We have an Armed Forces Day Blue Flash Challenge here in Strathpeffer next weekend the 23rd and 4th. It begins on Friday 23rd with a 24 hour/ 100km march from Ft Augustus to Strathpeffer, undertaken by 10 x 4 man teams from various Regiments, Veteran Associations and Public Service personnel. In the afternoon there will be a shinty match between the Combined Armed Forces shinty team and a Scotland Select shinty team. In the evening, a grand ceilidh and fundraising auction for Scotty’s Little Soldiers will be held at the Strathpeffer Pavilion with music by the mighty Skipinnish, one of Scotland’s premier live ceilidh bands. There will also be a guest appearance by the Strathpeffer and District pipe band. On Sunday, 26th June a parade of standards will take place at the Strathpeffer War Memorial, where a unique Blue Flash wreath will be laid and a short service will be held. The weekend’s events will be a chance for the public to show their appreciation for the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, both past and present, and also an opportunity for serving members of the Armed Forces and Veterans to show their appreciation for the community. This photo was taken on the 3rd September 1939 and shows soldiers marching past Craigvar on their way to camp.

A lovely article about Strathpeffer from a visitor's perspective. Read Samantha Grant's blog in which she and her 'wee white dug' spend some time here. https://theweewhitedug.com/2017/04/27/dolphin-spotting-with-captain-casper-the-sea-dog/

