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Evening Team. Today is our last day and the sun has shone for most of the day. Planning a route home to take me over the Yorkshire Dales for tomorrow. Done over 200 miles today. Not as dramatic as the West Coast but still enjoyable. Went to Lawers Dam and was a fantastic backdrop for pictures of Buttercup. I even laid on my belly got some arty shots. Ben Lawers is brilliant to drive through and we came from Fortingall towards Ben Lawers. Most done at 15 mph. Drove through beautiful forestry and single track, twisty roads. FANTASTIC. Managed to get the key for the McNab burial ground at Killin as not visible from the road. Extremely beautiful setting to be laid to rest and be remembered. Lots of Lillies and wild garlic. Went to Pitlochry for food but very expensive so did not eat there. First car park had to pay for and also had to pay for toilets. Very much for tourists. Nice shops for the ladies to do shopping. Ate in Aberfeldy. Fountain cafe. Reasonable food at reasonable prices. A few kids shouting though and running round. I enjoyed today but not as much as the West Coast. The area is very pretty and clean but is mainly green fields and trees and I have that at home. It is a very beautiful area though so don't get me wrong. LESSONS LEARNT TODAY. Sheep like Tarmac so be careful going round corners. Tourist areas can be expensive. Turn of your satnav and just drive. Don't worry about fuel as plenty of pumps. I have enjoyed myself in the rain as much as the sun. You can drive at 15 mph for miles and not see any other vehicles. I am going to do a lessons learnt from my trip when I have sat and thought about it a while. I am already planning my trip for next year based on my experience in Buttercup as it has been so different than travelling up here in my tiptop. I can honestly with no flowering up of my words or saying something just to make it sound good, that this is the best holiday I have ever had ❤❤❤and I really don't want to go home.

I should have seen it coming... I like to wear my blue "Here to help" WSCC t shirt when working on the Westie. However going to B&Q and Homebase in a shirt with "Here to help" on it did result in me being stopped 6 times and asked for help... Did people not see the WSCC bit..? However the absolutely stunning blonde who wanted to know about light switches did get some help...

My input is very simple In 2005 I bought a 1400 cc K series Westfield because it was a great buy and I always wanted a "seven" style kit car I soon realised after a few track days that the car was terribly under powered and I was not a very quick driver but I loved the "Westie" I also joined the Westfield Car Club to meet other like minded owners who soon introduced me to sprinting I had no previous experience of Sprinting or Hill Climbs I considered addressing my lack of power and found out the K series could reasonably easily be upgraded to 1800 cc and along the way I was told that it was a class limit in the Speed Series if I wanted to get involved in the future So money was spent with Dave Andrews and after much badgering from Matt H and Keith Adams I finally signed up for the Speed Series Although I was a better driver than before I could not hold a candle to any of the guy's in the Speed Series Most of you know the rest of the story and I have stuck with it through thick and thin and enjoy everything about the speed series every time I touch it. I am still disappointed with my lack of not posting the best times but I challenge myself in all conditions and my wife loves the amount of time I spend working on by beloved Westie I believe I have improved my driving over the years and have enhanced the technical side of the car as my budget has allowed. I started as a Novice in the Speed Series and was not aware/interested in any other organisations events I for one believe the Speed Series formulae works for most! I see no reason to change to 1700 cc just to align ourselves with other event regulations, if we want to honour the venerable Crossflow we could introduce Crossflow class/classes in the Speed Series BHP/Ton seems to be an admin/control nightmare! I have no problem with the introduction of another "Intermediate" class as I still do not consider myself an Expert! Each category of driver could compete in any type of car based upon different target times for each driver category The reduction of events makes no sense as it is currently tough to get in the 10 events within reasonable cost/travelling distance as it is (without taking into account holidays in Spain etc) From a variety of circuit point of view I would like to see some new venues but that may not be possible if we have to drop some existing ones to fit them in! We need to get this proposed Tyre Change sorted before we even consider any other changes to the current speed series format please! Thanks for reading Graham aka Gluten Free

Proper, proper Westfield Sports Car Club Member (and only joined last August) A really great read... Well done! Just needs assembling/editing into an article for the magazine complete with photos

