Classic Car Club Weekend 9/10/11 October.

Classic Car Club Weekend 9/10/11 October.

Well it was another great trip organised by Robert and Heather Kidd. We headed North – almost as far as you can go on the mainland. Cars included the Ferrari, Porsche 911, TVR, Boxster, Healey 6/100 and the Elise.

The route beyond Inverness included stops for lunch at the very busy “Storehouse of Foulis” and then further north on the A836 to Crask Inn. A wonderful place to stop – apparently it is bad luck not to stop – so we had tea & cakes and although one or two had a glass of beer.

Resting inside Crask Inn.

This road is single track with passing places, super views to help along the way, and then you get to the coast with it’s beaches, cliffs and of course the sea.

The hotel we stayed in was The Tongue Inn, in Tongue and provided a warm welcome, clean rooms and good food.

Picture: diners at Tongue Hotel.

The attached pub provided the beer – we drank them dry of “real ale” on the Friday night.

Saturday, a dry start - we went east – some to John O’Groats others stopped in Thurso – a busy town with the usual coffee shops, museum and walks by the river.

Lunch was at the award winning Captains Galley, at Scrabster.

Picture of restaurant. Inside and out.

Famous for it’s fresh seafood and we enjoyed some fantastic food during the afternoon there. Some took a long route back to Tongue – again mainly single track roads.

Saturday night we were entertained by the locals in the hotel bar and we enjoyed an impromptu darts match which stretched late into the night – more because of the poor scoring than the excitement of the game.

Photo: Hotel bar.

Elaine’s looking forward to the next one.

Myke

Momentous News!

Classic Car Club is hugely excited to tell you about it's latest news - we're moving home! After 8 years in Leith, the opportunity has arisen to dramatically improve our garage. So, effective from the 1st October 2009, we will be living at 60 St John's Road, Corstorphine. It's on the main road between the Zoo and the Airport, on the corner of Clermiston Rd and St John's Road. We will mainly be using the entrance on Clermiston Road.

CCC's new home is a genuine 1930's garage, and is some 3 times the size of our old home. It's full of period features, and the top floor is light airy and sunny (when the sun shines....) and is the perfect clubroom. With free wifi, a full-size slate pool table, a pinball machine, a library, a 150 inch projector screen for films and video games, plus coffee making facilities and a fridge for those looking to hang out and bring a beer or 3, we hope this will turn into a destination for members and their guests to enjoy, and bring a new dimension to the already exciting benefits of membership.

Sometime later in the month (or maybe even at the start of November) we'll be holding a party to celebrate the new venue and 8 exciting years of Classic Car Club being north of the border. All members and their partners will be invited - it will be on a saturday evening - and if we lay on a band and some entertainment could you members bring a bottle or two to enjoy?

Classic Car Club Scotland
Autumn 2009 Club touring weekend
9th – 11th October
This October we are planning our furthest flung trip, to explore the far north coast of Sutherland for the first time. It is a wildly beautiful area, and sure to be dramatic come rain or shine.

We will be based in the village of Tongue, around 100 miles north of Inverness– staying at the Tongue Hotel

This traditional hunting lodge has recently been refurbished but remains a simple and welcoming Scottish country hotel surrounded by stunning scenery, including the impressive Ben Loyal. The area, and indeed the hotel, recently appeared on BBC’s “Who do you think you are” featuring actor and comedian David Mitchell in search of his Scottish roots.

Friday
As a group we plan to arrive Friday late afternoon. Tongue is around two hours 30 minutes north of Inverness.
You leave the A9 at Alness, pass Bonar Bridge, to Lairg. From here you wend your way on single track roads, through genuine wilderness scenery!

Note: With a travel time of 6 hours plus from Edinburgh, we know that some members will wish to stop a night on the way north, or indeed on the way back. McKinlay Kidd can assist with ideas and bookings as required – for example a room in an award-winning guest house in Inverness from £110. Or you may even choose to combine it with your own classic car trip to Orkney – again, we can assist with ferry and accommodation arrangements. Please advise Robert of any such requests as soon as possible to guarantee availability.

Once the party is confirmed, a suitable meeting point en route to Tongue will be identified.

This evening dinner will be a two course bar meal in the hotel

Saturday
Today we will explore the coast, perhaps including Durness, a favourite holiday destination for John Lennon, home to the wonderful chocolate-maker Cocoa Mountain, and an area of glorious beaches. (We did investigate the option of a visit to Cape Wrath, but this is impossible due to planned military exercises in the area!)

