2025 Calendar Bèrke

The cover:

A few pictures of the car during various tours for work or abroad over the past 10 years.

Clockwise from the top left;

1. Sunset during the repairs of a sewage pipeline on the eastern bank of the river Meuse.

Ebberstraat Velden (16-08-2016 NL);

2. On top of the Timmelsjoch in the early evening (02-09-2023 I);

3. Waiting with my camera gear for a lunar eclipse that turned out to be obscured by clouds.

Schoor Neer (27-07-2018 NL);

4. A sewage pipeline relocation project in the context of a flood protection program.

Beekstraat Beesel (11-05-2022 NL);

5. Timmelsbrücke Moos in Passeier (23-09-2016 I);

6. In front of the Hotel Pfandleralm. Jaufenstraße Sankt Martin in Passeier (04-09-2023 I)

Another year over and time for my traditional calendar post. 2024 was again a rather poor year for my TR7’s. Life and work again intervened. Though there was some progress on the ’76 car! But problems with the water pump of ‘t Kreng meant a fair amount of my spare time was aimed at getting the various leaks sorted. And that still is a work in progress as winter’s come!

As 2025 will be the 10th anniversary since I bought my current daily driver, I decided to use that car as the subject for the coming year’s calendar. So this year I’ll bore you with some pictures of my 2008 Land Rover Defender 110 Station Wagon, called Bèrke, taken over the past 10 years.

January:

For a closed potato wholesaler.

ZLSM railway emplacement Simpelveld (21-11-2018 NL)

February:

Patiently enduring the heavy downpour.

Silberhüttstraße Stulz (13-09-2023 I)

March:

On a local green-laning tour. Hoverheideweg Belfeld (03-11-2018 NL)

April:

Another sewage pipeline relocation project in the context of a flood protection program.

Sunrise over the valley of the river Meuse, Hagendoorn Neer (28-10-2021 NL)

May:

On top of the Timmelsjoch in the late afternoon.

Just across the border with Austria (10-09-2021 I)

June:

The final stage of replacing a sewage pipeline using the proven HDD technology,

pulling a more than 900m¹ long HDPE630 pipeline in one piece through the prepared bore hole.

Daniken Geleen (21-06-2022 NL)

July:

Another sewer line relocation. This time for the widening of the A2 motorway.

Ophoven Echt (06-05-2020 NL)

August:

Near the toll booth of the Timmelsjoch near Hochgurgl (19-09-2023 A)

September:

In front of the Hotel Pfandleralm.

Jaufenstraße Sankt Martin in Passeier (16-09-2024 I)

October:

At the start of the 34th edition of the LTV Nachtrit, after the final check of the road book.

Rolduc Abbey Kerkrade (28-10-2023 NL)

November:

During a local green-laning tour.

Bosheideweg Belfeld (03-11-2018 NL)

December:

Back home after a wintery green-laning tour. (07-02-2021 NL)

FHC resto nr. 165; Restarting on the interior

It has been well over 6 months ago that I last reported any progress on this project. But with a two week break from the office scheduled around the Christmas and New Year period, it’s about time to restart work on this '76 car. First task being to make an inventory of the parts and fasteners needed to finish the interior.

And to trial fit the carpet that is going to cover the transmission tunnel. I had planned to fit it over the weekend but found out it needed a bit of trimming, but also (and more importantly) that I really need an extra pair of hands to get a decent fit of this carpet. Definitely something for the Christmas break! Though having the carpet in position gave me an opportunity to get a glimpse of the car’s future interior. Especially combined with the rear bulkhead trim panel in position!

And because I wasn’t able to finish the tunnel carpet, I decided to fit some parts that I have had in my hands far to often: The various brackets and supports for the dashboard. I was glad I had a car in the shed to use as reference, especially for the three support tubes for the steering column rail.

35th edition of the LTV Nachtrit

It’s that time of year again; Autumn, Halloween, All Souls, Saint Martin's Day. But most importantly the “LTV Nachtrit” of course. And yesterday evening (Saturday the 26th of October) saw the already 35th edition of this night time navigational rally.