THE SCOTTISH MOTOR RALLY and STRATHPEFFER With a view to popularising Scotland as a motoring country a rally is being organised by the Royal Scottish Automobile Club, to take place from July 4th till July 9th, 1932. Glasgow is to be one of the starting points and the club has suggested that the corporation might assist the enterprise by offering one of the prize trophies. Entries for the rally included a number of well-known Monte Carlo Rally competitors and others. An interesting entry is that of Mr S. F. Edge, who in 1902 won the Gordon-Bennett race for Britain, and has figured in many events. There will be six starting points – London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Droitwich and Harrogate. Competitors will have to travel approximately 1200 miles to the final control in Edinburgh. The routes will include such centres as Oban, Strathpeffer, Gairloch, Dornoch, Fort-William, Inverness, Grantown-on- Spey, Braemar, Pitlochry and Gleneagles hotel. Forty-six London starters spent the night at Strathpeffer, checking in at the Highland Hotel, having come from Oban via Tyndrum, Kinlochleven, Fort-William, Inverness, Garve, Gairloch, and Auchnasheen. The grit of the women entrants in the Royal Scottish Automobile Club rally is illustrated by the experience of Miss Phyllis D. Goodban, one of the Harrogate starters, driving a Wolseley Hornet. On leaving Aberdeen she discovered a broken spring. She put back to a garage, had the damage repaired, and lost an hour and a half. She arrived in Glasgow however with an hour to spare at the control, having driven “flat out” all the way without stopping for meals. The first Scottish motor rally organised by the Royal Scottish Automobile Club, which ended on Saturday, proved successful, and should advance Scotland’s claim as a holiday touring ground. The only criticism probably concerns some roads which were very bad, and which must be improved if the tourist public is to be attracted. Some of the entrants were inclined to complain at being taken over a few of the less perfect Scottish roads, but, on the whole, they were probably ready to agree that any little discomfort suffered was more than made up by the wonderful scenery they were able to see. The second Scottish rally was held from 5th – 9th June 1933 and was divided into three sections over three days: Harrogate to Inverness (560 miles) to Oban (313 miles) and on to Glasgow (180 miles). The third rally took place from 21st – 25th May 1934 over a 1000-mile route. The third day saw a night-drive of 512 miles, setting off from Aberdeen at 10 p.m. and driving to Strathpeffer via John o’ Groats, Lochinver and Ullapool. The fourth rally took place from 10th – 13th June 1935 with the main overnight stops in Pitlochry and Oban, this time only passing through Strathpeffer on the first day. The fifth was held from the 1st – 5th June 1936 and was to take in “one of the most interesting roads in Britain viz. the road from Tornapress via the Pass of the Cattle to Applecross.” BIG ENTRY FOR SCOTTISH CAR RALLY. 162 Leave on Four Days’ Journey. One hundred and sixty-two cars left Edinburgh yesterday on a 900 miles journey. They were taking part in the fifth Scottish Rally organised by the Royal Scottish Automobile Club. The rally ends at Glasgow on Thursday evening. Many women took part as drivers and passengers. There is no night travel this year. There will be a number of special tests. Eighty cars have been entered for the coachwork competition in Kelvingrove Park on Friday, but they must qualify by gaining 50% of the marks of the first car in their class. SCOTTISH MOTOR RALLY OPENS Perth Driver First to Reach Inverness. The first stage of the Scottish Rally organised by the Royal Scottish Automobile Club was completed last night when 162 competitors arrived in Inverness after an arduous journey from Edinburgh. The motorists, who included 38 women drivers, encountered severe rainstorms. The route was via Bo’ness, Stirling, Tummelbridge, Braemar, Cockbridge, Grantown-on-Spey, Daviot and Inverfarigaig. The first car to arrive in Inverness was a Ford Saloon driven by Mr J. L. Fraser, Perth. Tests were carried out on the way north – a speed test at Bo’ness and a reversing test at Cockbridge. A. B. Tawse, Dundee (Riley), made a very clean ascent. At Foyers came another trial in the motorcycle test hill of Inverfarigaig, with acute hairpin bends. D. S. Milne, 10-40 Wolseley, made a perfectly clean ascent. There were no mishaps, although several entrants experienced engine trouble. To-day the rally will be continued from Inverness, severe tests being carried out in the Western Highlands. The motorists will make their headquarters at Strathpeffer. SCOTTISH MOTOR RALLY GETS SNOW. Second Day’s Run in the North. Driving a Ford, Mr J. L. Fraser was first to arrive at Strathpeffer yesterday afternoon in the second day’s run in the fifth Scottish Rally, organised by the Royal Scottish Automobile Club. One hundred and sixty-two competitors, of whom about 40 were women, set out from Inverness at 9.30 a.m., at half-minute intervals, the route being by Dingwall, Altamamain, Dornoch, Skaig Bridge, Lochinver, Ullapool and Altguish – a distance of 215 miles. No trouble was reported over the whole route. The day was mostly fine, but cold, with intermittent showers of rain and hail, until Altguish was reached when the competitors ran into a heavy snow shower. They also complained about the condition of the road at Lochinver where it was so dry and dusty that the competitors had to slow down till the dust raised by the cars in front had settled. There were four checks en route– at Dornoch, Skaig Bridge, Lochinver, and Altguish. Acceleration and braking tests were carried out at two points – at the level at Altmamain Inn, and on a steep incline at Kinnahaird, near Strathpeffer. The timing on these tests