So with the Italian road trip now over and its participants hopefully recovered, I have decided to strike whilst the iron is hot and get cracking with organising the next Panda green lane adventure! I am proposing a weekend very similar to AndyPanda4x4's previous events, except we will be swapping the Yorkshire Dales for the Peak District! The Peaks has some fantastic green lanes and some even better scenery, it can easily rival the Dales that's for sure!

As per in the Dales on Saturday we will meet around lunchtime to allow travel time and then head out in the afternoon, mostly sticking to the tarmac and taking in the scenery, but with a few greenlanes thrown in for good measure. Sunday we will start early and get in a full day on the lanes and byways. At the moment I am declaring the Sunday a 4x4 only day as some of the proposed lanes involve steep inclines which will be too much for a 2WD car to handle.

The meeting point and base for the weekend will be at my home, located near to Leek in Staffordshire, we have plenty of room for Panda's and also plenty of room for camping if required, there are also many locals B&Bs and a Premier Inn only a short drive away, so accommodation is well covered for those travelling far.

The first thing we need to do is finalise a date, we have three possible weekends at the moment, these are:

1. 29th & 30th August (possibly 31st aswell)
2. 5th & 6th September
3. 12th & 13th September

If everyone who wants to attend can declare which weekends they are available I can then make a final decision based on the most popular weekend. I am hoping we can get a good number of cars and people, although I do understand that it is a little short notice for some. If the bank holiday weekend turns out on top, we have the option of turning it into a three day event and also the possibility of visiting a local Pay and Play site on the Sunday.

You will have also noticed from the title that a new name has been devised for these off road events. AndyPanda4x4 will explain more...

There will be more details once a date is decided, but for now I will leave you with a taster of what to expect from one of my previous trips:









Edit:

Check out the Gallery!

Thank you panda1408 this sounds fantastic to us.

Either of the September weekends please. The first track looks traversable by all and the second by none - unless bridging centre to side is doable...
After last weekend, I think we'd give most things a go (well Pandamonious_Maximous will).

Brilliant, any date is okay for me I just need to book a days holiday with work first as I work Sundays usually.

Will be good to test the mk3 out properly unless LVJ comes out of hiding!

Are those Defenders usually parked in the way - will we need to winch them?

Excellent, thanks Andy and John

To keep things organised if everyone can add to the list below that would be great:

panda1408 1,2&3
andyholli 2&3
panda panda 1,2&3

In regards to the tracks, ruts etc, I will be making sure everywhere we go is suitable for a standard 4x4, I certinaly don't want to do any damage to my own car so would not want anyone else do any to theirs. I have been wanting to organise a weekend like this for a while, but lack of a suitable 4x4 Panda to use to ensure the lanes are suitable has stopped me.

I'd like to go - might take the mk3 again, as Howie does still seem to sit down on rocks - I know the sump guard does its job, but it's not a relaxing sound!!

Anyway, 12/13 Sept would be good. Can do 29/30 Aug but was planning to go to the Brill Beer Festival and Blenheim Palace (good combo of shows, eh?!) that weekend. As long as a decision is fairly quick I can also do 5/6 Sept - my booking form for the Buntingford show is waiting to be posted, so I'll hold onto it for a while!!

Looking forward to it already Freddy!

Oops, sorry, was typing while you put a list there.....

panda1408 1,2&3
andyholli 2&3
panda panda 1,2&3
Palio 3, 1 & 2 (in order of preference).

I'll shut up in a minute..... Freddy, once a weekend is set, can I invite some journalist friends? Probably won't be able to make it, but 3 are Panda fans and have expressed an interest in the past. :idea:

Palio said:

I'll shut up in a minute..... Freddy, once a weekend is set, can I invite some journalist friends? Probably won't be able to make it, but 3 are Panda fans and have expressed an interest in the past. :idea:

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Yes, that would be fantastic! The mk3 is more than welcome by the way, I was really impressed with it last time so would be great to see it in action again Hoping I can finalise the date sometime next week

panda1408 1,2&3
andyholli 2&3
panda panda 1,2&3
Palio 3, 1 & 2
Kolza 0,4

Our Island trip covers weekends 1& 2& 3 so if those dates are firm I might be not in the game.

Thanks Freddy, sounds ace. Womder if this is an achievable target for my car....
panda1408 1,2&3
andyholli 2&3
panda panda 1,2&3
Palio 3, 1 & 2
Kolza 0,4
Aquamarine 1,2&3

Sign me up.
if Fallout is not on the road by then, i will be in Talon.
i would rather damage fallout than talon though.

all and any day is good for me. i just need to be told when and where.

panda1408 1,2&3
andyholli 2&3
panda panda 1,2&3
Palio 3, 1 & 2
Kolza 0,4
Aquamarine 1,2&3

Freebo 1,2&3

This sounds like a great substitute for the Italy trip, I'll have a word with boss later. We are going to Germany at around the same time so can't give availability yet, but happy to fit in with what's decided.

If we can make it can I book a space for a Panda tent please Freddy!

andyholli - 2&3
Aquamarine - 1,2&3
Dragon Man - 1,2,3
Freebo - 1,2&3
Kolza - 0,4
Palio - 3, 1 & 2
panda1408 - 1,2&3
panda panda - 1,2&3

hello guys !!!

congratulations for your 1st british panda-day !!


We had our panda-day 1 week before the international meeting, this is the link with pictures :
http://www.panda4x4.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13183

Have fun !
Mirko from Italy

Well, I honestly was not expecting such a good response so quickly - brilliant, thanks everyone!

Weekend 3 looks like it might be favourite at the moment, but we will see how things pan out in the next few days, I will say though if we end up with many more cars I may have to look into splitting us up into two groups for the green lanes, large convoys are not taken too favourably!
kolza, sorry you can't make it I'm afraid I'll be keeping the dates the same, I chose them as they seemed the best with regards to amount of notice and also still having a chance of good weather. Hopefully next time you will be able to make it

Will get your name put down for a pitch VmanC!

panda1408 said:

Well, I honestly was not expecting such a good response so quickly - brilliant, thanks everyone!

Weekend 3 looks like it might be favourite at the moment, but we will see how things pan out in the next few days, I will say though if we end up with many more cars I may have to look into splitting us up into two groups for the green lanes, large convoys are not taken too favourably!

kolza, sorry you can't make it I'm afraid I'll be keeping the dates the same, I chose them as they seemed the best with regards to amount of notice and also still having a chance of good weather. Hopefully next time you will be able to make it

Will get your name put down for a pitch VmanC!

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I can bring a Panda tent, but you won't catch me sleeping in it again! Premier Inn sounds favourite!!

Palio said:

I can bring a Panda tent, but you won't catch me sleeping in it again! Premier Inn sounds favourite!!

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With mine too that would make three! (Yes I do have a Panda tent!) Thought you would go for the Premier Inn though Gavin

panda1408 said:

With mine too that would make three! (Yes I do have a Panda tent!) Thought you would go for the Premier Inn though Gavin

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Yes, camping isn't for me, especially in a Panda tent! To be fair I did it wrong - I was meant to sleep in the car & use the tent for storage, but it's still not beating a Premier Inn tbh!