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The Fat Lamb 2 video is here!

7/12/2022

Our final video of the year sees us back on the road in "2022 - Fat Lamb 2 - the Return (for Mette)".

Dedicated to our dear departed friend Mette who passed earlier this year, it features members of our club touring beautiful Cumbria in their classic cars.

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GRAND TOUR OF THE SCOTTISH COAST NC500. PART 9.

3/12/2022

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By Anthony Osborne

Saturday 24th To the Kelpies, the Falkirk Wheel and the end of our holiday.

The six cars were scattered over the area around Edinburgh and its vicinities on Friday night with four of them staying at the Dalton’s Mansion, thank you Eric and Fiona, and the two MGs staying in separate hotels on the outskirts of Dunfermline.
In the morning the MGs met up and drove down to the Kelpies, picking up some much needed E5 Petrol on the way there. The first order of the day was to visit the coffee shop and partake of their liquid refreshment (No it was too early for alcohol and we were driving anyway) and, of course, to check the plumbing of the facilities!
It was not long before the rest of the group were spotted walking towards these massive sculptures and we spent some time exploring them.

The Kelpies are the largest equine sculptures in the world, standing at 100ft tall and weighing more than 300 tonnes each. They were modelled on two working Clydesdale horses called Duke and Baron who were at the official opening ceremony. The name ‘Kelpies’ is derived from mythical water spirits from Scottish folklore typically taking the form of horses which take delight at the drowning of travellers. Kelpies appear to their victims as horses who entice humans to ride on their backs, then carry them down to a watery grave.
Once we had enjoyed a look at these huge creations the convoy drove the short distance to the Falkirk Wheel. The Wheel is a boat lift linking the Forth & Clyde and the Union Canal that had been linked by 11 conventional locks, which were decommissioned and dismantled in 1933.
Concepts were drawn up to replace the 11 locks and the final design is claimed to have been inspired by a Celtic double headed spear, a vast turning propeller of a Clydebank built ship, the ribcage of a whale and the spine of a fish! Work started on the Millennium Link project to once again link the two canals with the Wheel in 1998 and the project was to cost £84.5m. The Wheel itself was manufactured in Derbyshire, assembled to prove it fitted together and dismantled then transported to Falkirk in 35 lorry loads where it was unloaded and, with the use of cranes, bolted back together again. 1,200 tonnes of steel and 15,000 bolts pushed through 45,000 bolt holes were used in construction. All the bolts were tightened by hand! There were 1,000 staff working on the project. In 2002 our late Queen officially opened the lift which is the World’s first and only rotating boat lift. The lift is 35m tall and the 600 tonne gondolas hold 500,000 litres of water, equivalent to the volume of water in an Olympic swimming pool. Incredibly, because of the way it is designed, the Wheel only used 1.5 kWh of electricity to rotate from bottom to top, enough electricity to run a 3 kW electric fire for half an hour!

wo vessels, in this instance, are moored in the lower gondola waiting to be lifted. (

The Wheel is rotated clockwise on this occasion, looking from the lower pool.

The two moored vessels are now in the top gondola.

Again, we have to thank Gar for bringing us to see this impressive piece of engineering which most of us could probably have stood watching all day.
This final visit brought the end of our Scottish tour for Bill and Daphne, the two MGs, and Henry, the J C Midge, who headed back to England for a night’s stay in Hawes, whilst the rest returned to the Dalton’s mansion for an extra day in Scotland.
We travelled in convoy to Cumbria and refuelled with precious E5 petrol at G&E Murgatroyd’s Spa/Shell garage at Kirkby Stephen, not far from the Fat Lamb Country Inn which has been used twice now by the Group on its Cumbria trips. As we pulled away it was noticed that Henry was smoking well, which was not normal. A couple of miles up the road there was a convenient layby that Gus pulled into where we were able to establish the reason for the smoke. Unfortunately, a tired and windswept Gus had mistaken the Shell V-Power B7 pump for the E5 pump.

Figure : The offending petrol pump.

