For most, driving is nothing but a means to get from one place to another. But, for others, driving offers more than just transport providing pleasure, escapism and joy. Personally, I’ve always found a sense of freedom and peace from driving that I struggle to find anywhere else in life.
Living in central Scotland, we at keepitclean are lucky enough to have easy access to some incredible driving roads and scenery. Together we have often discussed going a long road trip together in a few cars, when one day the discussion turned to hosting a drive event ourselves.
A few months went by, the idea remained in the back of our minds but the time never quite felt right. Lockdown came and shut down many of our other plans and projects, forced us all to stay inside for so long and took from us the many events we love. As restrictions eased, we seen our window, if we were going to put together a drive event this was the time to do it.
Fast forward a couple weeks and one absolutely hellish night in a midge-filled tent while scouting the route, it was on. keepitclean are, finally, very proud to present Drive Scotland.
We met at The Green Welly Stop early on Saturday morning, introduced ourselves, ogled each other’s cars, grabbed a coffee and started the first leg of our two day, 391 mile journey through the highlands.
Saturday was the longest day of driving, with far more single track roads to navigate - easier said than done with a 14 car convoy. Luckily enough we didn’t see too much traffic and managed to stay in a group for the most part,
One of the main points of interest we included in the route was the Bealach na Bà, a mountain pass with sharp hairpins akin to those in the Alps. This single track road is by no means fast even without any traffic, unfortunately on this day there was quite a bit of traffic including cyclists attempting the climb.
Luckily, the road is far more enjoyable on the way down, with the passing places on the other side of the road this usually means you’ll have a clearer run without pulling in to let others past.
After the final stint from the Bealach na Bà, via the stunning Torridon Hills, we arrived at the Tulloch Castle Hotel where we would be spending the night, had dinner and settled in with a few pints before a well needed sleep.
Sunday morning we fuelled up ourselves and the cars before beginning the trip back south. Heading from Dingwall to Perth, taking a slight detour past Loch Ness to try and spot the monster, unfortunately we didn’t have much luck.
On the way to lunch one of our drivers suffered a small issue with a broken airline on their suspension. Luckily another participant had some spare parts with them and, with assistance from a few people and a good audience from the rest, the car was sorted and we were back on the road.
Following lunch, everyone took the road at their own pace. The roads through the Cairngorms are some of the best in Scotland and are exhilarating without needing to break the speed limit.
Our final stop before the end of the trip was at the top of one of Scotland’s highest roads at the Glenshee Ski Centre. Here we took the chance to get some shots of all the cars together, but we didn’t hang about due to the hoards of midges feasting on us!
As with all events, it really is people that make them. The Drive event reinforced this even more, where at a regular show you might be able to get away with keeping quiet and sticking with your own crowd, this event brought 28 people together to share the same experience. We were so lucky to have such a fantastic group of people on the inaugural Drive Scotland event and hope we can continue to be so lucky with future events and participants.
A huge shout out and thanks to our three event sponsors as well; Meguiar’s, Shore Wraps and Offset Autohaus it was awesome to have you all on board and we can’t wait to have you along for the next one!
Photos: Greg Robins & Michael Scott
Words: Michael Scott
Location: Scotland
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