14th June 2010
With less than a week until Henry & I were due to compete in our first rally together, it was time to get an idea of what he could do. The 2010 Thistle Rallye was due to take place on Saturday 19th June and as it did so it would travel across four Scottish districts. Although Henry had more than proven his ability to cope with distance (see previous article To Scotland With Love), I was a little unsure about how he’d fare over the demanding inclines and numerous tricky corners that are so characteristic of rural roads in Scotland.
What would Henry make of the highlands and was me thinking him able to compete on these rugged roads against other classic cars unreasonable? I hoped not for these were the very kind of roads that are appealing to me as a budding driver. For years I’ve believed that twisting rural roads sum up what driving is all about. Stitched deep into the romance of driving are the many twists, turns and challenges that rural roads possess. At times, travelling along them is a way of tapping into spirituality - the rural roads somehow able to offer something so much more than the regular urban commute ever can.
As the rally got ever nearer, I was feeling increasingly motivated for taking on its challenges. However, in the back of my mind, I was wondering if it was all a daunting request to put to an unmodified saloon which was now fifty-three years old and with it’s sixth owner. Having a pre-rally run in the highlands themselves was too far to travel for an answer so my partner Chris & I decided on an alternative ‘test’ venue in the local area.
East Lomond (1424 ft) is a round-topped hill that can be seen from our upstairs windows. The peak of East Lomond has long been a familiar sight whilst I’ve lived in Glenrothes. It was always visible when I stayed at my parent’s house and is still just as easily seen as Chris & I live together on the other side of town. We were hopeful that a journey up the road leading to East Lomond would show us what Henry might make of the up-coming rally’s demands and so, on a warm June evening, we drove him out towards Falkland just as the sun was beginning to set into the horizon.
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| A view of East Lomond from nearby Leslie |
Henry drove keenly along the A912 between the New Inn roundabout and Falkland before a road sign directed us left and up the slope towards the Mast Car Park - the highest point that you can drive to within Fife.
East Lomond is the only hill in Fife that has a road winding up the majority of its slope. Most of the climb can therefore be tackled with a car before walking boots are needed to complete the ascent to the peak. The road has an average incline of 1:10 and is lined with old stonewall, trees and heath. I’ve cycled the road and it’s a challenging climb. The last straight stretch, leading to the car park, is especially noticeable as there are no more corners to distract you from the effort you’re putting in to make it to the top. Henry was now driving slower than he’d done down on the main road but everything seemed well. Perhaps I wasn’t yet used to the capabilities of older cars but I will admit that I had expected him to struggle a little. Henry’s engine chugged on and took us all the way up to the radio masts at the top of the road. We pulled into the car park and stopped to take in the view.
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| Henry parked near the East Lomond radio masts |
You can see a surprising proportion of Fife and beyond from up on East Lomond. Around the base of the hill sits the town of Glenrothes and the villages of Falkland, Strathmiglo and Gateside. Beyond the edge of Fife and to the south lies the glistening Firth of Forth, Edinburgh and the ports of Leith & North Berwick. To the north, you can look towards Auchtermuchty, Newburgh & Perth. On a good, clear day you can see further still to mountains such as Cairn Toul (4241 ft) in the Cairngorms and Glas Moal (3502 ft) in Glenshee. For those of us who live alongside East Lomond, it can be easy to take the summit and the far-out views for granted but as we sat in Henry, Chris & I admired the surrounding scenery, passing a pair of binoculars between us to get the finer details of what lay below.
Whilst we’d been occupied with looking around, even better views had been getting enjoyed far beyond where Henry was parked. Murray Hay and a companion began making their way down the trails that stretch between the hill summit and the car park, passing us as they did so with laden rucksacks and an air of contentment. They’d been paragliding over the top of East Lomond in the last of the fading light.
