After a long stretch at the desk yesterday I treated myself to a dusk trip up into the Downs in the Land Rover. Leaving the main road along a little known and steep track, the tarmac turned to slush then hard, packed grey and white ice. It is the first time in years that I have come across a situation that my Defender has struggled in. The words of a 4×4 expert I know came to mind, ‘Sometimes the number of wheels doesn’t matter, if there is no traction, then there is no traction.’ I parked, wedged some rocks under the wheels and scrambled up a steep shortcut on all fours.
The rewards were moody fluctuating skies, an angry wind and great views.