Last year we had a pretty strong field of participants, with 39 teams heading into the night. Sadly this year we were down on entries, but there were still 26 teams that set off into the night for a very nice selection of roads through Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. It was a rather international entry list, with entrants coming from the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands!

Contrary to previous editions there was no official halfway stop. Though the 264 kilometre long route could be split up for a meal and a rest wherever the teams wanted. And as in the previous editions, the navigation was with the help of a roadbook that used tulip diagrams.

But first there was the final check of the route for any last minute road works or diversions. Which meant an early start of the day for my navigator and me. Luckily there were no real problems there. Also no signs pointing in that direction. Though it later turned out that, due to a Halloween procession, traffic was held up for a while in the village of Theux. But that was still a few hours in the future. In the meantime we were able to enjoy the fine weather and the beautiful autumn scenery!

And the participants were lucky with the weather too, clear skies and dry. So no slippery roads to catch them out! And of course being dark they missed out on the views. But that should give them a good excuse to return and drive the route in day time! A few pictures of the varied field of participants at the start at the Abbey of Rolduc;

1954 Triumph TR2

1959 Triumph TR3A

1960 Sunbeam Alpine

1967 Porsche 9121

1978 Renault 5 Alpine

Two original Dutch 1982 Triumph TR7 Coupés

1993 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS U9

And few pictures of some of the other entrants in the parking area on the grounds of the Rolduc Abbey:

Daily duties for ‘t Kreng

Decided to try to use ‘t Kreng as much as possible to see if the water pump’s seal will finally “run in”. And as the weather forecast was rather nice for today I decided to use the car for my daily commute to work. And sure enough only a few kilometres from home the low coolant level light came on. Though it switched off within a kilometre or so, after which it came on every time I had to stop at traffic lights. Switching of when I pulled away from the traffic light. As the temperature gauge behaved normally I decided to enjoy the run to the office. And it was rather enjoyable, certainly helped by the glorious weather and autumn colours. And because it is the autumn holidays, there was enough space on the parking lot.

Spoorlaan Noord Roermond

The plan was to take the long way home after work. Sadly a project meeting scheduled for the afternoon lasted considerably longer than expected! As a result the journey home was limited to a 45 minute blast over some local country lanes. It again was rather enjoyable, and this time the coolant level light didn’t come on at all. Instead the temperature gauge rose to the halfway mark where it remained for the entire trip. I have a gut feeling that this subject will be continued here in the near future!

Eind Swalmen

Eikenbroeklaan Beesel

Bakheide Beesel

686 Kilometres

686 Kilometres is the distance ‘t Kreng covered since the refurbished water pump was fitted to that car a few months ago. So far the water pump has gradually started leaking less and less. Though it kept leaking noticeably, with the level in the header tank dropping by as much as 50mm after an almost 200 kilometre round trip. Also the coolant level light looks like it has a mind of its own. Often coming on when the engine is idling.

And during a short tour last weekend the low coolant light came on less than 5 kilometres from home. Not good! First thought was to return home and give the car a Viking burial, but I managed to resist the urge!

Instead of returning home, I stopped a little further down the road at a safe spot to check under the bonnet. And sure enough there was a noticeable trace of coolant from the slot underneath the pump. But removing the pressure cap, from the still fairly cold header tank, revealed a perfectly normal coolant level. So I decided to ignore the light and carry on!

Fast forward and I returned home over an hour and well over 60 kilometres later with the temperature gauge constantly sitting between the quarter and halfway mark. And the paper tissue I put in the slot underneath the water pump was soaked with coolant.

Time to let everything cool down properly and check the coolant level in the header tank the next day. Turned out the level had only dropped by 1 or 2 millimetres. So it looks like the new after market seal is starting to work at last. Though I am still not impressed by its design and build quality.

