General Panda 4x4 off-road…

[NigelO]

Having missed the snow last week, my son and I travelled to Lake Vyrnwy in North Wales for some early-morning photography. We learned that standard 169 headlamps are a bit weedy down unlit Welsh lanes - need to fix that with some LED spotlamps - any suggestions for small, square long-throw lamps?

Anyway, after a couple of hours of photography and drone-flying, we drove towards Bala and found a track. Be rude not to try…

The track was a bit steep in places, quite rocky with some really deep puddles / small ponds. I was a bit anxious about getting stuck at some points, but the car just shrugged it off. 6 miles in 90 minutes is more an indication of me being careful than the severity of the track. Still - a good introduction to its capabilities. Last time I went off-roading was in a 4 litre V8 Range Rover, which couldn’t have been more different. The little Panda is far more capable than it has any right to be - well impressed.

I bashed the sump guard a few times, got it very wet and muddy and scratched the sides driving through heather and tree branches, but it was already scruffy, so I really don’t care - very liberating! Max altitude was about 2,100 feet, so it was a bit bleak up there.

Some photos by my son:

 

[koalar]

Wild camped
Walked, kayaked and cycled that area

I had no phone signal on the Lake Vyrnwy side, and had just driven through a fire both sides the road and going over the top of the car, drove a bit further and saw a light on in a farm and got them to phone the fire brigade, they said it was was a farmer burning the Heather, anyhow a bit later on we saw the fire engines rush back


Use to be like a day trip before petrol became so expensive

 

[NigelO]

It’s one of my favourite areas for photography - managed to grab these on Saturday - quite pleased with them

 

[jrkitching]

Mid wales is much underrated, and a most pleasant escape from the tourist nightmare that Snowdonia has become.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Renegades from Pistonheads eh, whatever next?

 

[NigelO]

Renegades from Pistonheads eh, whatever next?

Definitely - the Fiat / Alfa / Lancia forum is a bit sparse on Pistonheads, so I always come here for anything to do with the Panda, although it does have its own readers cars thread on PH. However, Pistonheads is a lot better for Aston knowledge - the Aston specific forums can sometimes come across as a bit elitist and too biased for the old Newport Pagnell cars. Gaydon cars can sometimes be seen as ‘second-class’

 

[koalar]

It’s one of my favourite areas for photography - managed to grab these on Saturday - quite pleased with them

Thanks for sharing
Cool photos