Spring Tour: 8th-10th April 2011

Although the Autumn Tour to Ireland was much enjoyed by those who participated, overall numbers were rather disappointing. Our Spring tours are always more popular so we wanted to give anyone interested advance notice of the dates to help with your planning.
We are looking at a couple of options for the itinerary.
The first would be a return to one of our earlier trips of 6 years ago - to the small highland village of Archiestown in Speyside. There are some fantastic roads in this part of the Highlands, with the option of driving there or back by Glenshee and Tomintoul. The weekend would have a whisky theme, and could include a function at one of the nearby distilleries.
A second option would be a new location for us, heading north of Inverness to Dornoch in Cromarty, which we can then use as a base to explore Sutherland.
As we develop these ideas over the next few weeks any feedback from members would be appreciated. We will confirm the event details by mid-January.

On tour in Ireland

A small but exclusive band of club members enjoyed a sunny October weekend on the Antrim coast. After meeting for lunch at Maidens we crossed by the Express ferry to Larne, and drove directly to Bushmills. On arrival we quickly established our own "private" room in the hotel's atmospheric bar, complete with gas lights, peat fire, and of course several creamy headed pints.

Saturday was spent touring the Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle and the other sites of this beautiful stretch of coastline, followed by a tour - and a few samples - at the Bushmills Distillery, the oldest registered distillery in the British Isles. (Apart from the Ferrari which decided to break down - rather terminally - in the village's main street. Caused quite a stir locally, with plenty of locals offering advice, and several tourists taking pictures of a stricken "supercar"!)

The group gathered for another great dinner on Saturday night - complete with five different styles of potatoes - only in Ireland - and a second evening in the bar, this time with some great Irish live music.


Before crossing back to Scotland, the group drove the length of the coast road, past Torr Head and Cushendun.

Watch for details on this blog of the spring tour.

Autumn weekend tour to Ireland

This autumn, for the first time, we will be leaving Scotland and crossing the Irish Sea to explore the beautiful Antrim coast of Northern Ireland.

Our base will be the famous Bushmills Inn. http://www.bushmillsinn.com

Centuries of history exude from the old timber beams and rough plaster walls of this landmark inn. At its heart is the gas-lit sixteenth century snug, with soot-stained walls and ceilings and a pulley suspended above the fireplace. You could spend hours here over a Guinness or a dram, dreaming up romantic notions of encounters goneby. The snug is encased by a mere two-hundred year old inn, with an even more modern, yet sympathetically designed, outer shell. Guest rooms are spacious and atmospheric, with individual character and attention to detail in-keeping with the building's charm.

This place is a genuine meeting point for travellers and locals alike, buzzing with conviviality and conversation throughout a jigsaw puzzle of interconnecting public rooms and cosy corners. The outdoor courtyard and terrace come into their own in the summer months, while open peat fires provide the perfect ambience in other seasons. Service is attentive and friendly, many staff being young, local and very proud of the area. The menu offered throughout the restaurant and conservatory fuses local produce with a touch of creativity to make this one of the most renowned dining destinations in the North of Ireland.

Outline Itinerary

Friday 1^st October

We will cross the Irish Sea from the port of Cairnryan on the afternoon fast ferry service to Larne, departing at 15.00 and arriving at 16.00. Bushmills is around 90 minutes’ drive.

Dinner this evening at the hotel, followed by a few drinks. I suspect!

Saturday 2^nd October

After a full Irish breakfast your day is your own to explore the famous sights of the Antrim coastline, including the geological phenomenon of the Giants' Causeway, and the much-photographed cliff-top ruins of haunting Dunluce Castle. For the more adventurous, test your nerve and head for heights by venturing across the suspended rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede (picture below). Why not end the day with a visit to the famous Bushmills distillery. The city of Londonderry with its famous “walls” is also just a short drive away. We will offer plenty of suggestions for lunch and refreshment stops.

Dinner again back at the Bushmills Inn – and plenty of time to explore a couple of other local hostelries.

Sunday 3^rd October

The return ferry will be at the end of this afternoon, departing at 17.30 but this time operating to Troon, a little nearer to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Today you will have time to drive the full length of the Antrim Coast, taking in the Torr Head road, the conservation village of Cushendun and the beautiful glens of Antrim. Or, with an early start, you could choose to make a trip into Belfast.

Price: £319 per person, based on two sharing a twin or double room ensuite.

Deluxe double or twin rooms are available for a supplement of £30 per person.

Some suites also available – price on request. These can work well for families.

Prices include two nights’ accommodation including dinner both nights, the ferry from Cairnryan to Larne and from Larne to Troon.

The supplement for a single person in a car by themselves is £175.

We will also supply a full route plan, maps and local guides and Robert’s Recommendations on what to see and do.