was electrically operated, the first occasion on which electrical timing has been used in Scotland in these rallies. Having accelerated from a given point the cars had to be brought to a standstill between two lines only fifteen feet apart. Very few cars crossed the line, the braking on all being marvellously efficient. The cars on arrival in Strathpeffer were all filled up with petrol, oil and water after which they were parked in a field given by Mr Murdo MacGregor. Leaving Strathpeffer at 9 a.m. the route today is by Achnasheen and Lochcarron to Applecross. The tortuous bends in the road will test the most skilful of drivers. The distance, 131 miles, is the shortest of the four days. Strathpeffer Spa management placed the pump room with its waters at the disposal of the competitors and officials for which all were most grateful. SCOTTISH MOTOR RALLY Only two of the 180 competitors taking part in the third day’s run of the Scottish Motor Rally exceeded the maximum time allotted for the 131-mile return journey from Strathpeffer to Applecross yesterday. One was a woman driver who lost time making mechanical adjustments on the road. Though short, yesterday’s run was regarded as the most severe test ever undertaken in one day in a rally. Some difficulty was experienced in the morning. The cars had been left in an open field all night and two of them, both driven by women, refused to start and had to be pushed. Two other cars were found to have flat tyres. Radiators and bonnets had been sealed overnight and the water in several cars was boiling when Applecross was reached. Others on checking in at night at Strathpeffer were steaming, the water supply in the radiator being exhausted. Two of the competitors have had to drop out of the rally, one through illness and the other through mechanical trouble. Today’s final run of 258 miles is from Strathpeffer via Beauly, Invermoriston, Fort William, Kinlochleven, Tyndrum, and Aberfoyle to Glasgow, the maximum time allowed being 10 hours and 22 minutes. The sixth rally from the 18th – 21st May 1937 was known as the ‘Coronation Rally’. Nearly all the roads followed were over the same routes as the previous year but largely in a reverse direction. The seventh was known as the ‘Empire Exhibition Scottish Rally’. As in previous years there would be no night section. The three nights during which the competitors would be away from Glasgow were to be spent at Strathpeffer, a pleasant and convenient centre from which to explore the Scottish North-West. The entire hotel accommodation in Strathpeffer was booked for the 550 competitors and passengers. The rally started from the R.S.A.C. Clubhouse in Glasgow on Monday 6th June and was to return on Thursday the 9th. A record number of 204 cars were entered. Among the prominent sporting entrants were: Viscount and Viscountess Chetwynd, Lord Waleran, Comte Heyden, Lady Mary Grosvenor, Lady Margaret Oldham, Mrs Kay Petre and Miss Amy Johnson. Before setting off Miss Johnson told a pressman that she was in love with flying, especially attempts on records, but motorcar racing had its attractions for her also. All but one of the 191 starters completed the first day’s run to Strathpeffer, due to a serious accident involving one of the competitors. Four miles from Inverfarigaig, Loch Ness, the sports car driven by Mrs I. Winifred Marcus-Brown, who had a woman friend as passenger, skidded and came to rest with its wheels in the air. Both women were rendered unconscious and Mr T. S. Purves, a member of the Humber team, who was the first to arrive at the spot after the accident, rendered first aid with the assistance of Mr W. G. Gregg, who came on the scene shortly afterwards. Both were taken to a nursing home in Inverness. One of the first arrivals at Strathpeffer was Miss Amy Johnson. She had had an uneventful run, she said, and expressed delight at the scenery of the Scottish Highlands. She is shown here on the right of the photo signing autographs. Viscountess Chetwynd was another early arrival. She stated that rain had marred the journey from Glasgow. There was a strong blustery wind, which added to the difficulties of driving. The following day was described as a “Hard Day’s Run” and took competitors 200 miles from Strathpeffer over mountain roads to Dornoch, on the east coast, and across country to Lochinver and Ullapool, on the west. It was the hardest day’s run yet undertaken, but the weather was perfect and the motorists saw some of the grandest scenery in the Highlands under the best conditions. Many competitors complained of the excessive roughness of the road leading to Ullapool, the loose surface with small potholes and numbers of sharp bends demanded the greatest driving skill, several cars coming to grief. A few cars were ditched, and one near Lochinver took the combined efforts of about twenty competitors to lift it back onto the road again. There were other minor mishaps, but no injuries. All the cars completed the distance. The scenery captivated the motorists, who were charmed with the rugged grandeur of mountain, moor and loch. To most of them one of the best sights of the day was a large herd of deer at Braemore, which stood watching the cars go past. Other competitors were interested in a number of sharks cruising 20 yards from the shore near Ullapool. The eighth rally from Monday 29th May to Thursday 2nd June 1939. The route this year missed out the Highlands and went by way of Pitlochry, Angus, Braemar, Kinloch Rannoch, Perth, Callander and Aberfoyle then back to Glasgow. The RSAC Scottish Rally resumed after the war when the ninth one was held from 14th – 18th May 1951. The 10th was held from 2nd – 6th June 1952 and the aptly named “Coronation” Scottish Rally was from 25th – 28th May 1953. From then it has run annually, except for 1974 when there was a tanker drivers’ strike.

