At the beginning of June I was invited by Birty Dastards to go off roading with them. I had never been off roading so this was going to be a whole new experience
I met the guys at Baskerville Hall Hotel, Clyro in North Wales.The Saturday was a little overcast but not raining so all was good. The first task I was faced with was getting to the top of the site! One of my friends is a member of the group so offered to drive me to the locations. As we were last in the convoy I got to watch all the other trucks slip back down the hill! Now I’m the type of person that is never a passenger in a car, I always drive. I trusted my driver, so I could do nothing but believe him when he said ‘It’s fine we won’t slide like that!’ – hmm yeah right!! We slid sideways and backwards!! Once I had realised I could escape the truck at any point and walk, I was much happier and had the great excuse of ‘but I need to be out there to take pictures!’
Having never photographed this subject before i didnt entirely know what to expect, the only certainty i had was MUD!! Mud that gets flung through the air as the traction doesn’t hold and the tyres spin like crazy. Once I had experienced this and knew the camera wouldn’t come to any harm, I got a little closer to the action…well as close as it was so I was safe!
Sunday was a great day. The sun was shining and creating lovely light through the trees on the site, with the added advantage of the mud drying out a little. I was based primarily with two drivers who were testing out a new section of trail, which meant they were taking the course slowly and allowed me to walk out infront of them to take shots of them driving each section.
By the end of the weekend I had gotten used to some sections of the trails and didn’t leap out of the truck quite as much! Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I’m looking forward to the next off road adventure in September.
