Nearly a Decade ago, the Langdale Quest concept was conceived. Problems of Green Lane usage were on the up, as were 4x4 sales. Government had given the Forestry Commission a clear directive to diversify the use of their land into 3 key areas, namely Motorsport, recreation & Tourism. These 3 factors became the key ingredients required for us to develop a new off-road driving facility which would, in the long term, provide an environmentally sustainable, managed & monitored site capable of meeting the demands of this growing recreation.

As a business, we had already been operating off-road driving adventure days on the North Yorkshire Moors. We utilised the wealth of unsurfaced public highways which criss-cross the moors and the vehicles covered around 100 miles every day. Customers were involved in recovery’s, winching & lots of hands on driving!

After a couple of years both Emma & I decided to get married & we took our honeymoon in New Zealand. Once word got around that the owners of a UK based 4x4 centre were in town, it wasn't long before we were invited to join off-road activities with a number of New Zealand based clubs.

It soon became clear that the off-roading in NZ was quite different to that in the UK. Firstly, what we would call a track; Kiwi's would call a road!! Many of the minor roads out there were still gravel, environmental awareness restricted what could & could not be done.

Clubs in NZ have developed links with the big timber companies & secured permits to use various areas of forestry (privately owned, not state) to undertake their off-roading desires. On one particular evening we were bundled into the back of a bobtail V8 Ranger & then handed a clipboard, the words 'keep your eyes open for clues' was just audible over the revving engine.

As we neared the front of the queue, vehicle details & names were taken, together with a start time. We were then shouted out a count down & it all turned to dust!! After some time & a large number of very near misses, it became clear that the mission was to race round to forest using agreed tracks (shown on the map?) and we had to visit/find approx. 50 clues which were hanging from the trees.

Sounding a little familiar?? Well, we were also against the clock, which meant the faster the better.... Because all tracks were 2 way there was a lot of reversing or clever use of alternative sections of sections between trees!

After 3 hours & very sore bodies, the dust settled. We discovered we had come 5th out of around 60 to 70 vehicles! Not bad, although we were only passengers! Our driver & navigator were old hands at these 'evenings out' so we did have a head start.

There was an upside to this experience. It allowed Emma & myself to see off-road driving in a new light. We had great fun trying to navigate our way round a dark forest looking for clues - it seemed to give the driving a real purpose.

The terrain we covered wasn't that X-Treme, I never saw a single recovery all night - probably due to the dust!

Many of the vehicles had families on board; kids were the clue spotters whilst mom & dad did the driving & navigating. What a great idea! Although we did have some concerns regarding the safety levels & routing.

Upon our return to the UK we put pen to paper & came up with a formula which we felt would not only present off-roading as an attraction to tourists in the area but also provide a great activity, which would involve the kids too! The site would also help to reduce the usage of the Green Lanes & allow us to run our fleet of 4x4s in an area which we could manage & maintain.

We presented our ideas to the Forestry Commission in August 1995 & within a week or so, were given the go ahead to get the site ready for a September launch. We had just over a month!! Route planning was done industrial style & marker posts were made from slab-wood, old off-cuts left by the timber contractors when timber was cut on site!

Our 4x4 fleet was moved to a nearby location, basic maps were produced & the 'doors' opened to the public in mid September. The FC had given us a 7-month permit to prove that such an activity could be supported within a forest environment. The agreed tracks were surveyed both before & after the 7-month trial.

As the usage was during the winter months we quickly found some of the tracks we had chosen to use we not suitable & they quickly became too boggy for the vehicles to pass. Diversions were put in place & some alternative tracks were agreed with the FC.

Part of the concept of the new Langdale Quest was that the standard routes available should be passable & non-damaging to both vehicles & the environment. Recovery should only be if a team had strayed off the route.

In April 1996, after a couple of intense meetings with the FC, we were given a 2nd permit running for a complete year. This would give us the chance to see if the activity was appealing to Tourists visiting the area - a crucial element which would secure the profitability of the venture.

After seeing the Easter sales we were convinced there was a future for the Langdale Quest. Now, looking back, we had no idea how popular the LQ would become, customers travel from all over the UK & Europe to have a go.

It’s thanks to the 100,000s of customers who have supported this venture which has made it such a success. Over the past decade the Langdale Quest facility has provided over 900,000 off-road driving hours!!!