Cars Galore at Grantown on Spey's Motormania

Last weekend was a visit to Thunder in the Glens and the enjoyment of Harley Davidsons. This weekend it was vehicles of the four wheeled variety at Grantown on Spey Motormania. Thankfully it was a lovely day so we headed out and of course we stopped at a coffeeshop on the way - the Dava Schoolhouse where they have a Cairngorm Leaf and Bean cafe with speciality coffees and scrummy cakes.

Ken had Russian Earl Grey and there were very interesting things floating around in the tea mix.

For Motormania they shut down the town of Grantown with the cars lining the main street through the town. It was crazy busy this year with loads of cars for my beloved to enjoy and people enjoying the atmosphere. To get from the carpark (in a paddock) to the main street you can walk, or you can take a journey on a vintage Macbraynes bus - of course we took the bus so that we can tell Ken's bus mad brother that we were on one of his favourite buses.

 The day is a mixture of vintage and the more modern cars - here's a selection of cars that caught my attention (the mini because of the awful colour it is).

Amongst all the cars there was also a few campervans with this one being the nicest - I could just picture the two of us heading off for a weekend in this.

I have been reliably informed by my motor expert (Ken) that the below car is a Subaru, but what is most important is that the engine has been accessorised with pink!! Plus there are also parts that have been covered with day of the dead artwork - it's so fabulous.

Continuing on the pink/purple theme, here is a lovely Morris Minor in lilac.

And then there was this escort with the engine accessorised in purple.

Another selection of the cars that were there - my favourite of these was the little red bubble car whilst Ken's was the one in the top righthand corner (I don't know what it is, just that it's old).

Lots of dogs had been dragged out into the mayhem (we left Bramble Jelly at home) and there were all shapes and sizes. One of the stalls was for Husky Rescue and it was lovely meeting the Huskies - this one had the most beautiful blue eyes. The Golden Retriever was on the back of one of the trucks and looked like he'd be lovely to cuddle.

Interesting sticker on one of the old cars - I've always thought my beloved had a strange obsession with vintage cars so maybe this explains it.

This a Trabant, a car manufactured in East Germany and another of Ken's favourites - the photo below this one is Ken sitting in one when we were in Budapest a few years ago.

After that very old car that is probably held together with gaffa tape, here's a couple of very modern creations - the first one looks like something out of a science fiction film.

Part way down the street we made a slight detour to Inverallan Church which is set back behind the main street. It's a beautiful church and I really loved the window as sometimes seeing nature through the glass is just as lovely as stained glass. It reminds me of an episode of the Vicar of Dibley where their church window was broken in a storm and in the end they replaced it with plain glass.

Amongst all the cars there were also a few motorbikes, both vintage and modern. This bike and sidecar look like they should be travelling across a desert somewhere on some huge adventure.

This is a vintage AA Road Assist bike and sidecar with all the bits in the sidecar that were needed to help broken down cars.

Very sleek bike with a beautiful paint job - if you look closely you can see a horse painted on the fuel tank.

 My beloved drooling over a Ford Anglia (at this point he's rattling off more details about the car but it all sounds like a foreign language to me).

This was the entertainment area that had several different bands/choirs throughout the day - this was a jazz band.

Two of the trucks that were there - Ken would like the blue one and I can see it's benefits, we could drive off somewhere romantic and sleep in the back under the stars.

I'm going to say that this is a Citroen 2CV and check with Ken when he comes back in the room (he's back and I was correct which is slightly worrying as I'm obviously absorbing car information by osmosis).

On the backseat was this beautiful greyhound - I'd spotted her earlier in the day and she is grace personified. Before you worry about her, the roof on the car was open so she wouldn't get too hot and she was sound asleep until I started talking to her.

One of the only negatives of going to a vintage car festival is that if you leave too late in the day you are bound to get stuck behind a car that can only go about 30 miles an hour (please ignore our dirty windscreen).

Hope you've enjoyed this visit to Motormania and if you're a petrol head then it's definitely worth a visit.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and do something nice for yourself this week.

