Jul 252017
 

With thanks to Eoin Smith, Senior Account Executive, Tricker PR

The Jaguar Classic Show returns to Drum Castle on 30 July.

The annual Jaguar Classic Show returns to the National Trust for Scotland’s Drum Castle for the eighteenth time this July, and is sure to delight motoring enthusiasts across the north east of Scotland. The castle’s expansive south lawn will become home to some of the finest examples of Jaguar engineering and design in the country, courtesy of the Grampian arm of the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club.

This year the JEC will also be showcasing classic Daimler vehicles, which became part of the Jaguar family after the brand was bought in the early 1960s.

The motoring showcase will also feature performances by Inverurie Pipe Band and a raffle, with every penny raised going towards charity Friends of Anchor.

Entry to this popular event costs £4 for adults or £2 for concessions. Booking is not required, and National Trust for Scotland and National Trust members go free.

Visit www.nts.org.uk/Event/20013516345/jaguarclassicshow for more information.

For more information about summer events at Drum Castle, Garden & Estate – and other National Trust for Scotland properties – visit www.nts.org.uk

Event:   Jaguar Classic Show at Drum Castle
Date:    Sunday 30 July 2017
Time:    12noon-4.00pm
Venue:   Drum Castle, Garden & Estate,
Drumoak, By Banchory,
Aberdeenshire,
AB31 5EY

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Jul 212017
 

By Duncan Harley

The British Heart Foundation Scotland will be a major beneficiary from funds raised at ‘Blast from the Past’ – a Classic Car Show featuring rare and unique vehicles from across the North-east – on Saturday 22 July 2017.

“We are delighted that Margaret and Ian McWilliam along with their daughters Jade and Iona have accepted our invitation to join us at the event” says co-organiser Alan Leonard.

“The McWilliams, a local family from Kintore, give up a lot of their time in support of the BHF as their lives have been directly impacted by the effects of heart disease.”

Co-organiser Alan Leonard and main sponsor Alan Wallace of Aberdeen’s AW Autotech chose the Inverurie venue for this inaugural event due to the suitability of the site.

“The area we are using is all in tarmac” says Alan “and we also have the exclusive use of the entire in-door shopping mall and display area.”

“More importantly” he says “From our first contact with Thainstone management they have offered us all of the professional support we could possibly wish for in order to ensure that the event will be a success.”

Alongside the classic cars, the day features family fun complete with kids rides, bouncy castles, music and competitions.

For the young and not so young the show features live action including an Auto-Test competition, parade laps of exhibitors cars and a giant Scalextric Track guaranteed to take the breath away from both adults and kids.

Alongside the more than 200 Classic Car display entries, the show will feature motor-cycles, commercial vehicles plus many rare and unique vehicles. Stars of the show include a 1936 Auburn ‘Boattail’ Speedster and a rare 1961 Daimler Dart.

‘A Blast from the Past’ runs from 10am – 4pm this coming Saturday.
Admission £5 – children under 12 free.
Free parking on site.
More information at http://www.nes-blastfromthepast.co.uk/car-show/

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Dec 232016
 

With thanks to Jessica Murphy, Senior Account Executive, Citrus:Mix.

Members of the public are being urged to snap up the final tickets for a draw which will see one lucky person take delivery of a new Mini, while raising funds for leading north-east cancer charity CLAN Cancer Support.

The car, which was kindly part-sponsored by Domino Pizza, is on show in the Bon Accord & St Nicholas shopping centre in Aberdeen prior to finding a new owner in the charity’s Christmas Eve raffle draw.

The draw is also being supported by the area’s Rotary clubs who have helped conduct an annual car raffle since 2000.

People will be able to put themselves in the running to win the Mini by buying a ticket at CLAN’s base on Westburn Road in Aberdeen, or in the Bon Accord mall.

Dr Colette Backwell, chief executive of CLAN, said:

“Tickets for the Mini raffle have been sold throughout 2016 at everything from coffee mornings to agricultural shows and the Rotary stand in the Bon Accord Centre. As well as raising vital funds for CLAN, the raffle also helps to raise awareness of CLAN’s services throughout north-east Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland.

