by Alain Hoffmann

Farmtracks and Fortifications

Difficulty: 2-3 (4-5 when wet)
Danger: 1-2
Views: 2
Interest 3
Suitable for: Any Landrover, any driver in good weather. Bad weather means you need high ground clearance and MUD-tyres.
Time needed: a full day

This roadbook is quite a long one. I can't remember the total distance but I wouldn't be surprised if it reaches a total of 180km and a greenlane lenght of 130km.
Difficulty is medium depending on weather. In winter most tracks are probably impassable due to rain. Great parts are over farm tracks and they tend to soften up immensely, transforming it into a bottomless mudpit. Even farmers stay off them in the wet.

Start is at Schouweiler, a village in southern Luxembourg. It lies halfway between Luxembourg city and Longwy in France.

Start and end is at the football playground. Exact position is N 49° 34,771 and E 5° 56,659.

The black dots with a white number as in case 50 can be ignored. In the original version they showed a possibility where you could break off when you were tired. A grey background indicates that you are in a village.

Page 3:

Between 61 and 69 you will drive through a forest. Forest driving isn't welcomed by the ONF, the Office National des Forêts. So if you want not to get into possible trouble stay off this. Drive left at 61 and right at the next tarmac road and you will fall onto the case 69 at the bottom of the next valley. Note the railway which you cross in a short tunnel.
The pictures right and above were taken on that stretch through the forest. It's also quite wet even in summer and heavily overgrown. Scratches are guaranteed. Above you see Annettes failed attempt to drive through the ruts.

Page 4:

In case 118 I managed to get stuck many years ago. On the maps this is a road. Luckily for me it also had roadsigns I could use as an anchor point for my Tirfor. It was the only time I had gotten stuck on a road yet.

Page 5:

Case 124 has a DEEP ditch running near the track. Sometimes it's quite overgrown so if you take the corner too fast you need a crane to get you out again.Case 136 had sometimes a tremendous amount of mud together with deep ruts. Maybe it's a challenge or maybe it has been graded now.

Page 7:

Box 193 and 194. Take care. This is a busy road with high speed trafic. After box 194 comes a muddy stretch.

Box 201: Not very visible.
Box 203-205: you drive through a forest on an old roman road.

Page 8:

Box 219 has a short steep uphill that arrives directly on the road. When wet you take this with some speed and may run into the trafic. Also the track immediately after the bend may have some steps.

Box 231: For heavens sake don't run into the barbed wire at the left on that downhill section. The meadow belongs to the mayor of the last village you passed and we already tore up his fence once. To your right you may find thick hedges which obstruct the track. The downhill section is a bit tricky with off camber sections not visible at first and can be VERY wet at the bottom. Here you can find some old fence posts half burried in thick grass. Driving over them is a sure way to get 2 flat tyres.
Box 233: If you drive left here for 300 metres you can visit one of the largest fortifications of the Maginot line, the Fort de Fermont. It's definitely worth a visit. You go through long corridors with a small train, visit dozens of barracks and can watch some of the best preserved war machinery in the area. Duration 1,5-2 hours.

That's all about this. Please give me any feedback if you find errors or omissions.