Shetland Classic Motor Show - 4th and 5th June

The Shetland Classic Motor Show started out as a one-off event in 1984 in Lerwick, in modest surroundings in the Gilbertson Park. Encouraged by the great response, the organisers decided to hold a second show two years later, and so began the biennial show which has grown to become a major local event, and a significant feature in the Scottish classic vehicle scene. Now held in the Clickimin Leisure Complex, it occupies four separate halls inside, plus a large display area outside.

In response to the number of exhibitors visiting from outwith Shetland, “Cruise in Company” tours were introduced and have become a significant feature in their own right. The tours are led by knowledgeable local guides and enable the visitors to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery, history and culture that the islands have to offer. It also allows the local population to enjoy seeing and hearing the vehicles being used as they were intended on the many miles of high-quality roads around Shetland.

Show categories include Motorcycles; Cars; Land Rovers; Tractors; Commercial Vehicles; Stationary Engines; Bicycles; Models; Motoring Memorabilia and Photographs.

A number of Club members attended the 2018 show and enjoyed it to such an extent that we all agreed that we should try and make it a regular trip. Unfortunately though, due to COVID, the 2020 show was cancelled and so when the date of the 2022 show was announced we started planning the trip. We decided that we would visit Orkney for a couple of days on the way up as we did in 2018, and the initial response from members was very promising.

Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, numbers dwindled and in the end, a depleted but nonetheless enthusiastic 5 cars / 9 people signed up for the trip. Three crews opted for the 2 day stay on Orkney and the remaining two caught the ferry direct to Shetland.

On Monday 30th May, Pat and I met Jim and Harriet at Morgan McVeighs on the A96 en route to Wick for the first night stop. Brief spells of sunshine were interrupted by torrential rain showers and in true MGB fashion my legs soon started to get wet from all the leaks! Despite the weather, we arrived safely and met Rob and Maureen at the Hotel in Wick and the following day, after a brief photo opportunity at John O’Groats, we boarded the ferry from Gills Bay to St. Margaret’s Hope – thankfully by then the weather had improved significantly.

We had a great time on Orkney visiting many of the island’s attractions, which include the Churchill Barriers and the magnificent Italian Chapel - it really is a fabulous place to visit and is steeped in history. Our final night in Kirkwall was Thursday and we were treated to a Jubilee Celebration in the town.

Unfortunately for me, the graphite release bearing on my MGB – which had done fewer than 3000 miles – decided to disintegrate and so every time I depressed the clutch, there was a horrendous metal on metal screeching sound which certainly turned heads, so I had plenty of practise doing clutchless gearchanges to try and minimise damage.

We caught the late-night ferry to Lerwick on Thursday night, arriving around 07:30 on Friday. As part of the long weekend, as mentioined above the Organisers lay on a number of guided tours of the island and we had originally planned to do one of the tours straight from the ferry, but given the state of my clutch we reluctantly decided not to go and instead went for breakfast at a fabulous café with Jim and Harriet.

Both Jim and Harriet were born on Shetland and had lived there for many years and as a result, they seemed to know the majority of the population! Jim spoke to his old neighbour, who very generously offered to loan us a Citroen Berlingo to run around in so although we missed the tour, we did manage to do some exploring on the Friday afternoon.

The show was on the Saturday and Sunday and as you will see from the pictures, a fabulous selection of cars, motorcycles, pedal cycles, commercial vehicles, stationary engines and buses were on display.

The 2 days went by really quickly and as ever, the Show was immensely popular with lots of spectators milling around looking at the exhibits and chatting to the owners and all too soon, it was all over.

On the Monday, the organisers had laid on a tour of the island for the Commercial vehicles and once again, we were invited to join the crew of the 1968 Leyland AEC bus from the Alford Bus collection for a ride. The bus had been doing rides around Lerwick for the spectators during the show and they had experienced one or two minor problems with it as air seemed to be getting into the fuel supply somewhere, but it all seemed to be running fine……until we reached the Runway at Sumburgh Airport!

For those not familiar with it, the main road crosses the threshold of runway 09 and road traffic is controlled by manned barriers across the road – when an aircraft is expected they close the gates to stop the traffic. We had just gone through the open barriers when the bus decided to come to a halt!

Luckily, we weren’t on the runway itself but nonetheless an Airport Ops vehicle came over to speak to us and despite the best efforts of the crew in trying to bleed the fuel system, they were unable to get it started. One of the other buses came back to collect the passengers and took us to lunch at the Sumburgh Hotel but sadly, the Alford bus didn’t make it.

After lunch, a former Montrose depot Leyland Leopard bus kindly took us back to Lerwick in time for the for the ferry and luckily one of the other bus crew members had a long airline in his boot and this was hastily modified to make an alternative fuel line for the Alford bus; they managed to get the bus going again and returned in time for the ferry.

We caught the overnight ferry back to Aberdeen and arrived around 07:30 on Tuesday morning. All agreed that it had been a fabulous trip and that we would return in 2024!

There are 2 photo galleries below, the first is some snaps that I took and the second one contains some fantastic shots taken by club member Rob Buchan – Rob is a keen wildlife photographer and he took some wonderful shots – especially the puffin above! (Click on the thumbnails to see the full image)

Random snaps from Orkney, Shetland and the Show