“We would like to thank Domino Pizza for kindly sponsoring the car this year, the Rotary Clubs for their continued support and everyone who has purchased a ticket to date – it really means a lot to us.

“Tickets for the raffle can also be bought from CLAN House, Bon Accord or from our range of charity shops across the north-east so we really are hoping that people will show their support to the prize draw. You never know, you might just be the lucky one!”

CLAN Cancer Support is an independent charity which provides comfort, support and information, free of charge, for anyone, of any age, affected by any type of cancer. CLAN aims to support people to reduce anxiety, stress and to increase their ability to cope with the effects of a serious illness.

Based in Aberdeen, the charity covers the whole of north-east Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland. CLAN has a presence in Ballater, Banchory, Buckie, Elgin, Buckie, Inverurie, Fraserburgh, Lossiemouth, Peterhead, Stonehaven, Turriff, Kirkwall and Lerwick.

For more information about CLAN Cancer Support, please call (01224) 647 000 or visit www.clanhouse.org

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Nov 042016
 

MartinFordatUTGWith thanks to Martin Ford.

Aberdeenshire councillors Paul Johnston and Martin Ford have welcomed support from sustainable transport charity Transform Scotland for the re-opening of the Buchan rail line to at least Ellon.

Writing to Councillors Johnston and Ford, Paul Tetlaw, rail spokesperson for Transform Scotland, said:

“In our view Aberdeen is very poorly served by rail and cities of comparable size in continental Europe would most likely enjoy a suburban rail network and some form of tram or metro system. So we would certainly support plans to re-open the railway from Dyce at least as far as Ellon.

“You are in the fortunate position that the former track bed is largely in local authority ownership. In contrast large parts of the Borders railway had been dispersed into multiple ownerships and it is estimated that as much as 40% of the cost of re-opening the Borders line was incurred through having to retrieve and suitably re-instate the sections of the route that had been lost.
 
“There are other lessons to be learned from the Borders line – and these may well have parallels for you. The passenger forecasts for the re-opened stations in the Borders were hopelessly pessimistic. Indeed it is probably true to say that of all the recent rail re-openings across the UK the projections for the stations at Tweedbank and Galashiels were by far the most inaccurate.

“Passenger numbers at Galashiels have in reality been five fold those projected while those at the Tweedbank park and ride site are ten fold the projections. Clearly such errors in the projections led to a poorer business case for the railway and politicians found themselves needlessly having to defend the case for the re-opening. Had the correct projections been used then it would have been clear to all concerned that the railway would be a great success and would be much welcomed by people in the Borders.
 
“The parallels that I would draw in your case are for potential stations in Ellon (Galashiels) and a park and ride beyond (Tweedbank). It is interesting to note that from day one the car park at Tweedbank has been full and overflowing – clearly demonstrating that people are quite prepared to drive in from surrounding towns and villages and then leave their car and take the train into the city.
 
“As a final point I would draw attention to the declared ambitions at both national and local government level to increase the use of public transport and decrease the reliance on the car. It is therefore clear that only a scheme that improves the public transport offering will deliver on these ambitions, any further road building will simply ensure yet greater car use with all the negative impacts on air quality, public health and congestion.”

Mr Tetlaw came to Aberdeen last week for a meeting with Nestrans but also met Cllr Ford and Cllr Johnston during his visit.
 
Cllr Martin Ford said:

“The very positive comments from Mr Tetlaw highlight that re-opening the Buchan line presents less of a difficulty than other lines where the track bed has been sold off piecemeal to multiple owners. Also, that we must not underestimate the potential for park-and-ride when forecasting likely levels of use.”

Cllr Paul Johnston said:

“The proposal to re-open the Buchan line to at least Ellon is gaining more and more support.”

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Oct 152016
 

MartinFordatUTGWith thanks to Martin Ford.

A new option is to be included in on-going studies looking at the possibility of re-opening the former Buchan rail line from Dyce to at least Ellon.
The suggestion of re-opening the Buchan line as far as a park-and-ride station just north of Ellon was put forward by East Garioch councillor Martin Ford at the North East of Scotland Transport Partnership (Nestrans) meeting on 30 September.

