Don't be deceived by the clear blue skies , the weather was bitingly cold! Our venue was Rockingham Castle out between Corby and Market Harborough. I was really only keeping Marina company as it was her driving experience. However I was asked to make sure I had my driving license with me. During the briefing our instructor 'Graham' insisted that I had a go. Despite getting my excuses in early including; 'well actually i'm full of cold', 'i've never driven an automatic' and i've never even watched Top Gear' he wasn't put off, simply saying 'you'll be fine'. I wasn't so sure but it looked like he wasn't taking no for an answer anyway.
The Land Rover Experience team, who provide the equipment, supervision and training, are in a unique position to offer a wide variety of terrain, from disused sand and stone quarries to woodland, boggy lowland and rolling countryside. Our vehicle of choice today was the Range Rover Evoque. I was more than happy sitting in the back of the vehicle and occasionally jumping out to take a few photos.
As well as being a fun and enjoyable experience it was also about learning the capabilities and getting the best from the vehicle. This included 45 degree hill descents and climbs , driving through deep water and ice and driving on steep banks.
It is called 'Holy Hill' as people have been known to suddenly come over all religous and start saying a few prayers..
Getting down steep hills is a doddle using the 'hill descent' feature which applies traction to all four wheels automatically maintaining a constant speed and applying brakes to each separate wheel where required, increasing the vehicles capability. At the same time resisting the urge to hit the brake pedal. My biggest problem wasn't to disengage my left leg with it being an automatic . I found that I kept reaching for the gear sick which of course wasn't there.
I really enjoyed the experience and Instructor Graham said that I had done very well ! Although perhaps not as well as Marina ..
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