The 8th Flying Scotsman Rally - Belvoir Castle to Gleneagles

Friday 15th - Sunday 17th April, 2016

Each time the Flying Scotsman engine drivers raise a fresh head of steam the Endurance Rally Association track layers discover challenging new and little used branch lines to compliment the best from previous years. The 8th Edition for 2016 will be no exception. 

On Friday 15 April, it will be “All aboard” for departure from a new terminus at Belvoir Castle, an idyllic East Midlands location set in 16,000 acres of beautiful parkland. Three days of glorious Vintage motoring lie ahead through the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire Wolds then onwards to the North and beyond via Northumberland and some of Scotland’s finest Lochs and Glens before arriving, bang on time, in front of the splendid Gleneagles hotel.

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  Driving Fine Roads

  From Belvoir Castle three days of glorious Vintage motoring over wolds and moors, by coast, castles, lochs and glens lead to the iconic Gleneagles finish.  

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  In Good Company

  A fine combination of glorious vintage motorcars and wonderful owners, drivers and navigators make The Flying Scotsman an event to savour.

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  Previous Rallies

  Since 2009,  The Flying Scotsman has offered an exceptional driving and social experience - the chance to drive your pre-war motor-car up the spine of Britain.

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  Entries reach 100

  After a quite remakable demand for places the entry list for the 8th Flying Scotsman Rally has reached 100 in record time and is now officially full.

Before Departure - Belton Woods, Grantham - Thursday 14 April

We meet at Belton Woods Hotel where there will be plenty of time to make new friends or refresh old acquaintances among your like-minded travelling companions. From the late morning onward a few formalities will be quickly completed by the ERA team to make sure your car is safe and your documents are in order. There will be other jobs to take care of like calibrating your tripmeter over a measured distance followed by a practice Regularity Section to allow further calibration of man and machine. Clerk of the Course, Kim Bannister, will explain the finer points of the event at an early evening briefing before everyone sits down for the Welcome Dinner to celebrate the spirit of the open road.

Day One - Wolds and Moors - Friday 15 April

From the start in the magnificent grounds of Belvoir Castle it is only a short distance to the first Special Test within the estate. Refreshments will be available while you wait your allotted start time and Belvoir Castle is surely a delightful place to sit and wait.

Soon we’ll have sampled the Lincolnshire Wolds and will be crossing the mighty Humber Bridge that leads us into the East Riding of Yorkshire and onward through the Moors with time allowed for a few minutes away from the car to enjoy a cup of coffee and a sandwich at Castle Howard. Breaking free from Yorkshire the Rally visits more Special Tests and Regularity Sections before reaching our top-class overnight country house hotel in Northumberland.

Day Two - Coast and Castles - Saturday 16 April

After waking up in England’s most northerly county, a hearty breakfast awaits. With bodies refreshed and engines firing on all cylinders we head east along Hadrian's Wall to the Coast and Castles route which winds endlessly up hill and down dale and along the wild and remote seashore of the North East to the Scottish Borders. Berwick-upon-Tweed and Bamburgh Castle will flash by as we make our way along the Firth of Forth into the Pentland Hills. This is one of the least populated regions of the United Kingdom with some of the finest driving roads anywhere. Open road and open top motoring at its best, the essence of a Flying Scotsman route.

Day Three - Lochs and Glens - Sunday 17 April

The final countdown, the day of reckoning. The road to Auchterader and Gleneagles can still catch out the unwary as we take to the highways and byways of Perth and Kinross with heather wrapped hills forming the backdrop for the picture perfect finale. Not a day for resting on your laurels though, if you’re doing well concentration must be maintained with little time to relax and enjoy the view as we continue through the Trossachs and the Loch Lomond National Park followed by a well-deserved lunch before a run through the Carron Valley, Clackmannanshire and the Ochil Hills delivers us to the finish. As in previous years, a kilt clad piper will provide a majestic welcome for every finisher in front of the fabulous Gleneagles hotel.

Our friends at Bonham's will be once again supplying a refreshing glass of champagne to every  Gleneagles finisher and there will be time enough to freshen up before the Gala Prize Giving Dinner where the trophies will be awarded to their rightful and well deserving owners.

Three days and nearly 700 miles in a pre-war car… what a fantastic adventure!