Report by Woody, alias “Harry the Hatchet”

Well as the last person on site with Mark, Lance and Andy I was stitched up to write the event report. First I would like to thank Mark Gasser and Lance Husband for all their work in organising this event, also the Portsmouth Posse and associates who assisted in preparing the site and the great BBQ.

My previous off road experiences at well-organised sites did little to prepare me for my first visit to Prews Hangar in May to help in preparing for the event. The woods were almost wild with only a few tracks to be seen. Over the next weekends a small team and a few aggressive power tools achieved much “Landscaping”.

Either Lance is about to use his Chainsaw or water the Bluebells?

Murphy looks on exasperated as it takes four grown men to throw his stick!

Friday 3rd June, early evening the Jeeps began to arrive for the weekend. The first arrivals were mostly the Portsmouth Posse, shortly followed by a convoy of Red YJs of the Essex Massive and associates who had battled through driving rain to arrive.

Tim “Where’s me windscreen wipers?” Cooper

The campsite soon began to evolve with the seasoned eventers producing marquee-sized tents, whilst the rest of us slummed it. The tents and Jeeps were arranged with almost military formation, ready for a quick get away in the morning.

The Friday night saw a small gathering steadily consuming alcohol into the small hours, with Trent and Tragic having an attack of the munchies at midnight that could only be sated with Bacon Sarnies. The next morning we all awoke to the delightful sounds of Andy Harmon’s Jeep roaring off and setting the dogs in the Kennels across the field howling. As 10:00 approached a steady stream of Jeeps arrived, mostly YJs and TJs, but with a few XJs to be found, and after a brief from Andy Harmon and the handing out of Punch Cards split into 2 groups and headed off into the woods. The relatively dry conditions made the mornings driving relatively controlled, but the site was in no way easy. The combination of loose moist soil layered over tree roots, chalk and flint with tight twists and turns between solid trees on steep ascents meant lines had to be carefully selected to give maximum traction. All the time eyes were peeled in search of the 15 punches hidden around the woods, the siting of the punches led driver into some situations they would not normally have considered. The intention was to position your passenger door close to the punch. However, Paul Roderick discovered that if you can’t get close to the punch, bring the punch closer:

Minor tree surgery was required to remove the branches from his front bumper - it was either that, or leave him there for the rest of day. Some of the more extreme punches required winching to and for the groups with winch-less Jeeps some close collaboration was required.

Mid-morning we were joined by a group of heavily modified Land Rovers and soon the woods reverberated with the sound of V8s and I6s. The Land Rovers enjoyed everything in excess and soon the first casualty of the day was to be found:

Groups of 4x4 were to be found crawling over every inch of the site. Trying all the trails hacked out of the woods and breaking fresh ground where the trees allowed. After a short lunch break the heavens opened and the ground turned slick. The driving changed from relatively controlled into a gasoline-fuelled lottery. The already loose topsoil turned into a morass making all but the most gentle of climbs an adventure. The list of damaged vehicles grew rapidly over the afternoon with almost all vehicles receiving a knock or two, some slight, some looking expensive:

By the close of day groups of bedraggled, mud-splattered and weary drivers and co-drivers returned to the campsite, the afternoon’s conditions had turned once drivable slopes into tests of winching and teamwork. The only 4x4 to have successfully driven the, by now infamous, “Cooper’s Bottom” without requiring winching were the Simex equipped Land Rovers and Jeep. Cooper’s Bottom certainly lived up to its reputation – easy to enter, horrible and smelly once in, and impossible to leave without being covered in crap!

After a period of car repairing and maintenance, the campsite began to fill with the smell of Barbequing. Gradually a group of salivating zombies had surrounded the MDG hospitality tent, staring hopefully at the huge mound of cooking meat and a bowl of salad. About 30 people consumed nearly 60 steaks, 50 Burgers and 60 sausages, all washed down with copious amounts of alcohol. By the time the sunset we had all returned to feeling almost human, as the temperature dropped the alcohol quaffing continued and Tim’s patent Washing Machine Drum Brazier was called into action to keep us all warm. As the night drew around us, so people quietly slipped off to exhausted slumber, only the hardiest remained after 2300.

Sunday morning the conditions remained damp but a dry night had done much to improve traction. A few day-trippers arrived to make up the numbers and swell the number of Wranglers. The start of the day was delayed slightly in order for some safety-landscaping to take place. By the time the site was opened most of the Jeeps were already on site helping clear as Mark Gasser chain sawed out the offending branches and stumps. The driving conditions had improved considerably from Saturday PM’s, however, enough dampness remain to ensure that there were enough climbs challenging enough to keep the winch bitches sweating – or as Mad Mike Pavelin proved, there’s no need for winches just keep the old tyres spinning and rise up the slope by convection. Unfortunately his cooling system went the way of his side window from the day before.

With those who had travelled looking for an escape by 2pm the site was almost empty with most people packing up the tents and heading off home. By 4pm the final day-trippers and a few hardy weekenders were to be found prepping for the drive home. Soon the only people left we Mark Gasser, Lance, Andy Harmon and myself packing away the remains of the campsite. A skirmish of the site provided less than 2 handfuls of rubbish, so a big thank you to all the campers who had made a great effort to clear their areas before they left.

An enjoyable and challenging appeared to be had by all, with Prews Hangar proving to be a good site. Mark estimated there was a 3rd of the site none of us had found the way into – Maps next time then please. Certainly the site is a great days driving, large enough that 20+ 4x4s could be out playing with little or no congestion.