PICTURES: Loch Ness Classic Car Tour covers 160-mile route around the Highlands in aid of local charities
Occasional rain showers and ‘squally’ winds did not deter entrants in this year’s Loch Ness Classic Car Tour as vintage cars and their crews took to the roads of the north Highlands.
Setting off from the Inverness Ice Centre, the 160-mile route took in Dava Moor with a loop round Lochindorb, Speyside then up into Glenlivet to the lunch halt in Tomintoul.
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The return leg meandered through Strathspey and then past Moy before heading south down Strathnairn and the final leg along Loch Ness.
A wide variety of cars ranging from the 1950s to more modern vehicles caught the attention of the public at both the start and finish venue, and in Tomintoul, with cars and crews attracting plenty of admiring looks and questions.
Organisers Rotary Club of Inverness Loch Ness announced at the post-tour awards ceremony that a sum of over £3000 had been raised for this year’s beneficiaries, CHAS (Children’s Hospices Across Scotland) and the Highlands and Islands Blood Bikes.
Then came the presentation of a special “Fair Play” award which had been gifted to the tour by Mrs Louise Wall in memory of her late husband Ranald Bruce.
The couple had enjoyed many classic car Tours both in Scotland and across Europe, but the Highlands had always held a special attraction.
The award, a pair of engraved wooden charcuterie platters, was presented by family friend Andrew Cowan from Kingussie to the crew of the Austin A105 Vanden Plas, George and Ian Keir of Dufftown, in recognition of their outstanding support of the Tour ever since its inception.
The crew’s classic vintage cars were noted for how immaculately presented they were each year along with their “friendly disposition”.
Tour co-organiser Ormond Smith closed by expressing his thanks and appreciation to the tour entrants for “their continued support of the event and the generosity of the sponsorship received which will be put to good use by both main charities”.
Mr Smith also announced a date of June 7, 2025 for next year’s tour, before wishing all the participants a safe journey back home.
