1930 Rolls Royce 20/25
1968 Triumph Herald 13/60
1995
Aston Martin DB7 i6
1954
Aston Martin DB2/4
1991
Ford Sierra
Sapphire Cosworth
Route
We turned left on departure from the Royal Yacht Club at Rhu, heading
up the east side of the Gare Loch, reaching Faslane, home to the RN
Naval Base Clyde.
Short Route
Here we split company with the long route crews, with us heading on
the Arrochar road. Heading north, passing Garelochhead before reaching
the eastern shore of Loch Long. We continued up to Arrochar to join the
A83 toward Campbeltown via the Rest and be Thankful.
At
Arrochar we
topped up the fuel tank before heading toward the Rest and be Thankful
for a quick bacon roll from John the chippie at the top car
park.
view from top of
Rest and be Thankful
Refreshed we headed back the way we came to Arrochar, this time staying
on the main A83 road, toward Tarbet, where we joined the A82 alongside
Loch Lomond.
A right turn onto the B832 led us to the Glen Fruin road to rejoin the
A814 at Faslane, taking us back to Rhu and the Royal Yacht Club, some
55 miles in total.
Long Route
We departed Rhu the same direction as the short route crews, but took
the lochside route to Garelochhead at the Faslane roundabout.
A left onto the B833 took us south down the west side of the
Gare Loch, to arrive at Kilcreggan, at the south end of the peninsula.
Only northward to return up the east side of Loch Long then east at
Coulport, site of the RNAD facility storing Trident warheads.
RNAD Coulport
Here we pickup the A814 back toward Arrochar, alongside Loch Long.
Refuelled at Arrochar we head for the Rest and be Thankful for
personal bacon roll refuelling, before heading north west on the A83 to
join the A815 toward Dunoon. After a couple of miles we turn
left onto the B839 over the hills toward Lochgoilhead, joining the B828
to reach the A83 again at the top of the Rest and be Thankful.
Rewind route back to Arrochar, but keep to the Loch Long eastern
coastline on the A814, as far as the left turn to Glen Douglas toward
the A82 at Inverbeg. Great run down Loch Lomond on our left, before
right turn onto B832 through Glen Fruin toward Helensburgh and the
finish at Rhu, almost 100 miles.
A warm welcome back for refreshments and awards presentation.
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Three
Lochs Classic – 23 August. 2026 story, photos, video Jim Paterson
The sun shone on our 40 plus crews in their classic cars, some
dating back to the early 20th century. The
event was again hosted by the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club,
which has formed the start location for the last 25 years.
 Sponsor,
Ruari
Gillespie of Stansons Landscaping, once again sponsored the event,
which supported
CHAS (Childrens Hospices Across Scotland )
There was still the ever popular long and short route options, the
short being
a less arduous route for the older cars and any others who may prefer
it. To encourage cars in the Veteran and Vintage classes, there was no
entry fee for them.
Once
again the ever popular long and short route options were
offered. The short being a less arduous route for the older cars and any
others who may have preferred it.
I reprised my role assisting with parking the
arriving cars and later as a Concours
d'Elegance judge along with Gordon Hood and Andrew Pemberton, chair of
RSAC.
I also had opportunity to capture on video a selection of the cars
departing from the start line.
We missed Jonathan Lord who is recovering from a recent spell in
hospital, for which we wish him a speedy recovery.
Stepping into the Clerk of Course shoes was organiser Ian Higgins who
had help from several flag bearers.
1934 Alvis Speed Model
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In line
with past
years tradition the oldest car in the event departs first to lead the
rest on their way. This year it fell to the 1920 Austin 12 'Windsor' of
David Morgan, who was happy to blow the klaxon horn several times, in
case anyone was hard of hearing!
Next away was Allan Lapsley in his 1930 Rolls Royce 20/25. Allan had
shown me around the technical parts, including the chassis oiling
system, pre-dating grease points, and the magneto ignition. No need for
a laptop to programme the engine management system in those
days! A screwdriver and spanner was all you needed. Allan and the car would take
the Albion Cup award as first overall in the Concours
d'Elegance.
Bill McCreath
took off
in his bright blue 1934 Alvis Speed 20. He would collect the
Class 3 post vintage 1931-1940 award.
The
first of the
Aston Martin entries was the 1936 Speed model driven by Simon Graham,
taking advantage of the good weather with the canvas top down. Peter
Charlesworth brought his 1968 Jaguar S-Type. In pure white, with
whitewall tyres, all it needed was ribbons over the bonnet and a bride
in the back to complete the perfect wedding car!
First of the Mazda MX5's with the 1999 convertible of Michael
Hughes leading the cohort to follow him. Another crew from the Jaguar
team, Clive Reeves in his bright Red 2015 Jaguar F-Type, no longer
being manufactured. Our event sponsor, Ruari Gillespie of
Stansons in his 2006 BMWci slipped in, before a rare fine example of
Opel Ascona, this 1985 in black driven by Robert Smith. Colin
Moore sported a 1979 Porsche 928, the tan interior complimenting the
metalic blue external paintwork.