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| Looking south towards Edinburgh & Leith. The Forth can be seen as a thin blue strip in the distance, Edinburgh lies to the right. |
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A Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) sings proudly in the heath beneath the East Lomond mast car park. |
Whilst we’d been occupied with looking around, even better views had been getting enjoyed far beyond where Henry was parked. Murray Hay and a companion began making their way down the trails that stretch between the hill summit and the car park, passing us as they did so with laden rucksacks and an air of contentment. They’d been paragliding over the top of East Lomond in the last of the fading light.
Murray’s companion packed his equipment into his car and headed off but Murray lingered. Meanwhile, Chris had wandered out to the car park’s edge with the binoculars to find a Yellowhammer proudly singing not far from where we were. Whilst he did so, I began taking some photographs of Henry. Murray came over for a chat, some photography of an unusual car probably proving too much of a lure for Murray who is a commercial photographer. Murray asked what kind of car Henry was and I told him a few basics about Standards. I told him I was trying to take some photographs of Henry to make sure I’d have some images to hand should I ever write about driving up East Lomond for the Standard club. I admitted I was struggling with the decreasing level of light. On an average exposure my pictures were coming out too dark and when I turned up the exposure my shots were simply bleached out. With not much time to catch the last of the sun as she slipped behind East Lomond, Murray gave me a few tips and demonstrated the required photography technique and its results with a photograph of Chris & I standing next to Henry.
After getting my own satisfactory picture of Henry, East Lomond and the disappearing sun, I’m curious to know what Murray and his companion have been doing with all their equipment. Murray’s eyes suddenly glow as he tells us that he and his friend have been paragliding above the hill. In addition to being a commercial photographer, Murray is also a self-taught paragliding pilot and instructor. Murray goes on to tell Chris & I a bit about paragliding technique but I become a little lost in the paragliding talk. I don’t know enough about flying to properly understand what’s being discussed but while I’m listening I notice how happy Murray seems post-flight. His eyes are bright and keen. He seems to be onto a good thing. I’m not sure I could ever have the nerve to go paragliding but I’m all too aware that I’m keen to tap into that same sense of adventure and freedom. Having now worked through five months of driving lessons, I feel I’m ever closer to obtaining my full driving license and I sense that the open road may provide me with the same bright-eyed enthusiasm that Murray has. As we finally bid farewell to Murray and begin to make our way down East Lomond with Henry, I know I’ll have to wait a little longer to find out for sure. For how much I believe in the joy of driving, I really hope I’m right.
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| Murray tests his photographic advice for limited light conditions with a picture of Chris, Henry & I. |
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| After working out a better camera setting, I manage to catch the last of the sun with Henry as he sits in front of East Lomond. |
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Duncan, one of Murray’s former paragliding students, prepares for another flight from East Lomond (West Lomond in background). Photograph: Murray Hay. |
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| With scenes like these, I can see why people go paragliding. This is looking down from the East Lomond summit towards the Mast Car Park below. Largo Law (951 ft) can be seen in the distance (to the left) as can a freezing Firth of Forth (right). Photograph: Murray Hay. |
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East Lomond stands amongst low cloud (seen from West Lomond). Photograph: Murray Hay. |
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To be able to jump from the summit of West Lomond (1713 ft) and fly into these clouds must be something pretty special. It’s just a beautiful scene. Photograph: Murray Hay. |
See this Henry & I feature on the Standard Motor Club website:
(Link to be posted shortly!)
See the photographs which accompany this Henry & I article:
Living in Scotland as a Standard car owner? There is a local group for Standard car owners & Standard car enthusiasts in Scotland. See this page for more info:
See Murray paragliding in these online videos:
Paragliding East Lomond – Kalid, Murray & Duncan
Paragliding East Lomond
Paragliding, Ski & Fly at Glas Maol Glenshee
This video just blows me away. If I went paragliding just once, it would have to be here. Glenshee is an incredibly special place and there are amazing views of the Glenshee mountains in this video. Keep up the wonderful adventures Murray!
This video just blows me away. If I went paragliding just once, it would have to be here. Glenshee is an incredibly special place and there are amazing views of the Glenshee mountains in this video. Keep up the wonderful adventures Murray!
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