholes in 1938.
The following morning we were up early, packed away and, with the Welsh border in sight, headed towards more stunning scenery. The last time I visited Snowdonia was for the September 2018 issue, when I drove Roger Crathorne’s Series One from Anglesey to Solihull. That was in the middle of winter; this time, despite cloud cover and a steady mist of drizzle, it was a little warmer to say the least.
Once again, the location didn’t disappoint. I decided to take a slightly different route from last time, but we did traverse some familiar areas – pausing for the obligatory photographs while making slow but steady progress. Our average speed
