NOTTS AREA MGOC SCOTTISH TOUR 2008
On Friday June 6th of 2008, 14 cars from the Notts Area MGOC drove up to Melrose in the Scottish Borders for the start of a 9-day holiday. The drive there took us up the A68 and over the Cheviot Hills at Carter Bar with its dramatic views. We were stopping at The Waverley Castle Hotel in Melrose, opened in 1869 and one of the first concrete buildings in Scotland and originally a hydropathic hotel.
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Melrose is mostly famous for The Melrose Cup, awarded for the winner of a Rugby Sevens competition. The 'Sevens' games started in Melrose in 1883. The Club was short of money and a suggestion was made to have an annual tournament to bring in the crowds. The feeling, however, was that trying to play several full games in one day with 15 players on each side would never work so the teams were reduced to 7 and each match length to 20 minutes.
The game is now played worldwide, with a World Cup for sevens being first held in 1993 and from 1998 was included in the Commonwealth Games.
On Saturday we split into small groups, some staying in the locality and visiting Melrose Abbey (the supposed burial place of the heart of Robert the Bruce), Melrose town itself, Abbotsford House where Sir Walter Scott lived and our small party visited Smailholm Tower, a classof a Borders peel tower, a defence against the Border Rievers of old.ic example
Smailholm Tower
There were views from the top of the tower of the Eildon Hills after which the Roman Camp Trimontium (the Three Hills) was named.
The Eildon Hills
Some ventured farther afield to Coldstream and Eyemouth on the east coast where, I understand, fish and chips were consumed with great voracity! |
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On Sunday, I had organised a run of about 95 miles taking in the scenery around the Borders. We visited the picturesque town of Peebles, drove on some fast scenic roads following the River Tweed past its source and into Moffat for lunch.
From here we took a slightly slower but dramatic road past the Grey Mare's Tail, a waterfall that plunges 200ft into a gorge, forming the fifth highest cascade in Britain.
Onwards from here we passed St Mary's Loch, the largest Loch in Southern Scotland where we also passed a large group of other MGs in a lay-by who, it transpired, were from Northern Ireland. And so back to Melrose via Selkirk where there was a pipe band playing in the square. This was of great interest to our own 'resident' Scot, Mick who is himself a superb player of 'the pipes'.
Monday was the day we left Melrose and travelled via Edinburgh and over the Forth Road Bridge to eventually arrive in Pitlochry for a 4 night stay. Tuesday saw us, again in small groups but still close together, exploring the area visiting, amongst other places, The Queen's View on Loch Tummel, Scotland's finest and most photographed view (according to our guide book).
An impromptu session by Mick.
Most of us returned to Pitlochry for lunch where we parked in a car park with two 'pay and display' machines, neither of which worked due to blockages in the slots. One of our group, who shall remain nameless, decided to apply some 'pressure' to the sides of the machines (he thumped them!) and lo and behold some coins came out of the 'rejected coins' slots. He then handed out the money to people who had inserted coins and not got tickets! What a goo.d lad
The Queen's View.
On Wednesday we all split up and went in different directions; some around the lochs, some to Blair Atholl Castle and some shopping in Pitlochry. Lunch was again in Pitlochry for most, followed by a trip to the Loch Tummel Dam Hydroelectric Scheme and Fish Ladder. The' ladder' is a novel way for salmon, going back up river to the spawning grounds, to get by the dam. Because of the height of the dam it would be too tiring to have a simple series of weirs, so an enclosed series of pipes allows the fish to swim up and into the loch without the need to jump. By the way, it rained during the afternoon; the only day of any noticeable precipitation of the whole holiday! Thursday saw all of us travel to Crieff to visit the Famous Grouse Distillery (well you've got to go to at least one whilst in Scotland, haven't you)!!!!! Most of us went via Kenmore, a beautiful village at the side of Loch Tay. 
We then travelled by way of a single-track road about 10 miles long over the hills to eventually arrive at Crieff. Now, earlier on Malc had had a problem with his Midget blowing main fuses occasionally but with no obvious source of the problem, not until he was going up this single-track road anyway. He was near the back and unbeknown to the rest of us smoke started to issue from under the bonnet: what a place for it to happen.
Loch Tay
Luckily the problem was found to be the reversing light wire shorting out on the underside over big bumps. He eventually caught us up and all was then well. .
We had an excellent lunch at the distillery before an interesting tour, a sort of interactive film show called Flight of the Grouse and a tasting (of course). We learnt quite a few things about distilling, tasting and blending and about the distillery cats. Their previous cat, Towser, had caught 28,899 mice in her long career (24 years)! The current one, Brooke, is not so efficient and spends a lot of the time asleep and she still hasn't worked out how to use the cat flap
Lunch before the tour
Friday was the day we left Pitlochry and drove west via Loch Tay and Loch Lomond through some dramatic and beautiful scenery.
A reminder to members attending classic car events. Some events do not admit modern cars (F/TF/Z) so please check before going so as not to be upset when you arrive and they won't admit you. I must admit there are very few who will do this but it is always worth checking.
Just to keep you up to date on the committee members here is the current list:
Area Secretary Penny Lee
General Secretary Dave Bonsell
Membership Secretary Kyle Burnet
Treasurer John Moss (New committee member)
Outdoor Secretaries John Walker & Ged Wills
Indoor Secretaries Jean Bradley & Janet Hawkins
Magazine Editor Keith Dudley
Below are members who are not actually committee members but who are co-opted to carry out Club functions:
Raffle Organiser Jane Dudley
Website Malcolm Murfet
Keith Dudley
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