RTG Highland Thistle Daily Dispatch - electronic - Flipbook - Page 12
RESCHEDULED TO 2021
2 to 7 September 2021
Day 5
Achnagairn to St Andrews (206.5 miles )
7 September 2021
This took in sections of the Old Military Road on the way
to a Time Control in the old railway yard in Grantown-onSpey where Jack Amies and Geoff Lobb reprised the role of
Station Masters. They ensured that everyone had a ticket
for the coffee and cake on offer from the excellent railway
buffet set up in one of the old carriages.
We were in Cairngorm mountain country now and
naturally the views were stunning, with a full sun beating
down on us and the thermometer hovering around 24°.
The next, map based, Regularity through Glenlivet was an
absolute delight.
Once the crews had emerged from the back roads a
hillclimb Test was all that stood in the way of a very welcome
lunch at Kincardine Castle. Then the rally set out on its
home run via the Catherthuns, where more map reading and
plotting was required to get the crews safely into a Time
Control. It was the last of the event and stationed in Glamis
Castle complete with a dainty finger buffet of sandwiches
and scones timed, almost perfectly, for afternoon tea.
The sense of the finish line was closing in on us now.
The roads were getting bigger, wider and faster as we
approached Dundee and the Firth of Tay crossing, before
pulling into the last Test of the event around the Rhynd, on
the fringes of Tentsmuir Forest.
St Andrews was now within touching distance and some
of the crews, driving the last short section along the coastal
road and through its ancient streets, admitted to feeling a
mixture of pride, relief and excitement at having completed
a very challenging event. The sight of the Fairmont finishing
arch was therefore a most welcome one, especially for
those crews who had friends and family waiting for them.
For the overall and category winners it gave then a chance
to bask in the warm glow of some late summer sun and of
their achievement.
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
The day of reckoning rolled round this morning
and, from our castle in Achnagairn, we drove along
the shores of the Beauly Firth and through the
cathedral city of Inverness - our first experience of
traffic for five days. Soon enough we were into open
country again with the First Regularity through
Cawdor Wood and over the famous Dulsie Bridge.
Car 12, Manuel Dubs and Giancarlo Tottoli in their 1940 Ford Coupe
1971 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT of Stephen and Samantha Hardwick
www.rallytheglobe.com