The Dyce to Ellon section of the long-closed Buchan rail route has been regarded as the most likely to meet value-for-money criteria for possible re-opening.

In making the proposal for a short additional length of line at the Nestrans board meeting, Cllr Ford cited the passenger numbers on the re-opened Borders line. While overall levels of use of the new Borders Railway during its first year have been well above predictions, passenger numbers have been highest and most above forecast at Tweedbank, the park-and-ride station at the end of the line.

“The unforeseen popularity of long-distance park-and-ride on the re-opened Borders Railway is noteworthy,” said Cllr Ford.

“The success of Tweedbank as a park-and-ride station has contributed disproportionately to the overall success of the Borders Railway.

“The Borders line experience suggests it is well worth looking at the possibility of replicating the model of re-opening to a terminus that provides a convenient park-and-ride facility for the area beyond.

“For the Buchan line, that could mean continuing the railway to a station just beyond Ellon which is easily accessed from the north by bus and car.”

The A948 north of Ellon passes close to the alignments of both the former Boddam branch and the Formartine and Buchan line to Fraserburgh and Peterhead.

Cllr Martin Ford said:

“I believe there is a good case for re-opening at least the southern part of the Buchan railway, but it’s crucial to identify the option with the best benefit:cost ratio to maximise the chances of getting the go-ahead.

“The continuation of the Borders Railway two miles beyond Galashiels to provide a popular park-and-ride facility at Tweedbank has made a major contribution to the success of that rail re-opening. We need to investigate whether doing something similar at Ellon could boost the case for re-opening the railway from Dyce.”

The Nestrans board at its meeting on Friday agreed to continue feasibility studies into future transport options for the Aberdeen/Ellon/Peterhead/Fraserburgh corridor, and to include re-opening the Buchan rail line from Dyce to a park-and-ride station just north of Ellon as one possible option for consideration.

Mid-Formartine councillor Paul Johnston welcomed the Nestrans decision.

“Park-and-rail evidently has potential not just for north of Ellon but also for the B999 corridor at Udny and the A947 corridor at Newmachar. So it’s important to look at all the options,” he said.

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Aug 182016
 

The countdown has begun to Deeside’s first ever speed hillclimb course on Sunday at the picturesque Kincardine Castle, Kincardine O’Neil.With thanks to James Parker.

2 D Type Jag Morag Yule with Car of the Day champayne (Tony Yule)130 hillclimb cars and bikes will take part, including the 1956 Ecurie Ecosse D-type Jaguar (which has just won Car of the Day at the Ballater Week parade) and motorcycling legend and 8 times Isle of Man TT winner Charlie Williams, on his 1974 Maxton Yamaha.

In all, 400 cars will participate.

A broad cross-section of over 60 static cars will be displayed, including a Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari F50, and AC Le Mans Coupe, Colin Macrae’s MKII Ford Escort rally car, and the Charlie Bang slingshot dragster.

Tesla To Bring The Model X.

We heard from Tesla today that they will be bringing their Model X to their stand at RDSF!

The Model X will, for the first time, be north of Edinburgh and is the 1st Model X out on the road in Scotland.

Model X is the safest, fastest and most capable sport utility vehicle in history. It is, however, ludicrously fast, accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in as quick as 3.2 seconds. With all-wheel drive and a 90 kWh battery providing 303 miles of range, Model X has ample seating for seven adults and all of their gear.

18 car clubs with 240 cars will be attending, representing Ferrari, Ford, MG, Aston Martin and Subaru, to name a few.

Tesla will have a special display of their Model S electric luxury cars. Park’s Motor Group of Hamilton head up an enviable array of trade stands with their McLaren, Maserati and Bentley, including McRae and Dick (Honda and Ford); Murray Motor Group (Lotus); Pentland Land Rover Elgin are coming, and also Shirlaws (Kawasaki and Triumph).

Passenger rides on our off-roading courses are to be recommended. The Flowline-sponsored Landrover Experience will offer a thrilling ride tacking the ‘The Rocky Road’, ‘The Toblerone” and “Willie’s Drop”, and a scenic ‘off-road safari’ will be run by the Buchan Off-road Drivers Club.

