Well, what a busy summer we have had! Our little Morris Z van was finished in May in time for our trip to the Shetland Classic Car Show and Tours and we had a wonderful time.
 |
| Signwritten and ready to go |
The van went to a traditional sign writer in Dundee to have our name, etc, hand painted in gold onto the lovely blue paint. A few test runs and a voluntary MOT test later and we were ready to load her up with luggage and picnic baskets for our trip north.
We headed up on the A93, past the old Devil's Elbow and over the top of Glenshee towards Aberdeen on a lovely sunny day, accompanied by our friend in his 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25. We stopped for a picnic (traditional wicker hampers and all) on the way down towards Braemar and then arrived at the ferry terminal for our crossing to Shetland. We docked in Lerwick early on a chilly Thursday morning in the mist and drizzle to be welcomed by the organisers ready for our first tour. The little van slowly made her way up the long drag out of Lerwick and we headed off to Scalloway for a visit to the marine college to hear about developments in using seaweed as bio fuel, and have a go in a bridge simulator for a large ship. After a delicious lunch of Cullen Skink, accompanied by some traditional Shetland fiddle music, we decided to head to our hotel in the north.
 |
| Heading north with the 20/25 in front |
 |
| Exploring the wee roads |
The following day dawned bright and sunny so we, along with the 20/25, decided to go exploring North Roe and all sorts of little roads heading back south slightly, before turning to the west and discovering a lovely cafe at the caravan site at Eshaness with amazing views of sea stacks.
 |
| Lunch stop at Eshaness |
 |
| Stunning scenery and sea stacks at Eshaness |
Saturday and Sunday was the Classic Car show at the Clickiminn Centre in Lerwick. We all headed down fairly early and put the vehicles in their allocated places, then went to feast our eyes on the other exhibits. It was quite an eclectic show with modern muscle cars alongside an early Bullnose Morris; vintage motorbikes and a steam car; and everything in between.
 |
Polished up and on display
(Photo credit Izzy Milford) |
 |
A great variety of vehicles on display
(Photo credit Izzy Milford) |
 |
The van comes under scrutiny from some of the visitors to the show
(Photo credit Izzy Milford) |
We returned to the mainland on the Sunday night ferry, arriving in Aberdeen on Monday morning for our run home, having had a great time and the little van running beautifully without any problems over the 500 miles we covered.
A huge thank you must go to the organisers for such a lot of hard work to give us all a super few days in Shetland.
 |
Homeward bound
(photo credit Izzy Milford) |