It's just a week since the Strathpuffer and in the meantime an article has appeared on BBC News about Banchory mum Barbara Murray who took part. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-38743445

Congratulations to 'our' team this year. Simon Watson (supported by Johnny Hall) did 16 laps in the solos and came 32nd overall. Well done, Simon - didn't have to scroll down as far as you thought! Our quad team of Celtic Connections with Jonathan Moir, Eoghan Meehan, Roger Chilcott and Tony Czyzewski managed a creditable 21 laps all told. And a special mention to the Invergordon Academy Team in the 8s - well done to all, especially Robin who must be the fastest janny in the Highlands on two wheels. And of course the team names that caught the eye this year - in no particular order of preference - Tommy 2wat, Bikey McBikeface, Cycling weakly, Blood Sweat & Gears, Four play in the forest and the Strath Puff Four. See some great photos here on the BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-38717264

The 12th annual Strathpuffer is here. Busy registration this morning against a clear sky and a hint of good weather for the weekend. Guy Martin, who competed two years ago, summed up the essence of the event when he wrote “You don’t have a race face on at the start of a bike race like this, because all you are doing is playing the part. The race was won, or lost, three months before. October, November, December, January is the worst time of the year to be riding a bike in Britain, and that’s when you have to do your preparation for the race, sat on your bike for 15 hours a week, every week. It’s pretty grim. I know, for the eight or nine hours I’m driving up there, that I’m not going to enjoy it. The Strathpeffer loop is about 7 miles long and takes 50 minutes or thereabouts for me to do a lap. Some people say three or four in the morning is the worst for them, but it’s always the last hour that is the worst for me. If there’s any chance of winning I’d do whatever it takes to keep going”. From ‘When you dead, you dead’, by Guy Martin.

The annual Highland Bridge Congress, organised by Dingwall Bridge Club, is being held again in Strathpeffer, this year at the new venue of the Ben Wyvis Hotel. The ‘Ben’ was built in the 1870s and opened in 1877. It sits in extensive grounds, with beautiful pillars at the entrance of the drive, which leads up a tree-lined avenue to the hotel. It was built to accommodate visitors who came to take the waters at what was then a popular spa resort. Robert Louis Stevenson stayed there in 1880 with his family. Bridge is a mid to late 19th century card game whose name possibly comes from ‘biritch’, but the source of this word is a bit obscure, perhaps having its origins in the Near East. It may come from the Turkish word ‘bir-üç’ which means ‘one-three’ and may refer to one hand being exposed while three are concealed

Here is an image of a wildcat recently spotted near Strathpeffer. Strathpeffer is one of six priority areas set up by Scottish Wildcat Action to monitor these creatures who are endangered and at risk of becoming extinct.

This is a short video, posted by Rob MacDonald, which perfectly sums up the spirit of the Strathpuffer and the fantastic local scenery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrEDbSOjyA4 And Guy Martin doesn't live in Yorkshire; he is a Grimbarian, from Grimsby in Lincolnshire, and his ride up to the 'Puffer was over 450 miles.

A new black and white photo of Gillian Pratt, who finished a commendable 3rd in the Ladies Solo event. We hope she will be back next year. She completed a fantastic 18 laps after putting in a great effort in the last few hours. Team Breakpad did well and completed 21 laps, finishing 2nd in the Ladies Quads. And as for Guy Martin, you couldn't make it up. He finished 16th overall after riding up to Strathpeffer from his home in Yorkshire on a fixed-wheel bike.

Apologies to Team Breakpads, whom I described as a mixed four. They are all ladies and consist of Liz Peacock, Paula Voce, Ruth Asbery and Sam Hill (sorry Sam!). There are some great team names too. in the pairs there are Bombay Icicle Club, I Be Pro Fun 2, Pilates of the Caribbean, TFI Sunday and Wheely Tyred. In the quads there are Cyclopaths, Nae Feelin two wheel, Scrambled legs and the Big Test Icicles.