Classic car adventuring meets the wild beauty of the Scottish Highlands in Pub2Pub’s latest road trip From Glencoe’s dramatic passes to the snow covered Cairngorms, winter might just be the ultimate season for an unforgettable classic car road trip.
The Great British winter can be a soul-destroying affair. Minimal daylight, endless rain and depressing temperatures, at times it can seem like we spend month after month of waiting for the spring to beckon in more inspiring times. Once the excitement of Christmas is over, anything which breaks up the monotony of January and February is a bonus.
And what better way to break up the monotony than a road trip?
Inspired by Snowstorm, our yearly adventure to the frozen Arctic, Pub2Pub’s inaugural Scotchstorm Rally took place in the first week of February this year, and saw 12 cars head north to take on the NC500. And it was one of the more varied entry lists we’ve ever had, with everything from a Subaru Impreza to an MX5; a Porsche Cayenne to a 2CV. Yep, you read that right – a 2CV. Because if you’re going to set out on a Scottish winter adventure, you may as well go all in on the ‘adventure’ side of things, right. Scotchstorm saw us negotiate the NC500 in a clockwise direction, before heading back south via the Old Military Road, through the Cairngorms. Unlike on the recce the previous year, initially conditions were fairly clear, with little in the way of snow and ice to make things tricky. So, progress up through Glencoe, and on to the Isle of Skye, was pretty smooth. And beautiful, too. From Glen Etive to Loch Linne, the Cullin Hills to Eilean Donan Castle, this is truly one of the standout parts of the country. When it’s not raining, that is – and we were lucky enough to get a break in the weather as we passed through.
From Skye, our route joined the NC500 route, looping up along the coast past mountain and cove, to Ullapool, then on to the very north of Scotland, where the rain finally caught up with us, gusting winds and blustery showers marking our arrival at John o’ Groats.
Heading down to the Cairngorms, the rain turned to snow, with things becoming slippery as we rolled on past the Lecht and Glenshee ski centres. But it was nothing our varied set of cars couldn’t handle, with even the heroic 2CV scrabbling its way through the slushy mountains, before dropping down out of the hills towards Edinburgh, the lowlands and journey’s end.
We spent eight days on the adventure, which took in everything from the sun to the snow, from sleepy beaches to soaring crags. And we found that, counterintuitively, winter might be the perfect season to undertake an NC500 adventure. Traffic was non-existent, campervans were conspicuous by their absence, and the landscape was Scotland wrought larger than life; the highlands at their most elemental. And the uncertainty which comes from the wintery mountain weather made every day different to the last, and was the thing which truly turned the drive into an adventure to remember. In short, great times were had.
So naturally, we’re looking to go back and do it again next year – the Scotchstorm Rally is definitely a keeper.
Fancy coming along? You can read more about the 2027 adventure here: planetpub2pub.com/scotchstorm