Barely out of sight before Alistair Wilson roared by in his 1981 Talbot
Sunbeam Lotus. Not many of this model in any form left, let alone one
breathed on by Lotus. Engine sounded tight and powerful,
unlike
the bag of loose nails of the original Talbot Horizon.
Fleming 1970 MG Midget
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MacMillan 1991 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit
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Regular CCHMSC members on events, Bill and Val Pollock set off in their
1957 Triumph TR3, a superb example of the marque which has covered many
miles while in Bill's hands. Back to Aston Martin and this time a 1954
DB2/4 with Jim Campbell at the wheel. This specimen fitted
out
inside for serious rallying, with Recaro style racing seats and anchor
points for 5 point seat harnesses.
Back to our Jaguar crews with a stunning blue 1963 Mk 2 driven
by
Gordon Calder, collecting the Best Jaguar Concours award. He was hotly
pursued by Andrew Paterson in his 1962 Jaguar E-Type Coupé.
From
supercars to fun cars, non more so than the proverbial Mini, Donald
Laing bringing his1965 Cooper S, this top of the line sporty version
complete with straight cut gears whining good style as it headed down
the Yacht Club drive. The car impressed the judges as they won the
Class 5 (1956-65) Concours award.
McWalters 2000 Cooper
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Paterson 1962 E-Type Jaguar
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Another
CCHMSC regular crew, Tony and grandson Ruairidh Fleming in the
red 1970 MG Midget, with a rare treat, the top down, sounded
good
as it sped down the driveway behind the Cooper S.
Owen Ferry, also CCHMSC member arrived in a new steed, a 1968 Triumph
Herald 13/60, looking terrific in shiny green paintwork, bought at
auction only days previously, at a bargain price he told me. Owen
joined his regular co-driver Craig McGibbon for a good shakedown run
for the new acquisition. It was a CCHMSC members outing as Jim
and
Norma Watson headed off in their 1977 MGB Roadster.
Jim organises
some great club events and new routes, so keep you eyes peeled for one.
Regular on the Three Lochs, Clive Brown in his 1972 JBA Falcon +2,
headed off to join the pack. Rab McDonald well known as an MSUK
scrutineer joined this event in his 2016 Skoda Scout. Back to MGB, this
time a sporty bumperless 1973 GT spec with Andy Butler at the wheel.
Ferguson Mercedes
SL200
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Laing 1965 Mini
Cooper S
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George
and Elizabeth Ferguson set off in their 1978 Triumph Dolomite
Sprint, standing out in the inca yellow colour scheme. BMW proved
popular on the event and a 1987 325i convertible joined the BMW group
with Sandy Nicolson at the wheel. Ford Sierra Sapphire's are few and far
between, being the three box saloon variant of the model. Less so in
Cosworth tuning. Thanks go to Darren Watson for bringing his example
along. Charlie Young teamed up with Eddie Hawke in his familiar 2016 Audi TT.
If luxury motoring is your thing then Annette Macmillan in her 1991
Rolls Royce Silver Spirit is the car you want to find. If
something a little more sporty, then Justin Beveridge has a 2000
Porsche 911 Carera 4 that would fit the bill.
Brown 1972 JBA Falcon
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Pollock 1957 Triumph TR3
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These Aston Martins keep appearing and Scottish
sporting legend Bruce
Lyle was behind the wheel of his 1995 DB7 i6 model. I didn't ask him
how it handles handbrake turns!
Jaguars then followed Bruce , with Ian Whitehead in a 2005
XK8-S Final Edition. This
car was built as the final special edition model of the X100 Jaguar XK,
the XK8/R 4.2-S were the last XK’s to be rolled out based on
the
original 1996 design. Bill Ross, also in a convertible Jaguar, this
time a 2004 XKR V8 followed Ian. The XKR's were out in force with Helen
McEnhill driving a 2005 XKR Coupé. Coming to the last of the
breed Graeme Crawford took off in his 2017 Jaguar F-Type, to
be
quickly followed by David Chaplin in a 2011 XK Convertible.
Our second Mini took off, this time Stuart
McWalters in a 2000 Cooper model. The
cohort of MX5's returned with Paul Hammond in a 2005 convertible, then
Donald Ferguson in his 2015 Mercedes SL200 in a stunning red colour
scheme.
Completing our starters for the day was Tom Niven, another CCHMSC
member and on the committee, in his regular 2005 MGTF. Tom has driven
many of these Three Lochs events and reckons he could do the route
backwards with his eyes shut. Do not attempt this at home!
Awards
Awards
ready for presentation
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Refreshments
at finish
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Published 27 August
2026
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