Carved wooden signs fixed to the trunks of larch and pine: Diff breaker, Frontera Avenue. The names of some of the obstacles at Scotland’s only official Land Rover Experience center are ominous, or at least the hinted-at origins of the labels seem to be. Bonnie Prince Charlie camped his army here twice, Malcolm Canmore hid his with branches from nearby Birnam wood en route to vanquishing Macbeth, but I don’t see a plaque for either of them.
Today, at the Land Rover Mud and Rucks weekend, we’re interested in an entirely different kind of heritage. Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. “Frontera Avenue? I’m not sure I can tell you the story behind that,” an instructor laughs, a twinkle in his eye.
“One of the other guys might tell you about a Vauxhall that ended up on its roof, though. Irrespective of whether a poorly-regarded 90s SUV truly met its end here, the idea that one might have come a cropper on the boulder and gnarled tree root-lined stretch of Perthshire hillside is entirely believable. Situated at the gateway to the Highlands, on the 280-acre Dunkeld House Estate, the trails are about as rugged as they come.
Sharp inclines, water obstacles and tennis court-size sections of boulders as big as footballs lie in wait for drivers looking to test their mettle. Thankfu.