greenlaning on topgear,

[lee celtic]

Well why don't we invite them to bala for a proper greenlane day :D

It was private land and It wans't greenlaning so if we point that out and offer to show then properly :D you never know...

[Disco Matt]

Well why don't we invite them to bala for a proper greenlane day :D

It was private land and It wans't greenlaning so if we point that out and offer to show then properly :D you never know...

I was talking about that idea with some friends recently, we came to the conclusion that it was a bad one for more or less the reasons that everyone else has mentioned - TG delight in destruction, damage, and generally being a bunch of overgrown kids and we somehow knew they wouldn't understand concepts such as "drive slowly" and "don't wreck the surface". It's a real pity as they could have helped our image enormously if they'd adhered to the rules and made it clear that the vast majority of laners do so. But that wouldn't be as "exciting" would it...

Funny how my scariest/most exciting moments in a car have been at about 4mph or less off tarmac!

The one chance this gives us - could it do some good with the lefty press which, while they don't like us, would surely love to see TG made to look stupid with a story about what laning is really like? This sounds like a perfect chance for the GLASS or CRAG approach of handing advisory leaflets to people seen doing silly things on lanes - how about someone high up in the groups turning up at TG HQ with a handful of leaflets and some press in tow?

[tenpolequint]

When is this show repeated. I did not see it. As a new 4x4 owner but a member of this site for ages I have been shown the damage that can be done by irresponsible driving and have followed the guidelines and advice given by members of this forum and the guidelines set down.
I would not be surprised at Top Gears gung-ho attitude towards greenlaning. Same as there attitude towards driving safely on motorways in powerful sports cars.

[MissMud08]

Try the BBC iPlayer... www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

[Skibum346]

As with many of you (60% at the last count on the poll) I was horrifed with the nature of the Top Gear piece. I have chosen to comlain to both the BBC and top gear. Below is the mail I sent to the Top Gear team and it includes a copy of my complaint to the BBC.

I would encourage the remainder of the 60% of you who were disgusted, to do the same.

Kindest

Skibum

Sir/Madam,

I have a message for Richard Hammond that I would ask you to pass on.

"How could you, of all people, do this to the greenlaning communbity?"

You are a Land Rover enthusiast, you must have at least heard of some of the political difficulties we face with ramblers and the like. Why did you allow the Top Gear production team, probably driven by Mr Clarkson, to create exactly what those who are set to see us banned from our pastime would hold up as an example of what we do?

I have been a fan of the new format Top Gear since it's inception, and fought to ensure it was not threatendd with closure after your minor scrape in the dragster and I feel betrayed by the piece that you were a key part of.

I hope that you all enjoyed the creation of this piece, and I hope that you will remember making it when those narrow minded people who want the counrtryside to themselves suceed in banning any kind of motorised access to greenlanes.

I have included for your information a copy of the complaint I have lodged with the BBC, not that Mr Clarkson will care.

Sir/Madam,

As a Land Rover enthusiast, GLASS & CRAG member I was excited to hear that a piece on "Greenlaning" was to be aired on Top Gear.

Greenlaning is the driving of public rights of way as recorded on the definitive map in county Rights Of Way offices or on council List of Streets documents.

Greenlaning, done by RESPONSIBLE 4x4 drivers, uses the tread lightly guidelines promoted by GLASS & CRAG.

Since the advent of the NERC legislation that reduced the number of drivable lanes by around 70-80%, the greenlaning community has been under fire from various lobbies, most noteably "Ramblers". Much of the coverage made of our community wrongly assumes that we tear round the countryside ripping up the ground at high revs, speeding past innocent ramblers.

Imagine my excitement then when the top gear team started their piece by making exactly this point... then imagine my horror when a Land Rover enthusiast, Richard Hammond, started spouting the kind of ridiculous descripotion of greenlaning that those set to ban us from our LEGAL pastime use.

