MOOCH - DENBIGH TO DOLGELLAU

Including an overnight camp, James’ plan was to lead a variety of vehicles, including a 2CV, around some of the more scenic and less challenging green lanes around North Wales.

It promised to be an interesting and fun weekend, but due to unforeseen circumstances, quite a few people dropped out.

And so, on what was probably the hottest weekend of the year, yours truly trundled down to Denbigh in the 3 door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon to meet up with James in his 70 series Land Cruiser, and his parents, Rob and Lindsey in their well equipped 120 Land Cruiser.

After introductions and a brief chat we set off in search of our first lane.

Lane 1 - sJ0057-02

This is a lane of two halves, if that makes sense. From east to west SJ0057-02 begins with a drive through farmland, and as I followed James, the ruts that carve their way through the field got a little deeper, okay for 4x4s with decent clearance, but I’d be a bit wary in smaller 4x4s with less ground clearance.

Upon reaching the next gate, the lane changes from ‘deep ruts through a field’ to a narrow hard surfaced forestry track. This second section is quite a pretty lane, but with vegetation on both sides you can expect the odd light scratch.

If you check out Trailwise 2, there’s a cracking photo by Darren Corner from around 3 years ago of this section covered in a blanket of snow - very picturesque.

After another brief chat we made our way onto the B4501 (Evo Triangle), towards Cerrigydrudion, then the A5, A543 and onto our second lane.

Lane 2 - SH8753-05

Because I was in the press Wrangler and didn’t have a CB, I ended up in the middle which, being selfish, was a good thing on this particular lane as there are an awful lot of gates!

With fantastic views, if you’re lucky enough to have decent weather, SH8753-05 is a lovely lane with a solid surface that makes it suitable for all 4x4s, it’s also one of three lanes that gets us to our third lane, the one that would take us up to the ‘Lost Lake’. As nice and scenic as it is, I probable won’t drive it again, especially if I’m alone, simply because of the amount of gates for not necessarily a long lane

Lane 3 - SH8753-04

I first drove this lane last month with Lauren, GLASS’ Media officer and Roy from 4x4 Obsession when I had the Defender 90, and despite being a dead end, it’s a cracking lane that’s relatively easy to drive.

The majority of the lane is hard surfaced and suitable for most 4x4s, but as Lauren wrote on TW2, those with lower ground clearance may need to be careful of a couple of sections, a stock Freelander will do it but you will scrape underneath a bit in places.

The last section, as you drive down towards the lake, becomes a bit gnarly with a few deep puddles in between banks, then there’s a side slope of approx 30° just before the end that looks and feels a little hairy.

Arriving at the end, Ian from www.90dirtyadventures.com had set up camp next to the derelict farmhouse, and with friends was enjoying a few days camping.

Within a few minutes of arriving we could see a cloud of dust in the distance and the unmistakable sound of trail bikes, and within the next 15 minutes or so a large contingency of bikers arrived half a dozen or so at a time. By all accounts it was a charity bike ride - never did find out what the charity was.

After a good chat, lunch and a paddle in the lake to cool off, it was time to be on our way again.

One last thing, as James wrote on Trailwise 2, “I would suggest a minimum of 31" tyres to give the clearance required to get all the way to the abandoned farmhouse.” I concur, it can be a bit gnarly.

Lane 4 - SH7452-02

Driving from east to west, SH7452-02 runs parallel with the railway and has a few downward steps to negotiate, it’s also quite narrow in places too which can make it fun getting out to open and shut gates. The interesting bit comes when you have to drive under the railway bridge. It isn’t that it’s narrow, actually it is, but it’s the 90º tight, right hand turn that can be tricky, especially for LWB 4x4s. Despite the tall banking and a stone brick wall, there’s just enough space for a 3, or 4 point turn for longer vehicles.

Once under the bridge the scenery opens up and it’s a great place to pull over for a picnic, especially when you reach the end of the lane as you’re only a hop, skip and a jump from the river Lledr, and as we passed by there were quite a few families out enjoying a paddle.

From Dolwyddelan, Rob, Lindsey and I followed James for the next 40 minutes or so along the A470 towards Ganllwyd.

Lane 5 - SH7224-01 - SH7228-04

Travelling from south to north, SH7224-01 begins with a hard surfaced track through Coed Y Brenin Forest that was in pretty good condition, then James veered right onto a narrow and rocky section that was no match for two Toyotas and a Jeep.

A wide and dusty dirt track followed and led us onto what is now my new favourite lane - SH7228-04. As we climbed the views became even more spectacular and the surface a bit more technical in places that required a good line. Despite this, the rocky surface proved fun, but no match for the Wrangler Rubicon with twin lockers, but I doubt Deux Smurf would have found it so easy.

As we reached the top the surface became less challenging, though there are a couple of tight gates to negotiate, but the views no less spectacular.

At the end of the lane we turned right onto a narrow road that took us to a small brook where we stopped so James and his two children could cool off.

Lane 6 - SH7623-01

Our final lane starts as a forestry track with a small ford, there are a few ruts and steps along the way, but nothing too serious. As it says on Trailwise 2, be wary of forest roads crossing the track, and be carful as what little traffic there is will be big, possibly fast, and certainly not expecting to see you!

As we made our way across one the crossings, James pointed out that a section of the lane appeared to be collapsing at one side, though there was just enough space for us all the squeeze past. From there we climbed, and with the heather in full bloom, emerging from the forest, SH7623-01 treated us to some epic views.

Our ascent was quite rocky and washed out in places, but in 1st gear low box, we rocked and rolled our way down.

As we reached the A494 we went our separate ways, James and his parents went on towards their overnight camping spot whilst I turned left and headed towards Bala and home. I would’ve loved to have stayed over with them, but I had a magazine deadline looming as well as a few other extra jobs that required completing.

Overall I had a fantastic day exploring some old and new lanes, and a huge thanks has to go to James for organising the trip, but a bigger thanks has to go to Lindsey, James’ mum for closing every gate!