Other possibilities, weather permitting, include the Victorian tourist attraction of Smoo Cave – the largest and most dramatic coastline cave in Britain, and the eerie valley of Strathnaver, once home to 40 small communities, now a poignant memorial to the Highland clearances.

Return to Tongue, for dinner.

Sunday
Explore area on own before returning to Edinburgh/Glasgow.
We will make a number of route suggestions for the return journey, and can assist with overnight accommodation if required.

Price:
£189 per person, based on two sharing a twin or double room ensuite.

Prices includes 2 nights’ accommodation on a B&B basis, plus evening meals as described and an activity on the Saturday.

Some single rooms will be available, for a supplement of £10.

How to book
Call 0844 804 0020 or email Robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to reserve your place.

As space is strictly limited we advise booking as soon as possible!
Contact Matt to book your car.

Autumn weekend 9th -11th October

Full details will follow shortly, but do put these dates in your diary!

Cobra training this weekend

Still a couple of spaces on saturday morning's Cobra training. Call the office if you want to come. Remember you need this to drive the Cobra, Elise, Ferrari, TVR, Caterham and Maserati!

May Bank holiday BBQ, and free lunch!

One of the small hotels and inns we use for our See Scotland differently holidays - The An Lochan Tormaukin Inn, in Glendevon, near Gleneagles - has offered a free lunch to any Classic Car Club member bringing one of the club cars to their bank holiday beer festival and BBQ.

The event takes place Sunday 24th and Monday 25th May between 12pm-8pm. They will be serving around 10 Local Ales, Lamb, Highland Beef and Venison Burgers & Sausages. There will be a Shetland Pony, Birds of Prey and Face Painting too!!

If you plan to go, call ahead (01259 781 252) and they will reserve a prime parking space for you.

(Lunch will be a burger and pint per person or equivalent.)

This inn is about 90 minutes from Edinburgh, on the A823, north of Yetts o'Muckhart.

Classic Car Club Scotland – Weekend trip ( 24 – 26th April 09)

This trip was based at Hotel Tigh an Eilean, Shieldaig, Loch Torridon and was arranged, as always, by Robert Kidd of McKinlay Kidd.

The aim of these trips is to get members together to enjoy good drives, good food, a couple of beers along with a few unusual and interesting adventures. I drove the Porsche Boxster and brother-in-law Frank drove Elaine’s Honda S2000. (no rivalry there then)

The first drive on Friday took a detour route to avoid the roadworks on the A9. The route took in some good roads via Knockhill, Crieff, Aberfeldy and we met for a superb lunch at the Killiecrankie hotel. They were holding a “Seafood Festival” and we all enjoyed the variety and quality of the food, it set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

[ Photo of fleet outside Hotel]

From Killiekrankie, we went via Dalwhinnie to Spean Bridge then on to Invergarry then on the A87 – super road. Then we picked up the A890, which got us to our destination in time for a refreshment in the bar before dinner in the “Coastal Kitchen”.

On Saturday we took a short drive heading for a “Seafood Safari” on Dry Island.

Across a floating bridge [Picture above] we went aboard a fishing boat to explore the life of a creeler. [Picture]

We had a great time and Ian Macwhinnie gave us a very educational and amusing talk about the history of the Loch, the fish and wildlife as well as a great introduction to the geography and geology of the area. We (Ian) caught many crabs and showed us some interesting fish which live in the area – Starfish, Shoefish (poisonous), and tiny cod.

Only a few langoustines were caught – and they were supposed to make up our lunch.

Luckily Ian had been out before and there were plenty on the plate when we got back.
( Creelers fish all daylight hours) Lunch of Langoustines and squat lobsters was washed down with a glass of wine (non-drivers). A fantastic experience all round.

Other drivers took in Applecross, a trip to Skye and the Pass of Cattle. The cars performed perfectly - no one set a new land speed record. The DB7 was thirsty though and Gus had a few nervous moments on Sunday trying to do 18 miles on an “empty” tank - to get fuel.

Dinner in the hotel on Saturday is a little more formal – however, Robert was caught out when he realised his shirt matched the settee covers......


The hotel dinner on Saturday was impeccably served and delicious – unfortunately I had a large breakfast, fantastic lunch and then this superb dinner. I had to retire early as I had no room left for my after dinner drink. Others were late to bed.

The return trip was more or less unscripted – although Robert made many good suggestions of places to visit.

We set off in dull weather, ( thanks Heather) the later rain meant that hoods were up and down regularly – but no-one got seriously wet.

One of the best weekend trips we’ve had! Roll on the next one - natives beware!