Land Rover Off-Road Driving Experience

In Brief.

Land Rover provide off-road driving experiences using their vehicles at two sites in the North West, at Halewood in Merseyside and near Tarporley in Cheshire.  Recent purchasers of a Land Rover or Range Rover receive such an experience as an opportunity to try out their type of vehicle in the wild, and several options are available more widely. I booked a 1 hour experience, which explored varied tracks in a woodland location, providing an interesting introduction to off-road driving and a chance to experience some of the latest driving aids.

Land Rovers at Peckforton Castle

What's Here?

I chose the Peckforton Castle centre, in the hope of finding pleasant countryside, and indeed the setting is grand, with the welcome area based inside the walls of Peckforton Castle, a grand country house that is now a hotel. As pictured, a wide variety of Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles are available, and my experience took place in a full-sized Range Rover D350.  I might have preferred something a little smaller, but the Range Rover didn't feel especially bulky, and has greater off-road capabilities than some of the other vehicles; for example, the air suspension gives greater ground clearance.

The experience is guided throughout by an instructor, who was relaxed and encouraging. Following a safety briefing, he drove us to the start of the route, where we swapped over. The off-road driving in this case took place in a hilly, wooded area, navigating a variety of tracks, some rutted forest tracks, some steep inclines and descents, and some through water that would strand a typical car. As most of the time is spent at close to walking pace while navigating narrow tracks, this is not a white knuckle ride, but it needs full concentration and it is interesting to see how the car copes with the different challenges presented.

The experience is partly an introduction to the Range Rover, which has a variety of driving aids that, for example, include a low-speed cruise control. It came across as a capable machine, quiet and refined in normal use, but surprisingly nimble off-road.

This is near to Beeston Castle, Chester and Nantwich from this blog series.

Practicalities.

Distance from Manchester Town Hall: 40 miles

Drive Time: 1hour 5 minutes

Price: $$$

Parking: There is parking at the site.

Food and Drink: Tea/Coffee is included. Meals are also available from the hotel in Peckforton Castle.

Retail therapy: N/A

Child Friendly: There are driving experiences tailored for 11 to 17 year olds at some centres.

Toilets: Yes - at the site.

Do it justice in: 90 minutes - I did the 1 hour experience, which took a little more than that, but there are also half and full day experiences.

Inside-Outside: 90:10 (if inside a car counts as inside)

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