Remains the coolant level warning light to sort!. Which means looking into the way this works and why it comes on with the coolant in the header tank at a normal level. In short there is a steel probe sticking into the coolant. It uses the coolants conductivity to close the low level warning light’s circuit. When the level in the header tank drops below the probe, the resistance will increase, the circuit will be cut and the low coolant level light will come on. Inspecting the connectors from the wire running to the header tank’s coolant level probe, clearly showed some oxidation and dirt that had accumulated there over the many years the car’s been used. This was tackled with a few squirts of contact spray. Maybe I need to do the same with the wiring from the alternator. But that is for after the next drive, though that might be a few weeks away.

And to conclude this inspection, I had a look at the coolant level. It was still the same as last week. Also the tissue paper I put in the wheep hole underneath the water pump was completely dry. Compare this with the picture of the completely soaked tissue paper after last weekend’s drive when the coolant level dropped only marginal.

So it looks promising. Though I still don’t trust the car enough to take her on long runs. So the final control of the route and roadbook for next weekend’s “Nachtrit” will be done with the Land Rover again. So no pictures of a lovely dirty TR7 in my report next week!

After the final control of the route and the roadbook for the 2021 edition of the “Nachtrit”.

The Land Rover during the reconnaissance of the route for this year’s edition,

near Gouvy-Rogery, just north of the border with Luxemburg.

Two weeks hiking in South Tyrol

Shortly after returning from Club Triumph’s 10 Countries Run, I headed south into the mountains again. This time not for a driving, but for a walking holiday in my favourite area; the autonomous northern Italian province of South Tyrol. Time for the by now traditional photographic report of the various walks.

Day 1: Sankt Martin in Passeier – Sankt Leonhard

As in previous years we used the first few days to get used to walking in the steep terrain of the area, starting with a leisurely round walk from our hotel to the neighbouring village for lunch.

Public footpath marker to the ruins of the Jaufenburg,

Sankt Leonhard in Passeier.

Schmötzel, a farmstead directly underneath the ruins of the Jaufenburg,

Sankt Leonhard in Passeier.

Tearoom on the Kohlstatt in Sankt Leonhard in Passeier.

Floner, a typical farmstead on the slopes of the Passeiertal,

near Sankt Martin in Passeier

Mini self-service market belonging to the Floner farmstead.

Day 2: Sankt Martin in Passeier – Christl

The second day was also used to get into our stride.

So another fairly easy walk along the slopes of the Passeiertal

One of the many remembrance shrines in the area,

and a sober reminder of the dangers of the mountains.

Egger Sankt Martin in Passeier

Old farmstead, Egger Sankt Martin in Passeier

Day 3: Seeber Tal

A lovely walk through the secluded but always beautiful Seeber Tal.

Though there were some deep snow drifts left by the weekend's heavy snow fall

Parking area Seeber Alm

The Gurgler Kamm seen from the Seeber Alm

View across the Seeber Alm with the Timmelsjoch

and the Stubaier Alps in the background

On the Seeber Alm

Pointing the way around the Seeber See

The Obere Glaneggalm with the Gurgler Kamm in the background

Day 4: Faltmar Tal

A circular walk starting from Pfelders over the Karalm into the secluded Faltmartal

The flank of the Kreuzjoch seen from across the valley, Karalm Pfelderer Tal

Footbridge over the Pfelderer Bach, Bergkristall Moos

View along the Pfelderer Bach with some peaks of the Texel Gruppe in the background,

Hinterstein Pfelders

Day 5: Matatzspitze

Last year I aborted the ascend to the summit of the 2178m¹ high Matatzspitze overlooking Sankt Martin, because of the rather poor weather conditions. And rightly so! Luckily this year the weather conditions were much better, enabling us to reach the summit without any problems. It was well worth the effort!

View from the Ulfaser Alm on the Hohe Kreuzspitze and the Anger Mahder

View from the Matatzspitze. Looking south along the Passeier Tal towards Meran

View from the northern flank of the Matatzspitze over the northern part of the Passeier Tal

and the Jaufen Pass, with the Stubaier Alps in the background

In the woods above the Ulfaser Alm

Enjoying a well-deserved beer back at our hotel!

