Ready to Roll
Drive to Aberdeen
All packed and ready to roll. Time to leave Helsby, Cheshire behind and head off to Aberdeen and the ferry to Shetland. We think that the leaking fuel from the front of the Landrover has been fixed, but there is some doubt about the 17 miles/gallon problems.
Packing the boats on the Landrover, University of Sheffield Canoe Club Boat House
Packing in Helsby
Left Sheffield for the last time before our trip to Iceland. Arrived at my parents’ house in Helsby, Cheshire this evening for the final preparations for the trip North. We have just about got everything we need and just have to arrange it into the back of our Landrover.
Andy fitting free-wheeling hubs
Left Penarth last night and got as far as the motorway before the Landrover gave up the ghost. It looked like the same old problem with the fuel pump diaphragm. Tom needed to be back in Sheffield for a first aid course, so he hitch-hiked. Andy and I returned to his parents to investigate the problem. We found the trapped fuel line, and by 22:50 were ready to leave. Arrived by in Sheffield at 3am to find my car had been broken into again. At least my trick of bolting the stereo to the dashboard had prevented it getting nicked. continue reading…
The Landrover at Vic's Garage
Still in Penarth. 2 days now spent on the Landrover, and it is not looking great. Went out of the garage for a quick drive today, and got 2 miles before we ground to a halt. A bit of fiddling about, and we found that the fuel line we had been working on had got trapped under the drivers seat. I can only hope thing improve when we get to Iceland. continue reading…
Drove down from Sheffield to Penarth today. By dint of a minor miracle we made it, and the Landrover did not fail us on its first journey. Planning to stay with Andy’s parents for a week to fix up the vehicle as best we can before the trip. We are to use Vic’s garage as a base and hopefully make use of his tools. I have remembered to bring the camera so will be able to post some pics later in the week.
Ferry booked for the 23rd June, so not too long to go.
Go to Heckmondwike to see a Landrover we have seen in Auto Trader. It is a bit of a wreck, but we buy it anyway. The owner says the only thing that needs doing is the fuel and temperature gauge. Haha! We need to adjust the fuel supply, fit seat belts, fit exhaust, change tyres, fit hot water supply, fit free wheeling hubs, new shock rubbers, lights, adjust headlights, fit new track rod ends.. The list goes on. Incredibly, it just had passed an MOT!. We do actually have a vehicle now, and it is at a price we can afford.
Hurrah, finished writing paper for the 1991 European Wind Energy Conference, Amsterdam. I can now get on with the more important task of getting ready for our trip to Iceland. Still no boats or Land Rover. We do however have a full set of equipment lists from the 1989 expedition.
It is now 20 years since our 2nd river kayaking expedition to Iceland. By way of marking the event, we are going to blog and tweet about our trip as if it was happening this summer.
Follow us as we go (went) live on our blog at http://www.icelandic-rivers.info and twitter @IcelandicRivers.
Collecting Kayaks from Steve Wells at Pyranha Mouldings
Drove over to Runcorn to collect boats and paddles from Pyranha Mouldings Ltd. I have previously bought 2 Premier II slalom kayaks here, but today got two Mountain Bats, for Tom and Andy, and a Master for myself. We all bought Kober paddles, and Pyranha buoyancy aids. Managed to find someone to photograph me shaking hands with Steve Wells, with my rather dirty white Ford Escort van as a backdrop.