Pamela & Ken
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P.S: Recent pictures of the brats as they haven't featured in our posts lately.

Thunder in the Glens 2017

This weekend was the yearly meeting of thousands of Harley Davidson lovers at the 21st Thunder in the Glens in Aviemore - we attended last year as well and you can read about it here: Thunder in the Glens 2016. The day before we went to the actual rally we saw this man in a cafe we were visiting (just for a change) and I asked him if I could take a photo. He's never been to Saudi, a friend bought it for him - it was giving me and Ken cold shivers as we have both worked there in the past.

Thunder in the Glens is the biggest Harley Davidson rally in Europe and is held in Aviemore which is 40 miles from where we live. Last year there were over 4000 attendees so it's a huge boost to the local economy.

There's going to be lots of pictures of bikes now so sit back and enjoy.

Love the art on this bike - very gothic.

The paintjob on this bike is a forces commemorative one  and on the tank it has the words, 'not all wounds are visible....'

Is it just me or does the seat on this bike look really uncomfortable?

Great art on the above bike - it was different on each side but all had the same theme.

Whilst Harley Davidsons are the predominant bike, there are others like this mega Triumph - that engine is just ridiculous it's so big.

In amongst all the two wheeled works of art my beloved actually found a couple of cars to look at.

Around the town there are stages set up for entertainment and at night apparently it's quite the party atmosphere. This soloist was really good, singing Scottish/Irish themed songs. It was a really lovely day so perfect for sitting out with a drink to listen to the music.

This bike had lots of skulls featured in the details including on what I think might be the air filter (apologies if I'm totally wrong).

Very curvy bike with a very fat back wheel.

The fashion styles being sported were predominantly themed black with lots of leather. We did watch one couple get out of a car dressed in their full leathers as if they'd ridden bikes to the rally - very odd. There were also lots of dogs sporting the latest in biker doggy fashion including a leather jacket on a small dog. This gentleman was with three other people of the more mature variety and I thought their t-shirts were fittingly funny - it says Banchory Coffin Dodgers.

By now it was time for us to restore our energy with a coffee and cake break. We found the fabulous Mountain Cafe which is above an outdoor activities store and the cafe is run by a Kiwi, so a fellow antipodean. The cakes were absolutely amazing and we'll definitely be going back there.

As you walk around the town there is the constant rumble of Harley engines as they are riding up and down the main street.

A very unique bike that was a bit like the ratrod style of cars that Ken likes - it's got great paintwork and very interesting parts on the bike including a doll's head.

One of the power rangers must be in town - that's what this bike reminded me of.

All around Aviemore there are beautiful flower - I really liked this multitiered stand.

Some more bikes to enjoy.

You may have noticed that skulls are quite a popular theme when it comes to the bikes.

The winner of the 2017 Best Sportster - last year it was the winner of Best in Show.

The winner of the 2017 Best in Show. For those of you reading this that know about bikes, it's a 1462cc 89 cubic inch Sportster (whatever that means).

I absolutely adored this elephant that was on the side of one of the trade stall vans - this would look beautiful on a bed quilt.

This was an interesting trade stall, Team Beard has products for looking after beards but also lots of clothing, pet apparel, and accessories with the emblem on it.

If you look closely at the bikes you'll often find really interesting little features, just like the notice on this bike - it's quite a small part of the bike so I've enlarged it for you.

On the way home we passed lots of bikes who had been out for rides including this large group.

We stopped to enjoy the beauty of the heather across the moors - it's such a lovely purpleness before your eyes. The photos never do the colour justice but believe me when I tell you it's gorgeous.

Don't panic, we didn't have a freak snowstorm on the way home, I've included this picture because I took this one in the same spot in March this year as the one below it - such a contrast.

Here we are, my hair is trying to blend in with the heather.

The other thing we encountered on the way home was a proper Highlands traffic jam.

We hope you've enjoyed this visit to Thunder in the Glens 2017 - it's a really great event and if you're a fan of Harleys then you should definitely try and come one year.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and have a wonderful week.

Pamela & Ken
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