Shooting, sun and off-roading in Land Rover Defenders, what's not to like?

The Lake District is an incredibly beautiful expanse of mountains, forests and gilstening bodies of water during the summer. 

Travellers from all around the world come to explore our beautiful corner of England.

Yesterday, Tuesday May 21, the Mountain Goat team left the office to go on an adventure in a playground of 5,000 acres.

Graythwaite Estates, which encompasses land from the medieval village of Hawkshead to the end of lake Windermere, is the perfect outdoor adventure escape with miles of lake frontage, dense forests and hill side tracks.

Event company, CBA Events, run outdoor activity sessions for visitors and locals which include powerboating, off-road driving in Land Rovers and clay pigeon shooting. 

Our own adventure started in Bowness on the public jetty as we boarded the CBA rib, the speed boat they use to transfer parties to the bottom of the lake.

The journey along Lake Windermere was beautiful, the water glistening in the sun as our skipper, Callum, took us towards the estate, stopping at some of the historical landmarks and houses that line the shores.

When we arrived at the Graythwaite boat house we were greeted by Tim and Matt, our two other instructors and were ushered into our next section of the adventure, three Land Rover Defenders.

We split into groups and jumped in our off road vehicles to be driven to the off-road driving course which has been set up through the forests and hills of the estate.

After a quick explanation about diff-locks and greenlane driving we were thrust right into the action as our groups took it in turns to drive the vehicles and traverse the rugged tracks which have been carved out of the landscape by the CBA team. 

There was plenty of excited screams as the Land Rovers rocked from side to side and climbed steep inclines towards "The View" where we could see along the length of Windermere and admire the stunning landscapes of the Lake District. 

After our exhilartating 4x4 experience we were driven along the country roads to our next event. Clay pigeon shooting (and a much needed cake and coffee break).

We were all told about shotgun safety briefly and then headed to the shooting range with our instructors, who kept a watchful eye and provided expert tuition to our group, many of us hadn't shot before!

The shooting was fantastic, with nearly everyone in the team hitting the target.

After our light-hearted taster competetion we sat around a bonfire with a well earned burger and beer while enjoying the sunshine in the beautiful woodlands of the estate.

To finish we were returned to Bowness by Callum on the rib while the sun dipped behind the Lakeland Fells and painted the sky pink. 

All round the evening was absolutely brilliant and we all enjoyed every minute of it, well planned, well executed and ran by a great team of people. Well worth a visit if you're planning a trip to the Lakes.