4 charlie williams 04 charlie NortonThe Clan BMX Stunt Team will be there to take centre stage with their death-defying stunt shows throughout the day, and our Festival Marketplace in the walled garden will showcase food, drink, crafts, beauty products and local businesses.

Kids can enjoy a climbing tower, carousels and bouncy castles.

The finale of our event will be the Westburn Finance Soapbox Derby allowing gravity (along with a few twists and jumps) to prove the thrilling does not necessarily mean engine-powered!

The Event supports the charities Children 1st and Help for Heroes.

Royal Deeside Speed Festival,
Sun 21 August 2016:  09:45am- 5:15pm

Kincardine Castle, Kincardine O’Neil,
Aboyne, Aberdeenshire AB34 5AE

Adult £15, Child £12.50, Family £50 (up to 3 children).

Advance sales via website or cash only tickets on the gate. Free parking.

For further information please visit our website www.rdsf.co.uk or follow us on Facebook (royaldeesidespeedfestival)

Jun 102016
 

With thanks to Martyn Smith, Marketing & Events Organiser, Grampian Transport Museum.

Alford Spedfest 2011 004Now in its third year, the popular AllFord at Alford event returns to the Grampian Transport Museum on Sunday 21st August.

An established annual fixture, AllFord celebrates all things ‘Fordie’ from 1908 to the present day and in 2015 over 200 such examples descended on the North East village.

One of the largest gatherings of Fords in Scotland, this year’s event will pay tribute to a number of key milestones. The Ka, Ford’s hatchback city car, was first introduced in 1996 and this year celebrates its 20th birthday.

The Fiesta, now into its seventh generation and having sold over 16 million examples, celebrates its 40th birthday – a milestone which is shared with the second generation Escort RS2000.

However, taking centre stage this year and marking its golden jubilee is the Ford Cortina MK2 – a car which will also be paid a fitting tribute at His Majesty’s Theatre in the Lyric Musical Society’s production of Made in Dagenham, with a run beginning on Wednesday 24th August. 2016 also marks 50 years since the Ford GT took the top prize at LeMans, completing a hat trick of first, second and third place.

The organising committee are keen to hear from owners of any of these examples, to ensure they can be included in a special celebration at this year’s AllFord. Entry forms for the event can be downloaded from the museum website or collected from GTM in Alford and Overton Dismantlers, Dyce.

Trade interest is also at a high, with Arnold Clark bringing along a selection of the latest commercial vehicles for display and North East Scotland college making a welcome return with information on a range of opportunities available to new and returning students.

Sandy Dalgarno, chair of the AllFord organising committee commented:

“Last year’s AllFord was exceptionally good with some fantastic cars including, of course, the immaculate MK2 Cortina which Adrian Evans brought up all the way from Birmingham. This year is going to be even better with some notable vehicle anniversaries which we plan to celebrate and already over 100 vehicles confirmed to attend!“

AllFord at Alford returns on Sunday 21st August 2016 at the Grampian Transport Museum.

May 272016
 

With thanks to Martyn Smith, Marketing & Events Organiser, Grampian Transport Museum.

Alford SpeedFest 2014

With a little over a month to go, the countdown to this year’s SpeedFest is now well and truly underway! The flagship fundraising event for the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford, SpeedFest takes place on Sunday 3rd July and the event, which is now in its 7th year, will showcase some of the finest record breakers of the motoring world.

Record breaking stunt driver Russ Swift has already been confirmed as the star act and returns to the North East to wow the Alford crowds.

The legendary Issotta Fraschini Fiat Special, built to plans produced by Fiat in 1905, will also be attending the event. Powered by a mammoth 16 ½ litre V6 Zeppelin engine and producing around 250hp, the engine was acquired from the collection of Gar Wood – the American equivalent of Malcolm Campbell.

Gar was well known for purchasing surplus engines at the end of the first World War, most of which went on to be used in speed boats.

A custom built steam motorcycle, a current land speed record contender, one of several record breakers from the Isle of Man transport museum, will also be participating plus a world record holding electric car, produced by the University of Stuttgart. E0711-5, which is currently the fastest electric vehicle in the world, will be presented by its enthusiastic student builders.