We rallied round Gus with John and Kevin, in the red MGB GT, taking an empty jerrycan back to Murgatroyd’s for to collect 22.73046 litres (5 gallons) of fresh E5. By the time they arrived back at Henry Gus had pumped about 5 gallons of dietrol (E5/B7 mix) into another jerrycan. The fresh fuel was added but Henry did not want to start. He was pushed back out onto the road and ran down the hill towards Kirkby Stephen in an attempt to bump start him, without success. The two MGs caught up with Henry parked in the gateway to the preserved Kirkby Stephen East railway station with a frustrated Gus wondering what to do next. It was our turn to return to Murgatroyd’s to see if they had any Easy Start and returned with a can to find that Henry had actually tried to fire up but would not run. With Gus squirting the East Start into the air intake Henry perked up a bit and started to fire continuously although he did emulate a Royal Navy destroyer making smoke! This was a success and Gus, followed by Pat and Anthony successfully made it to the Fountains Hotel in Hawes, whilst John and Kevin were up the road in a guest house.
Having settled Henry and Bill for the night and checked in we endeavoured to find some food. We were late and the Fountain Hotel’s kitchen had closed for the night but there was an Indian restaurant next door. Unfortunately, they were fully booked. However, a starving Gus smelled frying and we followed his nose down the road to a fish and chip shop with restaurant. The three of us enjoyed a meal there which certainly revived and de-stressed Gus.

Fortunately, Henry expired in a cloud of smoke in a safe resting place

On Sunday morning, after a good night’s sleep and breakfast the cars were loaded up and John and Kevin appeared. Henry fired up without hesitation (but still emitting a load of smoke much to the amazement of the locals), goodbyes were said and the three cars headed in their sperate directions homeward.
Gar, Ian, Sarah, and Brian had a restful day taking a coach into in Edinburgh, Gar even falling asleep on the coach! Whilst there they went on a Hielan Coo hunt. Sarah was very brave but the Coo would just not show his face (he was more interested in his lunch than looking at a lovely young lady!).

Sarah tries to get up close to a Heilan Coo.

On Monday Ian and Gar set off from Eric’s mansion and headed south to the Midlands and a little later Brian departed in his Jaguar for the journey back to Eire.
We are pleased to report that all safely arrived at their destinations. All in all we had ten days of fantastic motoring and in spite of all the cars dating back to the last century we had remarkably few issues.

You Tube video of the final days of the tour

We all owe Gar a huge thank you for organising, herding, marshalling and leading us through some of the most fantastic scenery in the British Isles. It is to be driven again, in the other direction, in 2025. Are you going to join us?

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GRAND TOUR OF THE SCOTTISH COAST NC500. PART 8.

3/12/2022

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By Anthony Osborne

Friday 23rd To North Queensferry.

Having checked out of the Spayside Hotel, already full of a generous Scottish breakfast, we were loading up the cars when we noticed we had an addition to the convoy. Eric Dalton had joined us again, having last met us at the museum in Glasgow. It was great to see him again, and his Rover 200 VdP in the car park.
In convoy we set off for our trip over the Cairngorms to Falkirk via Balmoral and the Royal Lochnager Distillery outlet there.
Due to roadworks closing one of the roads we were to drive down there was a slight diversion that added some 21 miles to the route! We arrived at a car park opposite Crathie Church, the church that the Royal Family use when at the Castle. The attraction for the brief visit to the car park was the facilities that were provided, which almost all of us visited for a comfort break (is that too much information?). A short drive and we were at the distillery outlet. We were amazed at the number of whiskeys that were available there, and the cost of some of the rarer ones (I would have had to take out a mortgage to buy many of them!).

A few of the flowers outside the entrance to Balmoral Castle.

We had passed the entrance to Balmoral Castle on the way and, being the week of the Queen’s funeral, there was a large sea of flowers left by mourners outside the gate.
For the onward journey Pat wanted to go through Ballatar so we separated from the convoy who headed into the Cairngorms. However, as we resumed our route through the mountains we drove past the convoy that had visited a lay-by, presumably to put the kettle on. We waited a mile or so further on in another lay-by for the convoy to set off and re-joined them for the rest of the journey.

Betty, the Granada and Henry can be seen in the lay-by whilst brewing up.

Once again the scenery was fantastic, even if it was spoiled by the ski lifts that crossed the area (we hope that they have good snow in the winter to attract visitors to the area).

Ski lifts in the Cairngorms looking out of place without the snow!

Once again the scenery was fantastic, even if it was spoiled by the ski lifts that crossed the area (we hope that they have good snow in the winter to attract visitors to the area).

The convoy, now of seven cars, drove on across the magnificent countryside of the Cairngorms.

he onward journey took us from the edge of the Cairngorms, with it’s magnificent mountains and hills, to the low lands and outskirts of Edinburgh and the magnificent piece of Victorian engineering which is the Forth Rail Bridge which was completed and opened on 4th March 1890 (and no, I was not at the official opening, were you Brian?). We gathered at North Queensferry for a photoshoot with the rail bridge in the background. The bridge is considered a symbol of Scotland, even though it was designed by English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker (don’t tell Nicola Sturgeon!), and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Some of the cars pose in front of the Forth Rail Bridge, opened in 1890.

After a brief photo opportunity, there were double yellow lines round the turning area, the group separated and we then set off to our various accommodations for the night.

