Annual Show and Awards Day - NTS Drum Castle - July 25th
We recently discussed when we first held our Annual Show and Awards Day at NTS Drum Castle - the consensus being that it was probably 2012; this matches the earliest photo we have found which was taken that year and is shown on the right. Does anyone know whether we were at Drum before then?
Apart from 2021, when Covid meant the show was replaced by a 'socially distant' picnic at Drum Castle, this years event marked our 15th year at Drum, and the show has continued to go from strength to strength.
Our 2024 Annual Show and Awards Day at NTS Drum Castle was the first time we trialled holding the event on a Saturday, with the Grampian Region Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club’s similar event taking place the following day. The main reason was to avoid a clash with the Aberdeen Performance Car Show, which had affected footfall on our traditional date. This created the Drum Castle Classic Car Weekend. Previously, our event was held on the first Sunday in August, with the Jaguar event the following Sunday; so holding both on the same weekend also has the added benefit that the marquees are up for only a couple of days rather than a full week.
The format seems to work well. We did consider swapping this year, with the Jaguars on Saturday and our event on Sunday, but that was not universally accepted, so we kept last year’s arrangement.
Unfortunately though, this year we clashed with the Banchory Show but since this attracts a different type of spectator, it didn’t seem to have too much of an adverse effect on our numbers.
The weather in the days leading up to the event had been superb, with seemingly endless clear skies and sunshine.
Conditions were so dry though that several wildfires had broken out, including a major one in the Cairngorms National Park. Although it was some distance away, the wind changed the night before setup day, and when we arrived at Drum on Friday morning there was a strong smell of burning, heavy smoke and even the odd ash particle settling on the ground. Nonetheless, thanks to all the volunteers who came along to help, the marquees were erected and we were ready to go.
Sixty-five cars, plus four guest Austin Healeys, lined up on the magnificent south lawn and thankfully on the day the wind had changed direction again, leaving us smoke-free. The weather was generally good, with only a couple of very light showers during the day.
More than 200 adults and 45 children came through the NTS pay booth, and the show had a warm, friendly atmosphere throughout the day. Everyone I spoke to said it had been a brilliant day.
Unfortunately, a couple of traders and stallholders were unable to attend. AutoSmart franchise holder for the area Euan only has a large truck, which NTS felt was too big to access the lawn, so he had to withdraw. Team Aberdeen University’s transport fell through at the last minute, preventing them from attending but despite this, the lawn was full of a variety of stands including Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, Aberdeen Advanced Motorists, RNLI and Parkhead Upholstery were all present and reported a successful day. Louise’s Farm Kitchen kept everyone fed with breakfast rolls and burgers, and Xenia from The Daily Grind Coffee Cart kept us supplied with excellent teas and coffees throughout the day.
Our resident band, The Malpasso Gang, kept the crowd entertained, while visitors enjoyed a stunning display of classic cars on the lawn.
Special thanks must go to all the club members who willingly volunteered to help set up the field on Friday, marshal on Saturday, assist the Jaguars on Sunday, judge the cars at our event, and finally take down the marquees afterwards. Sadly, rain on Sunday meant the tents were too wet to dismantle Sunday evening as planned, so a small group returned on Monday to clear the field.
All in all a very successful Show once again - we'll see you next year!
Congratulations to the following award winners:
Thanks to John and Anita for providing some of the pictures below, and thanks again to our good friend Paul Barlow of Paul Barlow Photography who captured some excellent images of the cars. These can be seen on Paul’s website at the link below.