I was horrified to then see a so called hunt through "the countryside" with Jeremy Claskson ripping through hedges, pulling doughnuts, tearing through sections of virgin woodland and genereally behaving like the most irresponsible kind of 4x4 driver.

I accept that the production team aimed for a certain degree of sarcasm and that the land was private (otherwise I'm sure the local police would be very interested in the illegal driving carried out). However, this piece placed a dagger at the heart of every responsible greenlaner who has to explain time and again to angry ramblers and the like that they are pursuing a legal pastime on a public right of way with motorised access rights. This piece will be held up as an example by these evangelists of what we allegedly do.

Those members of the public who had not been aware of greenlaning will now consider Top Gear's example as the definitive description of what those of us who drive in the countryside do.

I would ask that you investigate this piece with a view to requiring that a more balanced piece be produced to repair the damage done to Greenlaning (the proper kind) by the Top Gear team.

Yours

Frank McGoldrick
Disappointedly yours

Frank McGoldrick

[lambert]

Might we have your permission to use the above as a proforma document to innundate the BBC with?

[Skibum346]

Feel free but I'd advise that you tweak it to your own words to avoid being lumped as spam.

[Eeyore]

The man has a good point there. Tell the Beeb how it made you feel. Use the themes outlined in Skibums letter, but don't copy it - it will devalue your letter, and his.

As a suggestion, try posting a letter in a similar vein to Offcom too. When I moaned at Fifth Gear it kinda galvanised Ch5 and North West into a slightly more expedient response.

[Skibum346]

I've just nosied at the LRO forums and they also have a topic like this one...  Get around all the forums your part of and get them all complaining. We need to stop being apathetic to this kind of misrepresentation.

**Disengages soapbox mode**

[pux]

i tell ya what forums are really good lately all people seem to do is find something to winge about :roll: :roll: remeber this will be this weeks news and then next week the Anti's will make up something else [-X the public will think what they like and make what they will of it!!! Top gear is always going to be the same they will poke fun at what ever they thinks fun at the time and if joe blogs really thinks that what greenlaining is then we have no hope at all to change there mind :lol: :lol: so lets stop moaning and just get on with it and stop writting letter's of complaint and auctully get out in the public and show them what we do ;)

[Skibum346]

PUX,

It's all very well saying "get out and show the public what we do..." but the places we go... there are rarely significant number of the public around and when it comes to changing beliefs, it's a numbers game. If you don't want to complain, fine.

We as a group, need to be seen in the press to get our message out in significant numbers, that's what the RA do. They of course have an advantage in the numbers that are members and in the fact that they have an influential member of the Londonite creative world as their chair(person).

Skibum

[Fourby]

It shouldnt be too difficult to find out where it was filmed, there's a close up of the map he was using...

Seeing as greenlanes are open to public traffic... Lets all pile down to the land owner and ask if we can go 'GreenLane' on his estate!

[GREENI]

I can't wait hear Top Gear rip the urine out of the complaints from Off Roaders !!!!!!


One Life, Live it !  (Or spend your time moaning about other peoples forms of enjoyment)

[Eeyore]

One Life, Live it !  (Or spend your time moaning about other peoples forms of enjoyment)

'Justice evolves only once injustice has been defeated' is another good saying.

Living your life how you want it is cool, providing that the masses allow you to do it. Laning priveledges are being eroded at a near exponential rate and programmes like this make us out to be irresponsible in our ways - which doesn't help our cause.

It seems that some folk aren;t so bothered about the loss of those privledges. If folk wanna try and protect it, let 'em. We all benefit from it, after all. One life, live it and all that.  ;)

[Fourby]

If you feel strongly enough, submit the video evidence from BBCi to the police asking for a section 59 to be issued for driving more than 15yards off the track and not for the use of parking!

[Jake]

I thought it was very funny and laughed most of the way through it  :lol:
On the plus side, it wasn't a Land Rover he was driving  ;)

[davidlandy]

I too thought it to be very funny - I watched it for what it was , the usual TG tongue in cheek messing about. 

