Full house of 40 starters arrived for the Red Hackle on Sunday 5 May, our tribute tour to the Black Watch. Ron Adam delivered the drivers briefing before the crews lined up for the start.

pipers Lawrence and Alan strike up a tune for the starters

crews gather for start

An overcast but mild and dry start allowed the soft tops to come down.Leading the starters was Raymond & Liz Rollo in their well known '72 Ford Capri 3L GT, followed by a welcome back to Peter Holmes and Andrew Isherwood in Peter's '70 Volvo
Amazon.Last year the car dropped all its oil leaving the garage, but all was well this time.

Peter Holmes 1970 Amazon

Raymond Rollo 1972 Capri

From Inverness was Don and Mags Campbell in their 1978 Bristol 412, seen on many events and a veteran of club continental tours in past years. The first soft top down crew, Gordon Spence and Mark Bennett in the 2002 BMW Z3 headed off hoping for sunshine later on.  The first of several Audi TT's took off, this 2007 Coupe variant with Brian McGarrie and Emma Paterson. A later mishap in bad weather slowed the crew, but they still managed home to the finish. Another top down, this time Roddie and Sylvia Main in their 1995  Mercedes SL, a regular touring team.

Always a delight to see Anne Howitt in her beautifully prepared '54 MGTF, this time with Nola Meikle reading the roadbook. Ken Crombie also has a tidy '70 Lotus Cortina, arriving this time with Murray Mitchell. John and Lillah Houghton kept their hood up on the TR6. did they know something the rest of us didn't?  
 

Crombie / Mitchell 1970 Lotus Cortina	Strathmore Museum Howitt / Meikle 1954 MGTF
Stuart and Graeme Sheridan 1974 MGB	Houghton 1976 Triumph TR6
Regulars Colin and Ann Stewart turned out in Ann's Mk1 Audi TT, complete with the very rare factory hardtop. Sunshine would have seen them in their Jaguar XK120, but the forecast was not that good. turned out to be a wise decision. David Lauder with Maurice Millar had no such qualms, at least to start with, in David's MGTF, a regular entrant to the Red Hackle. Charlie Young motored over from Ayrshire in his 2016 Audi TT Coupe, with Ian Buttery reporting some heavy showers on the way to the start. Another one telling us something?   First timers Kirsty and Gillian McKay enjoyed exercising their navigational and driving skills in a new '24 VW GTi, here receiving a few tips from our starter.
Stewart Audi TT with hardtop	Lauder/Millar 2000 MGTF
Young/Buttery 2016 Audi TT Coupe	Kirsten & Gillian McKay VW GTi
Tony Leese changed from the planned Lotus Elan to his very smart looking Mini. Though it did survive the downpour later on it did fill the floorpan with water, taking a few hours after the event to empty and dry out. The Fleming crew in their 1970 MG Midget also got stuck in the later downpour as water splashed the plug leads. Luckily the car restarted, spluttering on until drying out.
Tony & Shona Leese Mini	Tony & Ruairidh Fleming '70 Midget

 Jock Millar and Linda Telford were to have arrived in jock's MG midget, but that is under refurbishment, so Linda's Suzuki stepped in. A good move as it turned out, having a hard top to keep out the weather. Maureen Spence was hoping to bring her 1966 Ford Cortina Mk1, but chose the day car, which given the later weather was a good idea. John Stuart read the roadbook. No such worries for Reuben and Hope Phillips who started with their hood down enjoying the mild air temperature at the start.

Joe and Hazel Norman arrived in their Audi R8. Joe is a great Porsche and Audi fan, having had a few of each marque in his time. The R8 is something special to both see and hear. Charles Donkers with Andy McConnell on the roadbook was joined by Charles' daughter in the rear. Another top down to start with.
New members Helen Monckton & Nico De Wilde in the 1992 Alfa romeo Spider were out to enjoy themselves, be it hood down or later fighting to keep it up in the downpour. 

Donkers Morgan 4/4 4 seater	Joe Norman Audi R8
Monckton / De Wilde Alfa Romeo	Stuart & Mervyn Cobb Toyota MR2

The Mazda MX5's were out in force, with Bill & Val Pollock in their 2007 model, followed by another new crew Colin & Joanne Jamieson in their matching 2007 model. Chris and Mary Paton went topless to start in their 2000 Mercedes SLK, followed by Ellen McKay & Kieran Coats in a BMW 1 Msport. Ralph & Lida Forbes were expected in a 1979 Audi 80,but repairs were not completed in time, so day car complete with pet dog pressed into service. Ian Lindley and john Blacker swapped a poorly Lotus Emira for the trusty Mazda MX5,    
George Petrie and Janet Jones returned with the Bond Equipe GT4S, while Brian and Jean McCluskie brought their Jaguar XK Coupe. A 2010 convertible version of the Jaguar XK was sported by Sandy and Carol Nicolson   

McCluskie 2012 Jaguar XK

Petrie 1969 Bond Equipe

Our route took us to Glamis where a visit to the Strathmore Vintage Vehicle Club museum was a highlight visited by all the crews. Well worth a visit to see the many exhibits on display, some undergoing refurbishment, maintenance or rebuild. some are for sale, cars, motorcycles, even a few vintage bicycles if cycling to keep fit is your thing.
From there we travelled to Glen Prosen, visiting the monument to Captain Robert Falcon Scott, famous for his expedition to the South Pole in 1912, passing the house he and Edward Wilson spent six months planning the ill fated journey before they died on the return journey from the South Pole in 1912.

Scott & Wilson

Burnside Lodge where 1912 trip planned

Later in the afternoon, after our lunch stop at Peel Farm, the black clouds gathered over Glen Isla and the heavenly 'apocalypse' had us running for tops up, with a few spotting a less vicious reroute to complete our tour back at the Black Watch museum.

A hearty meal was served, and much conversation around the tables swapped stories of 'derring do' to make the most of the challenges we had encountered.  .