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GRAND TOUR OF THE SCOTTISH COAST NC500. PART 7.

1/12/2022

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By Anthony Osborne

Thursday 22nd To the Spayside Hotel, Grantown on Spay.

After another hearty breakfast, for those whose waist lines had not stretched their trousers past the limit, we headed down to the John O’Groats visitor centre where 5 cars gathered for photoshoots to prove we had been there.

The sixth car, Henry, was, of course, at Thurso waiting for Gus to rub his hands on the prop shaft. Photographs taken, Betty took off for Turso carrying Gar and Gus. Gus put his overalls on and in no time he had the cover off the gearbox (the J C Midge being based upon a Triumph Harold the access to the front end of the prop shaft is very similar on Gus’s car). With the prop shaft out, much to his annoyance, Gus noticed that the front UJ was, in fact, in good order and that the issue was a few bolts at the back of the prop shaft that were loose. He could have tightened those up whilst the car was on the ramps four days ago! Annoyed, but relieved that he did not have so much work to do Henry was put back together and proven to be in good order. Vincent was thanked for his help and provision of a dry workshop and Gus headed off to catch up with us.
Whilst there Gar had noticed that his front tyres were not looking as healthy as he would have liked them with the mountain roads taking their toll. He visited a tyre supplier in Turso but they didn’t have the right size. He visited a second supplier and they had the tyres but could not fit them as their machine had failed. He bought the tyres and headed back to the first tyre fitters he had visited. Presenting them with the tyres Betty was up in the air without any front wheels in no time. The fitter asked what Gar was doing so far up North and it was explained that we were doing the NC500 and that he had come up from Birmingham with others from different parts of the country. We were also raising money for the ‘Children with Cancer’ charity. Gar was delighted when the tyre fitter checked Betty’s tracking for free as we were helping with a good cause. Afterwards Betty was very well behaved, driving almost like a new car!
Meanwhile the rest of us had set off South, down the A99, and arrived at Wick Harbour where the RNLI Severn Class lifeboat was stationed. 14-20, RNLB Roy Barker II looked very splendid at its moorings.

Not far from the lifeboat was an oil industry service catamaran and Ian and I had an interesting conversation with an enthusiastic young crew member, a maintenance engineer, who appeared to be making himself rich serving on it.

A catamaran used to service oil and gas equipment in the North Sea.

Gar found us just as someone pointed to the harbourside café and off we went for a coffee and cake. During discussion it was decided that we would go and find the Sutor’s Gin distillery near Tain. Once we had enjoyed refreshments and visited the little rooms we set off as a convoy of 5 cars (Betty was no longer towing Henry’s trailer) towards Sutors Gin, almost 75 miles to the south.
On arrival at the location of the Gin Distillery we were confused as there was no sign of it. The building was there but it was all locked up and didn’t look very active. So to Plan B, a Whiskey
distillery in Dornoch, which meant retracing our steps by 14 miles. Driving North again on the A9 we spotted a funny looking car heading towards us with huge headlamps. As it drew closer we realised that it was Henry with trailer. Gus spotted us and turned round as soon as he could so that by the time that we arrived at the distillery the convoy was back up to its full complement. Some disappointment when we arrived though as we were hoping to see a distillery but it was only the Dornoch Distillery Bottle Shop that was open to customers. Some made purchases and once back in our cars we were retracing our steps to the south on the A9.
Next stop was Inverness where we all managed to park in the same car park, by the bus station. It was time a for a walk and we found our way down to the river and enjoyed a little very fresh air on the foot suspension bridge there but not before we have found a house named perfectly for Ian.

Windy Woodward at Windy Corner!

Gus then advised that when he checked in he was told of a Whiskey Tasting that was taking place at 6:00pm. The Osbornes signed up for that as well which meant that we had less than 15 minutes to get our cases up to our room and present ourselves in the Conservatory. The tasting was most interesting with four different local whiskeys presented to us. We were amazed how the flavours changed with just a drop of water from a pipette added. Sometimes this improved the flavour whilst in others the taste was not so good. Remarkably, an improvement tasted by some was not appreciated by others. By the time we had emptied our samples of whiskey it was time for dinner and the rest of the party were ordering from the menu in the dining room. Another well-presented meal was enjoyed expanding waistlines further. The beer was good again as well.

You Tube video of Day 6 & 7

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The Fat Lamb 2 video is here!

GRAND TOUR OF THE SCOTTISH COAST NC500. PART 9.

GRAND TOUR OF THE SCOTTISH COAST NC500. PART 8.

GRAND TOUR OF THE SCOTTISH COAST NC500. PART 7.