There has been an amazing response from vehicle owners, from near and far, and this year’s event will see a very rare collection of Italian vehicles pulled together, certainly for the first time in Alford. A Ferrari F40, F50 and Enzo will showcase some of Italy’s finest offerings to the supercar world.

The impressive displays will be topped off with the addition of a stunning Type 59R Bugatti Grand Prix racer, owned locally by the Oag family.

The action will not be confined solely to the arena, with an amazing trade presence including a mix of high profile car manufacturers. Tesla are the latest name to put pen to paper for the event and will be joined by the Peter Vardy group, who will display the very latest offerings from Porsche. Parks of Hamilton will showcase a range of supercars from McLaren, among many other prominent marques.

A number of local suppliers, including JoJo’s jam and CC Coachwork will further enhance the trade displays and ensure the event retains its family focus.

Museum curator Mike Ward commented:

“I’m particularly pleased to see electric and steam record breakers at SpeedFest this year. It may come as a surprise to many to know that Stanley Steam cars were doing 120mph in the early 20th Century! 

“Tesla are a very welcome returning manufacturer to SpeedFest. They bring electric car technology right up to date with their fantastic all-electric cars, giving SpeedFest a topical and even futuristic aspect!” 

May 192016
 

Enthusiasts will be heading to Aberdeenshire this August for the inaugural Royal Deeside Speed Festival, to be thrilled by the largest gathering of rare supercars, exciting performance cars, motorbikes, and historic racing cars in the north east of Scotland.

Deeside Speedfest (3)

Kincardine Castle. Venue of the inaugural Royal Deeside Speed Festival

The Royal Deeside Speed Festival will take place at Kincardine Castle, 20 miles to the west of Aberdeen.
The event will be based around a demonstration speed hillclimb, and complemented by a range of high quality trade stands and motoring attractions. The Royal Deeside Speed Festival will follow the ethos of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Cholmondeley Pageant of Power.

The venue, an iconic Scottish castle in the heart of Royal Deeside, is home to Andrew and Nicky Bradford.

Situated in the pretty conservation village of Kincardine O’Neil and overlooking the banks of the River Dee, it is only 10mins from Banchory on the A93. The picturesque castle grounds will also play host to car clubs along with a local food, drink and craft festival.

As well as the motorsports action we will have family attractions, a climbing tower and kids’ funfair.  We will be supporting the charities Mission Motorsport, Help for Heroes and Children 1st.

However, the main focus of the day will be the fabulous and fast ‘West Drive’ – which will be converted into Deeside’s first speed hillclimb course, designed by Scottish hillclimb champion Roy Napier, and featuring a series of demonstration class runs throughout the day. And in another new twist, the West Drive will also play host to a Soap Box Derby – an event open to teams who wish to build their own Soap Box and race down the hill for glory!

Key attractions this year include Aberdeenshire’s charismatic race driver Chris Chilcott who will be bringing his 1962 Brabham BT2. It raced in 1962 at Goodwood and Monaco, driven by Jack Brabham and Frank Gardner, and took the class Silverstone lap record at 103mph. Also Charlie Williams, multiple TT-winning motorbike racing legend. With 21 TT podium finishes to his name, Charlie is bringing bikes.

Onsite, there will also be an adventurous off-road 4×4 course including the fearsom ‘Willie’s Drop’, courtesy of Land Rover Experience Scotland, offering passenger rides throughout the day, and The Clan BMX stunt team will entertain with their crazy extreme cycling show.

We have a large club stand field, along with a separate concours d’elegance area, both will surely delight the public and the owners alike.  A broad cross-section of fantastic cars, ranging from the Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari F50, and Lamborghini Diablo through to the Shelby Cobra 286, 1969 wide-dash body Opal GT and Jaguar E-type Series 1 Roadster will be on show.  In total there will be over 50 static exhibits to marvel over.

Additionally, the Ferrari Owners’ Club, Ford Modern & Classic Scotland, Aberdeen MG Owners’ Club, Aston Martin OC, and the Scottish Subaru OC are just some of the clubs that have confirmed their attendance – with over 170 club cars now confirmed to be on display.

