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David's excellent adventure
A Chorley man who is going around the world in a Land Rover is preparing for one of the most challenging parts of the once-in-a-lifetime trip.
David Crompton, of The Green, Eccleston, set out on his Excellent Adventure in July and has already driven across Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Mongolia, the Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.
The 23-year-old former Bishop Rawstorne and Runshaw College student has embarked on the trip with his university friend Alex Fuller.
The pair are due to complete the final stages of their tour in Australia next year. Speaking to the Guardian from Turkey via email, David said the pair were preparing to enter Iran.
He said: "The initial idea for doing a long overland trip came about when Alex and I were in South East Asia last summer. Some of the best parts of the trip had to be when we were off the tourist trail and able to see what the countries were really like."
The 2006 P-registered Land Rover that the lads are travelling in had already clocked up more than 100,000 miles before they set out on their trip and it has now been modified to include a safari snorkel, a winch and sleeping platform.
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David added: "One of the best parts about the trip so far has been the people we have met, a vast majority of whom have been very friendly, despite the often lack of a common language.
"Before we set off I had read that the fun really begins when you break down and when driving back across Siberian Russia we did just that and not for the first time.
"The front axle snapped nearly in two and without even asking for help, two Russians from a nearby town stopped to help.
"Whilst the car was being repaired we were given an apartment to stay in, had dinner with parents, were shown around the city and treated as friends.
"Another great thing has been the wild camp locations that we have found – waking up to some amazing and very different views out of the windows, including the Arctic Ocean in the North of Norway, vast empty steppe in Mongolia, the snow-capped mountains of the Romanian Alps and many more."
David will return home to Eccleston at Christmas, whilst the Land Rover is shipped to Australia.
He will soon enter Iran after enjoying a break in Turkey and added: "The trip itself has had its challenges. To make up for lost time with the broken axle we had to cover 3200 miles in four days across Russia before our insurance expired.
"This meant driving for around 19 hours a day but we did have the advantage that, as we were travelling so far West, each day we gained an hour as we passed through time zones.
"I am now particularly looking forward to Iran.
"As well as being the country that attracts the most gasps from people when we tell them where we are going, reports from others have been that the hospitality of the Iranian people is the best in the world.
"The trip has been a really steep learning curve, but it has definitely been worth it so far."
You can follow David's adventure on his website www.excellentadventure.co.uk where he has been publishing a diary account of his travels and fascinating pictures.
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Weather for Chorley
Thursday 24 May 2012
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