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Salisbury Plain: A simple question


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OK I am taking some of my younger cousins onto Salisbury Plain for their first outing in the Land Rover.

I know the Plain fairly well now and have been all over it in the last few years, but I imagine there's plenty of it I have missed.

What are your favourite bits of the Plain to visit and why are they of interest to you?

(this sounds strangely like a job interview or a blind date... :ph34r: )

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When I first started to go on the Plain a few years ago there some parts of it that were comparable to any decent off-road site. With the closing of various parts of it such as the approach to chalkpit hill :-

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The other side:-

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other areas:-

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And other tracks being levelled or closed off/diverted sometimes for no apparent reason has made it a lot different. A large part of the Plain is just like a drive in the countryside. At one time you could spend all day on the plain having a lot of good fun, but not so much now.

Les.

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Guest diesel_jim

Like Les says, a lot of the plain is now graded Cat1 tracks which arn't that taxing, there are a few little rough ones, but unless you're like me, going up there all hours of the night under cover of darkness you're really restricted on where you can go without getting your collar felt.

There are some nice scenic places though:

The German village at Copehill down (grid square SU 02 45)

there are nice drives on (gravelled) byways that go straight through the middle of the impace areas. as long as the red flags arn't up, then the ranges are open, they all merge at SU 073 491, so if you get a map and explore outwards form there.

the byway that cuts through the point-to-point course near Larkhill has a little twisty bit in it... @ SU 141 462

there is the "active airstrip" just north of the A303 (around grid SU 03 41.... my memory map doesn't show it but the paper ones do).. i saw a hercules parked there once... a very strange sight indeed!

the hyway that goes east-west out of Chitterne over breakheart bottom is a nice little twisty one.

And of course, there are loads of byways leading off of the plain to the surrounding villages and towns, these are prety good usually, and whilst not "mud plugging" terratory, quite a few are overgrown and tight, and not used that much, so can be pretty fun exploring. ie Codford, Knook, Heytesbury, easterton, urchfont,

and out towards Everleigh,collingborne ducis and down towards Cholderton. some of those ones have height restrictions to keep the travelling gippo's out, although you'll find several little encampments there. all harmless, they've been there for years! soem quite tight lanes around those, especially aroudn Thruxton, as people tend not to want to drive near the gippo's amd hence the lanes become overgrown.

also, down towards middle wallop and grately are a lot of long scenic drives too.

when are you heading that way? i might try and meet up with you?

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Cheers Jim, that's very useful. I will get my map out and compare what you have mentioned with bits I already know.

I am taking my cousins Jamie and George (14 and 16) out on Sunday and so I'm looking for ideas to do something different.

I was definitely going to show them the German village

We'll be on the Plain from mid morning, all being well with the truck after Saturday tinkering.

CB Channel 8 or 07771 968 218

Would be good to meet up.

MJ.

Like Les says, a lot of the plain is now graded Cat1 tracks which arn't that taxing, there are a few little rough ones, but unless you're like me, going up there all hours of the night under cover of darkness you're really restricted on where you can go without getting your collar felt.

There are some nice scenic places though:

The German village at Copehill down (grid square SU 02 45)

there are nice drives on (gravelled) byways that go straight through the middle of the impace areas. as long as the red flags arn't up, then the ranges are open, they all merge at SU 073 491, so if you get a map and explore outwards form there.

the byway that cuts through the point-to-point course near Larkhill has a little twisty bit in it... @ SU 141 462

there is the "active airstrip" just north of the A303 (around grid SU 03 41.... my memory map doesn't show it but the paper ones do).. i saw a hercules parked there once... a very strange sight indeed!

the hyway that goes east-west out of Chitterne over breakheart bottom is a nice little twisty one.

And of course, there are loads of byways leading off of the plain to the surrounding villages and towns, these are prety good usually, and whilst not "mud plugging" terratory, quite a few are overgrown and tight, and not used that much, so can be pretty fun exploring. ie Codford, Knook, Heytesbury, easterton, urchfont,

and out towards Everleigh,collingborne ducis and down towards Cholderton. some of those ones have height restrictions to keep the travelling gippo's out, although you'll find several little encampments there. all harmless, they've been there for years! soem quite tight lanes around those, especially aroudn Thruxton, as people tend not to want to drive near the gippo's amd hence the lanes become overgrown.

also, down towards middle wallop and grately are a lot of long scenic drives too.

when are you heading that way? i might try and meet up with you?

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And other tracks being levelled or closed off/diverted sometimes for no apparent reason has made it a lot different. A large part of the Plain is just like a drive in the countryside. At one time you could spend all day on the plain having a lot of good fun, but not so much now.

Les.

...And the two times I've been proper stuck out laning in Wiltshire, neither has been on the Plain itself, rather surrounding byways.

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