To book:

Call Robert Kidd on 0141 202 0638 or email to Robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to book your place.

Contact Matt to reserve the car of your choice.

Classic Car Club comes back from Skye

..apparently remarkably unscathed, despite:

• a tight squeeze on the ferry- a true classic vehicle
• beers and a music til the early hours on Friday
• some wide open roads on Saturday
• more beers and dancing (Gus!) Saturday evening
• drinking the hotel out of draft Red Cuillin 11pm Sat- lucky they had Black Cuillin in bottle
  (yes Myke, you would have been proud of us!)
  

A few pictures as evidence:

Matt looks suitably concerned as the SM is first on the Glenelg ferry...

a valuable cargo on its way to Skye...

(most of) the fleet outside the hotel

Cramond is happy the sun is out...

Mechanic-ing now available for all at CCC...

As most of you know by now, after 7 years with the club, Derek, our mechanic decided to emigrate to Australia. Whilst it was a shame for all in the club to see him go to the sun, it also gave us the opportunity to bring in new blood to maintain our fleet. The Classic Car Club fleet is now being maintained by Danny Gray of Grays Autoprecision.

With a career spanning an apprenticeship at the Merchiston Mews Garage (the original home of Ecurie Ecosse), and Laurie Doonan of the Mews Garage (in the West End), and more latterly a Ford and then Subaru main dealer, he has a range of knowledge of most types of vehicle servicing, repair and diagnostics. .

Danny is settling in well to the Classic Car Club building and he has intends to ensure our fleet is better prepared than ever before for the season ahead.

Some members may have noticed Danny guiding us as we assembled and prepared the Caterham, or have met him already as you collected cars. I am sure you will all meet him in due course.

Work to date on our cars has included repairing the radiators on our 911 Turbo, replacing the brakes on the Maserati and Porsche Boxster, and fettling of the Jaguar Mk2 - a labour of Hercules if ever there was....

Alongside the maintenance of the fleet, Danny will also be operating his own business - Gray's Autoprecision - which is dedicated to maintaining the smooth running of any cars that cross it's threshold. So if you have any motors that need TLC, a service, or automotive electronic diagnosis (ABS, Check Engine etc) give Danny a buzz on 0131 450 7068 or drop him an email at graysautoprecision@hotmail.co.uk

On a personal level Danny also has a strong connection with Islay (the home of some unique malt whiskies) having lived there for many years and indeed has a family connection with a Stillmaster - this may come in handy for future road trips.

See our "Virtual Open Weekend"

For those of you unable to come to our Open Weekend in March, I've put together some video footage so you can get a feel of what it was like! Apologies for wobbly camera, bad editing and Drew's singing - maybe turn the volume off!

See:

http://www.vimeo.com/10604855

Aston DB9 has arrived!

Not often does a dreary wet March day feel like xmas, but it does today. Our latest addition to the fleet has arrived - a 2005 Aston Martin DB9. It's dark green & co-incidentally the same colour as our old DB7 V12.

It keeps all the good bits of the DB7 V12 - the exterior beauty and the mellifluous 6.0 V12, but adds a really comfy and stunningly cool interior and a gearbox that does what you want. It has paddles on the steering column allow the driver to dictate the changes.

It drives beautifully - I think we're all going to be very happy together!

Classic Car Club goes to Skye

Just a few places remain for the club's spring trip to Skye 23rd - 25th April.
Anyone interested please contact Matt or Robert Kidd as soon as possible.

These are the kind of open roads and scenery we can look forward to - picture taken on our last trip there in October 2005!

Caterham 7 SV build day 6

Day 6 was another slow one, but the end must be near! We've been slightly hamstrung by Caterham as they have been slow sending us bits that we needed but fingers crossed that the stuff will arrive this week to allow us to finish the build.

We've fitted the interior and the other rear wing. Still to go are the cycle wings, rear light clusters, windscreen and fitting the hood. Then we'll fire her up. Still waiting for VOSA to give us a date for the IVA test (needs to be done before it can be registered) - it's been nearly a month since we applied so fingers crossed it will be done in the next couple of weeks - I think there are a few people looking forward to driving it!

Austin-Healey 100/6 TV star!

BBC2 this week at 6.30pm midweek eves is showing "Antiques Road Trip" starring a couple of antique dealers driving around Scotland looking for bargains to sell at auction. And this week the undoubted star of the show is the club Healey. Catch it on the BBC iPlayer if you've missed it!

Caterham 7 SV build day 5

A frustrating day..... Lots of fiddly little jobs that didn't really seem to progress the build. We fixed the wiper mechanism, the headlights and indicators, fitted the rear carbon stone guards - these took an hour each! And lots of riveting.

