Started at 07:30 when Jared wouldn't get out of bed leaving me to carry everything (I will have my revenge!)
Got to Ridleeshope range for 10am to find it remarkably lacking in anyone else apart from one squadie, apparently they were using that range
Due to the wonderful cell coverage I couldn't get hold of my club and assumed we'd been cancelled (again) so started to drive back home (68 miles), then the phone rang, no we were shooting just on another range I'd never been to called Heely Dod. Easy to find said my RCO and for the next 1-3/4 hours I did everything I could to prove him wrong
Otterburn is a B I G expanse of nothingness, and the only "maps" posted about the place show "Ridleeshope" and bugger all else
I had many adventures running around it, massive hail showers, strange looking white tent with a large police van and several cars with a lot of policemen playing with what appeared to be a large tripod mounted machine gun (apparently it may have been the "Nuclear Police"). Almost bottomed out the poor cars suspension a few times and could have had several lambs for the freezer. Eventually I found a group of squadies disembarking from a lorry and a couple of land rovers.No problem says the nice man with the stripes, whips out his map and gives me directions, left out of the car park. .8 miles along the road, clump of trees and turn left and follow the road. So off I go, confidence is high (after all it's an army range so they must know where things are). .8 Miles later one large clump of trees, only one left turn so off I go, at this point I really should have known better, pot-holed farm track would be being kind to it, 15 mins later it comes to a nice dead end with nowhere to turn round
Having reversed what seemed like a mile I found enough space to negotiate a 28 point turn and went back the way I came, back past the squadies who, having got their kit and started off over the moor were now legging it back to the lorry as fast as they could due to the 1/2" hailstones that were battering them
Eventually found my way to the camp entrance and asked the nice man in the guard room for directions, Oh yes he says, from the car park with the squadies you turn right not left, then it's about 2 miles down on the left.
Eventually got there at around 12:00 and managed to get about 3-1/2 hours shooting in at various distances from 100 to about 900yds, the falling targets at the longer distances were fun and both the Steyr 308 and Tikka 260 did a grand job. Now being totally whacked and almost out of ammo I decided to head home. Having been "touring" the vast wilderness for almost 2Hrs I'd used quite a lot of diesel and discovered that I had 63 miles remaining for a 68 mile trip, after getting out of the range and back into civilisation I headed for Corbridge and some fuel.
Sh@t Hole or "one horse town" doesn't quite describe it, a mess of one way madness (I believe the planning officers guide dog had recently died) with people parked all over the place even on the bits where it says "Keep Clear At All Times" in very large letters, eventually (by luck) I found a garage and once I recovered from the prices I was on my way home finally getting here at 17:45 and ready to drop to bits in my bed.
Good news is I now know where three of the ranges are so at least I stand some chance of finding one next time we go in July
