Blue Tit
The star of the show, this is my beloved Land Rover Blue Tit, a 1985 2.5 natural aspirated petrol Land Rover 90.
The Former years
Before I met Blue Tit, she spent her former years working on a sheep farm in Wales. Back then, she was a truck cab, and she bears small nodes to her past, such as the hook-ey things under the galvanised strip which held a brown rag top.
After some years earning her keep, she changed hands and was lovingly cared for by a family in Surrey, where her main role was to transport logs to and from a wood across the field.
When her previous owner emailed me about their time together, he recalled inheriting the car at 17 when his uncle left for Argentina. He drove it to school for two years and, ironically, faced many of the same electrical issues I still do today.
My Introduction
When I first met Blue Tit in February 2023, she had been abandoned behind a shipping container for over a decade. One-eyed
Steve, now a great friend, rescued her and got her running again. He looked doubtful when I mentioned taking her 5,000 miles around Europe that summer.
Our first adventure
When he finally gave me the keys in May, he also handed me a roll of tools I couldn’t yet name, along with an encouraging but nervous pat on the back.
So off we went, into Western Europe, for the adventure of a lifetime, and as some would say, the rest is history.
Tati
Why Land Rovers?
I would love to claim an illustrious background knowledge for engineering, classic cars, or mechanics, but that would be a big fat lie. I bought Blue Tit because they're beautiful British, go-anywhere, and do anything vehicle. I wanted to go on an adventure, and in my eyes, what better vehicle is there than a Land Rover!
I had built a bird house before, whittled a walking stick, and knocked together a chicken run, but that limited CV did not qualify me for the world of Land Rovers.
Learning on the Go
The scroll of tools Steve gave me before the trip stared up at me like letters to an infant:
meaningless and irrelevant. However, once we had left England’s green and pleasant land, they became my lifeline. Blue Tit broke down every 4 days for the next two and a half months. Steve was on the phone to me, day and night, patiently talking me through
diagnostics and solutions.
I learnt everything I know that trip. I learnt you need to put oil in an engine- CRAZY, what spark plugs are, and why ideally you need 4 working ones. I learnt how to hot-wire the car, how to dismantle a carburettor and how to ask random vans passing by, if they happened to have various very specific and bizarre tools.
Two years down the line and with almost everything that could go wrong having gone wrong, I have learnt a lot and am eternally grateful for the lessons that Blue Tit has taught me.
Adding to my fleet
There are now two Land Rovers in my life. Blue Tit has a brother: Big Richard, the 1998 300TDI 110, who is proving very good on the long trips and allows Blue Tit a bit of a rest!
Going online
You’re probably reading this because you’ve stumbled across one of my Land Rover videos online. Somehow, that’s become my job, and I honestly can’t thank you enough for watching. Your support helps keep the old girl (and the slightly newer big boy) on the road and running happy. It’s the best job I could imagine, full of fun, adventure, and everything Land Rovers and travel have to offer. But I’m also aware it can feel a bit selfish. I get to live it, and all I can do is share it with you through a screen.
But that is all about to change!
Exciting times ahead
Blue Tit is turning 40 whole years old. SHE IS GOING TO BE A CLASSIC! No MOT, no ULEZ, no Tax- WHOOP WHOOP! BEST DAY EVER.
So to celebrate, I am throwing a party, Blue Tit’s 40th Birthday Party to be exact, and you are all invited! A celebration of what Land Rovers epitomise: adventure, history, the best of what Britain has to offer, joy and a little bit (or maybe quite a lot) of silliness.
I am so excited for this next adventure, and I really really hope you can make it to share the fun with us!