This could quite possibly be the most unique and exciting collection of vehicles ever brought together in Aberdeenshire, highlighting the diversity of classic, contemporary and interesting cars, street-legal or competition, which we have here in the north east of Scotland.

Amongst the many dealerships and trade-stands that we are excited to have attending the event, we are delighted to welcome back Park’s Motor Group of Hamilton who will be showcasing a collection of luxury and sports cars from McLaren, Maserati and Bentley.

Murray Motor Group will be displaying the Lotus range. We also welcome Pentland Land Rover Elgin who are excited to show off some fantastic Land Rovers, and Shirlaws of Aberdeen will provide two-wheel excitement from Kawasaki and Triumph.

Finally, in addition to the car related exhibitors, we are delighted to be able to use the event as a showcase for local producers of food, drink and crafts.  Deeside Brewery will be hosting a mini beer festival on the castle terrace alongside the castle’s own pop-up café, and the picturesque wall garden is the setting for a market of local produce.

Castle owner, Andrew Bradford writes:

“I first did ‘a ton’ on the drive when I was 15 in a friend’s MGC. A couple of years later I was the passenger in a V8 AC Cobra and clocked 115mph on the drive. For over 40 years that has been the unofficial speed record for our drive and I look forward to it being well-and-truly broken in August.

“We’re excited to be part of this major event which, quite possibly, will be the biggest crowd in Kincardine O’Neil since King Edward I of England arrived here on 2 August 1296 with 30,000 men-at-arms and 5,000 mail-clad knights”.

Royal Deeside Speed Festival,
Sun 21 August 2016:
09:45am- 5:15pm

Venue:
Kincardine Castle,
Kincardine O’Neil,
Aboyne,
Aberdeenshire AB34 5AE

Tickets:
Adult £15, Child £12.50, Family £50 (up to 3 children).
Advance sales via website or cash only tickets on the gate.
Free parking.

For further information please visit our website rdsf.co.uk or follow us on Facebook.

May 162016
 

With thanks to Martyn Smith, Marketing & Events Organiser, Grampian Transport Museum.
HML logo

There is less than a week to go to the second How Many Left? – a celebration of the endangered cars which were once a common sight on the roads.

The event, now in its second year, will once again be held at the Grampian Transport Museum and highlights cars that were at one-time mass produced but of which there are now less than 500 still remaining.

Building on feedback from participants and visitors to last year’s successful inaugural event there has already been more than 140 vehicles registered to participate this year, and entries are now closed.

Amongst this year’s entries is an Opel Commodore A Coupe.In production from 1969 to 1971, it was a six cylinder version of the Opel Rekord. 156,330 were produced including the 2.5 automatic version owned by Alan Norrie of Longside which is the only registered example left in the UK.

This car was originally sold in 1972 from University Motors, King Street, Aberdeen and Alan has owned it since 1984. He used it as his day-to-day car prior to putting it in storage, but fully restored it last year.

Also appearing will be a ‘model’ Lotus. Gordon Masson of Aberdeen is the owner of Lotus Esprit S1 with a chassis number 0100G, making it the first ever production model of the famous Esprit line. The car is undoubtedly a star and Gordon’s Esprit has been used as part of the Lotus Esprit ‘time-line’ at Brands Hatch in 2013 and has featured in many photo shoots including last year at historic Brooklands, which featured in Octane magazine.

Last year Corgi models, in collaboration with Lotus, approached Gordon with a view to creating a 1/43 limited edition scale model. The scale model was released this year and is extremely accurate right down to the registration number.

An unusual visitor this year comes from behind the Iron Curtain. Dominik Walicki is the owner of an ex-Polish Army UAZ 496b off-road light weight military vehicle.

From 1987 until 2007 it was a mobile radio vehicle before being sold to a private owner. Dominik purchased it in 2013 and has spent many hours checking and repairing the electrics and mechanical parts.  The car, which is believed to be the only one in Scotland, was described by Jeremy Clarkson as “the worst in the world”, but Dominik strongly disagrees saying that his work has resulted in a very reliable car that can be used every day.

How Many Left? – A celebration of the forgotten classics
Sunday 22nd May 12noon to 4pm.

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