[bravo669]

similar situation to the shooting incident on one of the specials. now every anti thinks we do the gardening with 12 bores!hehe. do like top gear though, especially the balls to health and safety approach.

[flash42]

dont you use your shottie for gardening i prefer 32 grams six shot through a full choke for those pesky high branches :) but just make sure there in season first :)

[davidlandy]

just had a quick peek on the rambers forum and it doesnt seem to mention anything about TG.

[V8MoneyPit]

just had a quick peek on the rambers forum and it doesnt seem to mention anything about TG.

It's past their bed time! After all, they need all the beauty sleep they can get  :twisted: Did I say that? Not like me at all  :shock: :lol:

[andygod]

I really enjoyed the show and thought this section was great. I took
it all in the lighthearted vein that it was meant. To me off roading
is a fun pastime and I have gone beyond giving stuff what the bobble
hat brigade think. I don't think there opinion of us was or ever will
be good whatever we do. The article was typical of the blokes messing
around stuff that the Top Gear team are famed for. I think that
several references were made to the complains from bobble hats that
Jeremy had after his climb a mountain escapade, J.C for Prime
minister.

[missroadrage]

I watched this section of top gear and couldn't beleive their intention was to go out and upset ramblers. There were various sections that I thought showed 4x4 owners in a bad light and comments from JC about this is the way to do it this Terios isn't damaging the land when he drove thru a hedge and chewed up a lot of the field I found very cringe worthy. I enjoy greenlaning and would hope to have many more opportunities to do it.

[crazymac]

Watched it, enjoyed it, was surprised at how well that little thing did! and was also Peed off at what damage it "could" do after calling it greenlaning!

However!!!

The damage is now done, I talked to my brother earlier who asked if I had seen it, He has been laning with me and knows a little bit about it, but was very surprised at my suggestion that it wasn't on green lanes but private land! As far as he was aware they said green lanes, so it must be!!

I'm afraid that he is representative of joe public and what they will believe!

Mind you, after the caravan one they did I now believe that that is how all caravan holidays go!!!!

[Disco Matt]

Mind you, after the caravan one they did I now believe that that is how all caravan holidays go!!!!

As someone who was caravanning aged six months, that episode was truly cringeworthy. The car they picked was nothing like powerful enough or indeed heavy enough to tow the caravan in a safe and reasonably fast manner, to say nothing of their doing things that I'd have known to be a bad idea aged five...

If they want loads of lovely noise and a decent turn of speed I suggest they try a motorhome next time. You don't usually expect a three and a half ton vehicle with the general outline of a housebrick to do 80mph (where legal) and sound like WW3 when hammered up steep hills in third!  :lol:

[andygod]

They did some motor home racing a year or so back, it was exellent.

[pux]

it did have muds on i think ;)

[wrecker]

I saw it, thought it was as funny as always :lol:

lets face it guys,

every thing TG does is nearly always a mickey take out of something, some one,

they done a caravan Holiday
greenlaning
gay bikers
bobble hats
truckers
cyclists
BM drivers,
sale reps

they always say, do something that one of you, all, us, prob do, drive, ride,

so yeah it was funny,some will prob look and think that's how we drive green lanes, but do super car owners drive at 130+ on a roads,

are all bikers gay

are caravan owners so slow, boring, never move over, crash into things

i think not, its just top gear at its best and long may it continue :dance: :dance:

[Thrasher]

but do super car owners drive at 130+ on a roads

Well quite recently someone was done 140ish on the A420 I recall....and that's an A road  :-k

[bravo669]

It shouldnt be too difficult to find out where it was filmed, there's a close up of the map he was using...

Seeing as greenlanes are open to public traffic... Lets all pile down to the land owner and ask if we can go 'GreenLane' on his estate!

near tewkesbury i believe