Day 6: Timmels Alm

A very nice but also rather demanding walk towards the „Große Timmler Schwarzsee“,

high up the Timmels Alm

Typical public footpath marker. Not brilliant when there is a lot of snow around!

Shelter overlooking the Oberkrumpwasser

The meanders of the Oberkrumpwasser and the source of the Passer River

The „Große Timmler Schwarzsee“ high up the Timmels Alm
 at an altitude of 2505 m¹ asl

View from the Timmels Alm towards the Seeber Tal and the Gurgler Kamm

Overlooking the Oberkrumpwasser from the Timmels Alm

Day 7: Sankt Martin in Passeier – Magdfeld

A local walk from our hotel into the Kalmtal towards the small hamlet of Magdfeld

Glamitz, another typical farmstead up the steep slopes of Kalmtal

One of many road crucifixes. This one being situated on a crossroads in the woods near Seeber, Kalmtal

The view from Gruber into the Passeier Tal

The view from Gruber into the Kalmtal

Day 8: A lazy Sunday in Sankt Martin in Passeier

It was party time in the village, as they celebrated the arrival of a new priest for their parish.

And one from the own village! So we decided on a lazy Sunday, enjoying the festivities

Hotel Pfandler Alm in Sankt Martin in Passeier

Garberweg Sankt Martin in Passeier

Open-air mass for the parishioners in the village square of Sankt Martin

It's always easy to find the musicians of a local “Muzikkapelle”, Gasthaus Lamm Mitterwirt!

The people of Sankt Martin gathering in the village square for the festive procession to the festival grounds

Die Musikkapelle von Sankt Martin in Passeier,

heading the procession towards the “Festwieße”

Day 9: Above the Zufrittsee

A circular walk along the head of the Martelltal and above the Zufrittsee

The “Zufall Hütte” towering over the head of the Martelltal

On the meadows “Paradies am Cevedale” above the Zufrittsee

View across the Zufrittsee

Day 10: Urweg Jaufenkamm

Walking part of the Urweg Jaufenkamm between the Römerkehre and the Glaitner Joch.

The views again were fantastic

Parking area near the Römerkehre, Jaufen Straße

Obscured by clouds. View across the Passeiertal from the Fleckneralm

A view from the Rinner Sattel, with the Waltental in the foreground,

and the Passeier Tal in the background obscured by clouds

On the Jaufenkamm between the Fasnachter and the Fleckner,
with the Ratschingstasl in the background

Spoilt for choice were to go to, Glaitner Joch

The Passeier Tal again obscured by clouds, Glaitner Joch

Day 11: Pfelderer Tal

A walk through the Pfelderer Tal, from Pfelders over the Karalm

and the Faltschnalalm towards Lazins and back to Pfelders.

The flank of the Kreuzjoch partially obscured by clouds.
Seen from across the valley, Karalm Pfelderer Tal

View across the Pfelderer Tal from the Panoramaweg

View across the Pfelderer Tal from the Faltschnalalm

Day 12: Meran

The weather forecast for this day had been rather wet all week so we decided to take the bus to the spa city of Meran. More tourists had the same idea, so it was rather crowded. And as this city has been extensively covered in previous posts the camera got an easy day!

Overlooking Meran from the Tappeiner Promenade

Away from the rush in the small alleyways east of the much more crowded city centre,

Passeier Gasse Meran

Day 13: Sankt Martin in Passeier – Sankt Leonhard

The weather forecast for our final day was also rather wet. So the last walk was a leisurely affair to Sankt Leonhard for lunch. This way we would be back in our hotel with a few hours left to pack up everything for the journey home. It turned out the weather forecast was quite accurate at last, so the camera again didn’t see much action!

The Schildhof Steinhaus, a fortified farm house,
overlooking Sankt Martin in Passeier

The Jaufenkam and Sankt Leonhard in Passeier obscured by clouds,

Moar Sankt Martin in Passeier

Clouds drifting in towards the Jaufenkam, Moar Sankt Martin in Passeier

Gasthaus Lamm Mitterwirt

The restaurant where we spent most evenings. 

Good food & drinks and friendly staff. What more do you need!