Engines at the ready for the return of the Loch Ness Classic Car Tour on Saturday
All systems are go for the return of the annual Loch Ness Classic Car Tour this weekend as vintage vehicles take to the roads across the Highlands in support of two local charities.
Organised by the Rotary Club of Inverness Loch Ness, the tour sets off from the Inverness Ice Centre at 10am on Saturday, June 8.
RELATED:
Organisers welcome late entries ahead of Loch Ness classic car tour
Classic car tour by Rotarians through stunning Highland scenery helps cancer care charity
The 160-mile route will head across Dava Moor before meandering down the west bank of the River Spey to Marypark, and then up into Glenlivet and the lunch halt in Tomintoul.
The return leg takes in Nethybridge, Boat of Garten and Carrbridge before heading north to Strathnairn and a loop around Foyers and the final section along the iconic Loch Ness to the Ice Centre finish where the first cars are expected back around 3.30pm.
CHAS (Children’s Hospices Across Scotland) and the Highlands and Islands Blood Bikes are the two local charities set to benefit from this year’s tour, with entrants asked to make a donation instead of paying an entry fee.
Co-organiser Ormond Smith said: “We've got 17 entries for this year's tour with holidays and a certain pop concert in Edinburgh having a negative effect, but what we perhaps lack in numbers, we make up for in the quality of cars entered.
“The weather forecast looks favourable so hopefully it stays dry on the day for the tour over some very scenic roads which the drivers will enjoy.”
This year’s entries include two vehicles of yesteryear, both from 1959, with a beautifully restored Morris 1000 van and an Austin A105 Vanden Plas sure to bring back some memories for mature spectators.
Cars from the ‘60s and ‘70s include a sprightly Lotus Elan, a classic Austin Healey 3000 and a Daimler Sovereign, a trio of sporting Triumphs and a rare Bristol 412 — of which only 98 were manufactured.
Sports car entries of a more modern era include a Morgan Plus 8 and an Alpine A110 GT.
An added attraction this year is the Ranald Bruce “Fair Play” Memorial Award, which shall be presented by Mr Bruce’s widow Louise Wall, who has also generously donated to both of the tour’s charities.
The couple enjoyed several classic car tours in the Highlands together, and as June 8 would have been a poignant date for them — their 33rd wedding anniversary — Louise selected the Loch Ness Tour as a suitable and timely event to support.
