LAND Rover was born on a Welsh beach in 1948, but for the past 50 years Eastnor Castle near Ledbury has been the testing ground for all its models.

In this special feature we look at this remarkable location, drive some of the famous sections and sample classic models which survive today.

A SCOUT camp site and deer park seem an unlikely place to build a reputation for toughness which has encircled the world for half a century.

But there is only one Eastnor and a name which is shorthand for the Maranello-of-mud-pluggers where Land Rover has tested, developed and finally approved all its models since 1961.

That was when Land Rover chose the Eastnor Castle estate as an assessment venue to put its Series II models through their paces.

Its tough range of terrain with boggy bits, draw-dropping descents, gearbox-breaking ascents, deep pools, hard rocks, slippery slopes have all combined and been covered by engineers and executives who wanted to know if their models would stand up to anything the world might put under their wheels.

Once a model completed a gruelling round of tests at Eastnor it would be sent for specialist assessment on snow and ice, or in desert conditions with blistering temperatures.

But Eastnor is the backbone and back-breaker of the development process which has now been going on for 50 years.

Fast forward to the modern day, and the mud-plugging ability of the newest Evoque can be traced back to Eastnor and the forthcoming new Range Rover due to be unveiled at the end of 2012 has been put through its paces there as well as the planned new generation Defender which is still four years away from the showrooms.

Land Rover engineers Geof Miller and Bill Morris were the first to take a Land Rover for test on the estate - a 129-inch wheelbase prototype. 

So impressed were they by the terrain Eastnor had to offer, just a few weeks later Land Rover engineers were using the land for testing and assessing development vehicles.

Training for international expeditions has been a feature of Eastnor for over forty years. In the words of Spen King, Range Rover chief programme engineer from 1967 to 1989: "If it can get around the Eastnor estate, it can go anywhere!"

Eastnor played a major role in developing an impressive collection of Land Rover technologies - such as Anti-lock Brakes, Adjustable Air Suspension, Electronic Traction Control, Hill Descent Control and Terrain Response - many of which were world firsts in the 4x4 sector.

During the 1960s, Land Rover's use of Eastnor grew and grew, with engineers promoting the estate amongst the regional Land Rover Owners clubs of which they were members - primarily the Midlands' regional club. 

In 1969 the National Land Rover Owners Club Rally took place on the estate, and Eastnor's legendary status among enthusiasts across the country was secured.

The estate's owner, Major Ben Hervey-Bathurst, who had lived at Eastnor Castle since 1949, was president of the Rover Midlands' Owners Club and a keen off-road driver himself. 

He welcomed Land Rover with open arms and it's a tradition continued to this day by his sons, James and George, who now run the estate.

From 1989 members of the public experienced the Eastnor action, with Land Rover Experience moving their operational base to Eastnor so fans of the brand could book an adventure around the tracks of the 500 acre estate close to Ledbury and the M50.

New owners of Land Rovers get a chance to hone their driving skills with tuition from a team of highly qualified Land Rover Experience instructors who know how to get the most out of the particular vehicles and build up the confidence of their owners in the abilities of their vehicles.

This year, about 5,200 Land Rover owners will undergo the Eastnor experience and over half will be from abroad, many from China, where the Land Rover legend is held in the highest regard.

To understand Land Rover, the Chinese feel they have to experience Eastnor.

Land Rover global brand director, John Edwards, said: "Eastnor is the stuff of Land Rover legends. From the original Land Rover Series models right the way through the Range Rover Evoque launched this year - this piece of British countryside has been central to the development of them all." 

Fifty years on, Eastnor is as popular as ever among Land Rover engineers, dealers, executives and customers and it is still used by the Scouts and home to deer.

The vehicle which started the Eastnor experience was the , built at the end of 1960 to challenge the Dodge Power Wagon for a Middle East oil supply service contract and designed to carry 1.5 tonnes of drums. It was fitted with a 85bhp 2.5 litre six-cylinder engine and four forward gears, three seats and massive ground clearance. Two of the six prototypes remain after Land Rover did not win the contract. Today, the surviving prototype is still undergoing restoration but you get an impression of its abilities when you see how high it stands off the ground and how big is the loadbed. It looks like a Land Rover on steroids, its heavy, has a desert wide turning circle, and very modest performance.

A much more comfortable and nimble model I tried was the , a test-mule which was used to develop the first Freelander's brake, traction control and hill-descent technology and clothed in an Austin Maestro van body for its secret assessments carried out by Land Rover engineers including Roger Crathorne, who helped develop Hill Descent Control. The Canley Building 40 to give it the full title, used the van because its proportions and body weight closely matched that of the intended Freelander panelling. Inside it was kitted out with four seats and space for the testing equipment which varied among the 22 built and of which just the one is thought to survive with its 115bhp 1.8 litre engine.

While most talk these days about hybrids revolves around electric power, Land Rover had another sort of hybrid in its sights when it built the in 1976. This married a shortened Series II body with the Range Rover chassis to convince the British Leyland Board at the time that coil springs offered articulation and comfort advantages over the long in the tooth leaf springs of what was the Defender at the time. The 130bhp 3.5V8 has an impressive turn of speed but the hybrid's ride comfort is the more surprising aspect of its features.

A more traditional model tested this week marked the 30 anniversary of the which brought synchromesh forward gears, a stronger back axle in the LWB and a revised interior to the former Series IIA. This is still the model many associate with African Safaris and it was the workhorse of many companies and services which had to move personnel or materials over any terrain. The sit up and take it seating is not conducive to comfort and its ponderous gearchange is smooth but spectacularly spaced out although the 70.5bhp 2.2 litre engine seems unbreakable and ever-lasting.

Today's models included the current in top line Autobiography trim with its bewildering dynamic and cosmetic technology powered by the latest 256hp 3.0V6 turbo diesel and the newest with 190bhp 2.2 litre 4-cylinder engine, Prestige trim and 4WD, the cleanest, smallest and lightest Range Rover ever made. These maintain the legendary off-road abilities but bring new levels of agility to the brand and the Evoque in particular is winning over a completely new type of customer who has never owned a Range Rover or Land Rover before.