Whats left? Carpets, seats, transmission tunnel. Fitting the indicator repeaters on the cycle wings and fitting them, finishing the rear wings, fitting the windscreen. Then fill up all the fluids, connect the battery and cross fingers! Watch this space.....

Caterham 7 SV build day 4

It's starting to look like a car! That's the diff in place - thanks Caterham, your instructions weren't great for that - the driveshafts, the De Dion tube (a sort of rear subframe for the suspension and rear wheels) the rear suspension and brakes. This weekend we need to finish the rear brakes, fit the rear wings and roll-over bar then fit the interior, sort all the weathergear - windscreen, hood etc, and the electrics - lights, indicators and wipers. We'll then fill with fluids - coolant; engine, gearbox and diff oils; clutch and brake fluids, connect the battery and try and start her.......

Caterham 7 SV build day 3

Another good saturday afternoon's work at the club. That's the exhaust, fuel system, radiator, heater, cooling system, pedal box and steering column all built up.

The diff is proving problematic, but a phonecall to Caterham this week implies that this is common, and "drifting" - hitting with a large hammer - should sort it out.

That just leaves sorting the diff and the rear suspension before finishing the bodywork and body electrics and starting the tests - watch this space for mores

2010 Caterham 7 SV Build Day 2

The engine and gearbox are in! After 2 afternoons work it feels as if we are on the downslope. With all the front suspension, brakes, engine, clutch, starter motor, gearbox, gear lever and engine electrics all in place it feels as if we're over halfway through.

Next weekend we'll fit the exhaust, radiator, water and heater pipes, propshaft, differential, driveshafts, rear hubs, rear brakes and rear suspension. All that we need to do after that is fit the interior, rollbar, windscreen and the prestart checks, lubrication, brake and clutch fluids. Then it's off to the DVLA to be tested. Keep an eye on the window for further progress.

2010 Caterham 7 SV Build Day 1

Yesterday we started building our new C7 Roadsport. Beautifully painted in Lamborghini Pearl White, it will be fitted with Matte Black cycle wings and finished with a red stripe! We hope to have it finished by early March, so that we can get it registered in time for the new season with a 2010 plate (a "60" plate I think...)

The build is being done in the downstairs window so any passers by can see the progress.

We made good progress, and have mostly finished the front suspension, steering

and brakes. The engine is next - we'll start that next weekend. Watch for more updates on the blog.

The Classic Car Club goes to Skye

For our next club weekend we will be heading over the sea to Skye. This is a return to an island the club last visited in the October 2005, when we enjoyed wonderful autumn sunshine, wide open roads and plenty of traditional island hospitality.

We will once again be staying in one of McKinlay Kidd’s favourite and very Scottish hotels – Eilean Iarmain.

Sheltered by a gently curving bay, this charming whitewashed hotel sits right on the seashore, enjoying expansive views over the Sound of Sleat to the wilderness of Knoydart. This is a Gaelic-speaking community and the bar is a convivial meeting place for the locals, who mix happily with hotel guests, often to the accompaniment of traditional music and Gaelic song in front of the roaring log fire. Twelve bedrooms (six in the Garden House) are decorated with pretty cotton and linen chintzes and there are also suites in the recently restored stables, each enjoying superb views across the water to the lighthouse of Isle Ornsay.

Candlelit meals in the wood-panelled dining room reflect the estate’s culinary riches, with wonderful shellfish and game featuring prominently on the menu. Langoustines are landed at the old stone pier, and oysters come from the hotel's own oyster beds.

Outline itinerary (provisional and subject to change)

Friday

As usual we will plan a lunchtime meeting location, probably in the area north of Fort William. We then will cross to Skye by the community-owned ferry from Glenelg- takes just 6 cars at a time so we will arrange a rota! Then it’s just a short drive further to the hotel.

Dinner tonight will be in the bar, where there will be traditional music and plenty of local ales!

Saturday
After breakfast the day is your own to explore the island – and we will give you plenty of recommendations for lunch options.

At the end of the afternoon we will gather again at the hotel for a tasting of Gaelic Whiskies’ products. This will be followed by dinner, this time in the hotel restaurant.
Afterwards relax in front of the fire in the lounge or head back to the bar, where there will be more live music – this time more contemporary!

Sunday

After breakfast depart for home, with a choice of routes, over the bridge, by ferry from Mallaig or back over by Glenelg.

Price: £210 per person.

This is based on two sharing a superior twin or double room ensuite.

Single occupancy of a double room available for a £40 supplement.
Some suites also available – price on request. These can work well for families.

Price includes two nights’ accommodation including dinner both nights, the ferry from Glenelg to Skye, a full route plan, the whisky tasting, live music in the bar and Robert’s Recommendations on what to see and do in the local area.

How to Book:
Call Robert Kidd on 0141 202 0638 or email robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to reserve your place.
Contact Matt to reserve your car.