After the antics of the Holland Figaro rally last year, which bore a striking resemblance to the Wacky Races with its bumps, breakdowns and navigational nightmares, this year’s Scotland rally ran like clockwork. Ken Graham’s tour was a triumph of Scottish engineering surpassed only by the magnificent Falkirk wheel which featured in the program of notable sites visited along the way.
Having been a little apprehensive of the distance to travel even before the rally started, I was reminded of how reliable these little cars really are. 29 cars from all over the UK and the Netherlands travelled long distance and then spent most of the next three days climbing up and down the mountains with not a hint of trouble.
Figaros on the Forth
Once again, my Suzanna was the only yellow car in the rally, which comprised 12 Lapis Grey, 5 Emerald Green, 4 Pale Aqua, one Topaz Mist and an assortment of custom colours including pearlescent orange, pink, plum and black.
Sadly, the weather was not great, but in typical Figaro owner spirit we made the best of it anyway, managing one full day of ‘top down’ driving as Ken organised for our luggage to be transported to our second hotel, thereby leaving boots empty to accommodate hoods.
Going vintage
This year’s rally premièred a new feature; Vintage Day, which was suggested by Judy and enthusiastically embraced by many of us. Especially Veronica, whose selection of spectacular outfits provided a daily display of classic 1950s style. Needless to say, my own dress was yellow; a simple 1940s summer frock with a working woman’s headscarf, original shoes and handbag, all courtesy of the lovely Joan Whitaker. As Mark hasn’t yet got the correct accessories for his 1940s RAF suit, he decided to take a more American style for his vintage dress, in keeping with his ‘wagon’s roll’ expression as we start up our engines, that has been widely adopted by our fellow drivers since last year.
So, where did we go and what did we see? Well, firstly a bunch of us arranged to meet at Tebay services on M6 on the way up on the Monday morning. Arriving punctually, we were pleased to see Kevin & Sue Fagan (the Owners Club founders) and our Figgy ‘besties‘ Ian and Lisa Martin, along with some new faces. From there we formed our own mini convoy, collecting others on the way including more old friends in the form of Belinda and James, tooting as they passed and filming us all beaming and waving.
Our first hotel was the Westerwood in Cumbernauld, a utilitarian new build with leisure facilities that, completely going against type, Mark and I sampled on arrival. The sauna, Jacuzzi, swimming pool and gym formed a fitting venue for renewing auld acquaintances and forging new friendships. The welcome dinner was excellent and we all collected our goody bags which were filled with…Scottish goodies! Everything from Iron Bru to ‘tablet’ (aka fudge), shortbread and Tunnocks, and (of more interest to Mark) a miniature Glenfiddich.
The Kelpies by Andy Scott
Tuesday morning saw the start of the actual rally and the first stop was our sailing on the aforementioned Falkirk Wheel. This truly amazing feat of navigational engineering moves boats up and down 35 metres between two canals, the Forth & Clyde and The Union. These had originally been joined by a flight of 11 locks that stepped down across a distance of 1.5km, but which were dismantled in 1933, breaking the link. We enjoyed the surreal experience of rising up to float away high above our heads and then back again. Not great with heights at the best of times, and seated in the front of the boat, I have to confess to feeling a little wobbly on the return trip as the boat cruised to the end of the canal with a sheer drop in front of our bows before the slow descent of the wheel to the lower level.
Returning to our cars it was not far to our next stop, a real highlight for me; the giant horses’ head sculptures The Kelpies by Andy Scott. What an amazing sight they are, capturing the beauty of the equine form on an incredible 30 metre scale.
After lunch at Rouken Glen Garden Centre we continued with the theme of the day and admired another iconic piece of Scottish engineering, the Forth Bridge. We crossed the adjacent road bridge and headed on to end the afternoon jaunt at Stirling.
The Duke at The Falls of Dochart
Day 2 of the rally saw us travelling through the Campsie Hills, along Loch Lubnaig and onto a stunning spot, the Falls of Dochart at Killin in time for lunch. Apparently Robin Hood was filmed here (you know the bit; with Russell Crowe in the river). From there we ran alongside Loch Tay and over a single track road to Loch Tummel taking in the Queen’s View. When Queen Victoria visited in 1866, she assumed that the sweeping view west along Loch Tummel was named after her – but she was wrong. ‘The view is’ (ha ha), that the aspect was really named after Queen Isabella, first wife of Robert the Bruce, more than 500 years earlier.
Figaros at Atholl Palace
Arrival at our next hotel was very exciting, as our multi-coloured convoy wound its way up the sweeping drive of the magnificent Atholl Palace at Pitlochry. A few years ago Mark and I had enjoyed a visit to its basement museum (perfectly preserved servants’ quarters), so we knew we were in for a treat, but it was great to see everyone else revel in the grandeur and our crazy little cars parked out front in the early evening sunshine .
With another evening ‘free’, we walked down to the town to eat at The Old Mill Inn, amassing a crowd on the way which made us ten for dinner.
Our third and final day saw our Figs climb to Glenshee, the largest ski resort in Scotland. I was mightily relieved that the 22 lifts were closed and I didn’t have to cling on with my eyes closed and teeth gritted to the top of any of the surrounding summits in a swaying chairlift. They were probably closed because of the howling gale.
From there we went on to have a right Royal day, heading first to Braemar where we visited the dinky stadium which hosts the Royal Highland Games and eventually on to Balmoral. Thanks to the Queen’s forthcoming visit we unfortunately had to endure several miles of road resurfacing work. The signs advising 20mph Loose Chippings were taken very seriously and our whole convoy inched its way cautiously along at a snail pace. Not far from Balmoral the road ahead was actually closed and we were forced to take a diversion via Royal Lochnager Distillery where I was very impressed by Mark’s restraint. As far as I could see he didn’t touch a drop!
With so much time lost we decided to forego the Balmoral Castle tour and make tracks back to the hotel. As everyone was by now free to ‘do their own thing’ I suggested to my navigator that we took an alternative route back to avoid the lengthy loose chipping stage. He informed me that the only alternative he could see would essentially mean a 200 mile loop! We went back the way we came. Not that such a scenic road as the A93 was really such a hardship.
The farewell dinner and ceilidh was a wonderful evening. I love to dance and Mark joined in more enthusiastically than usual, managing amongst other dances, a St Bernard’s Waltz and a very respectable stripping of the willow. Of course we couldn’t resist doing a turn. While busy driving, my mind had been churning over Scottish folk songs and composing alternative Figaro lyrics to fit, so I did a medley of those, and Mark followed up with a tribute to Ken followed by a variation on The Proclaimers ‘I would drive 500 miles’….
Driving home the following day we went via Findlays of Portobello (Edinburgh) to stock up on gluten-free haggis and black pudding, then took the scenic road down through the Borders to Selkirk. Arriving back in Wharfedale just before 8pm we were greeted by the irony of 20mph Loose Chippings signs just one mile from home and crawled through Threshfield up to Grassington in glorious sunshine, the best weather we had seen all week.
A good time had by all? Och aye! And ye can watch more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FePn96bnrMI