Well here is what I have learnt from this trip. I will keep updating this page for the next couple of nights. Some of it I have already said in my previous comments. A half hood, clear wind deflectors will get you through any amount of rain. Half doors are worth every penny as you can see so much scenery. A Paul Ash luggage rack is great for carrying luggage. Rok straps are brilliant for securing luggage. The west side is more WOW factor than the East. There are more petrol pumps than you think. Some are not proper garages but little shops with a pump outside. Bring a supply of microfibre cloths for drying up any water. A buff is brilliant for keeping out the cold. The zips on my coat and fleece made my neck sore after a while as I had to wear them for so long. Plan enough time to be able to go slow and enjoy the views. Plan that it will rain. We encountered no midges but Avon skin so soft is brilliant for protection. I wore less clothes than I thought but glad I brought plenty of underwear and socks. budget £80.00 a night for hotels. Can save money by going direct rather than through booking agents. Wear a pair of glasses as rain in the eyes hurts. Do not expect the car to stay clean. I had no need to carry cash apart from one garage that would not accept card payments under £15.00. Nearly all parking is free. There are masses of clean public toilets. Take notice of people who know the local area as they know some beautiful routes. Take an umbrella as handy for keeping dry if stopped admiring a view or darting into a shop. Take packs of glass cleaner wipes. Some places / garages shut earlier than you think. Would pay to ring ahead if an important stop to check. Nearly all the roads on the west coast we travelled on are a million times smoother than roads south of the border. The sun sets late in the highlands at this time of year so your days are really long. Be aware of animals in the road if whizzing along as lots of sharp bends. We had close shaves with sheep, deer and cows. Budget for between £10.00 to £12.00 for your evening meal plus drinks. Make sure you have recovery insurance before leaving. Phone signal and 3G reception is better than you think. Not available everywhere we went but nearly everywhere is fair to say. One day on the Isle of Skye is not enough. It gets windy in the exposed highlands so make sure you have enough straps to hold any rainproof protective cover down on a night.

Nichts zu danken

Hello Party Goers I am back from Spain and would like to firm up the numbers for the Gluten Free Dinner on Friday 10/7/15 We currently have 25 consenting adults which is a GREAT Number but is still a bit down on last year I am sure there are more of you out there who want to join in with this great night of fun and merri-ment Nick Algar and his wife have kindly accepted my invitation to come along as this is their first year at Blyton when they are able to relax a bit. I think we all appreciate the work Nick does for us all so don't be shy get your reservation in ASAP so we can help him un-wind a bit Look forward to more responses! Thanks Gluten Free

Yes i got my letter through the post the other day informing me to destroy my counterpart. Question is which one? I seem to have ended up with quite a collection in varying states of 'cleanliness' lol

Possible additional Westie to the list .. Newly delivered kit in my area . Waiting on registration to be completed. If done in time he plans on attending the Applecross run. I'll keep you posted. cheers Jim.

Good news Q! My Type 9 bellhousing is either std M10 or M12 - can't remember which. Looking at your photo though, I don't think there's a tapping in the bellhousing for the 3rd screw?

Offers?

I can't seem to get the audio right with my camera, it's wind and diff noise or diff noise on its own, so I had a play on the iPad and that's the result.

Add me then Robin, but it is weather permitting.

I unfortunately have the full set, ears both outer and inner, nose both nostrils which when pulled are knotted somewhere behind each eyeball and eyebrows that if left alone will become curtains. One upside is you can now appreciate a Turkish shave, where they set fire to a small ball of cotton wool and deftly wave it around the extremities and burn the blighters off. The smell of burning hair soon passes and the sight of flames coming off your ears certainly is entertaining.

I so hate that you beat me to that line...

An essential tool for long distance driving http://www.meteox.co.uk/forecastloop.aspx?type=1

One Careful Lady Owner I reckon

My wife said she saw a yellow westie parked in Banavie near Fort William about 5pm today, two people in it described as 'well wrapped up'! Buttercup? By any chance. Hope you are enjoying the sunny evening. As has been said, the drive from Invergarry to Kyle (A87) is great. Another fantastic route is to turn off the A87 onto the A890 to Achnasheen then the A832 to Gairloch, A nice place to visit and includes a section of road described by Top Gear magazine as the greatest drivers road in Britain, through Glen Docherty and alongside Loch Maree. You are spoilt for choice really, enjoy!

Hi Buttercup, Sounds like you're having a great time, despite the weather. Remember - skin is waterproof, so topless may be the way to go! Don't forget to do the "Scotsburgring" while you're in the vicinity of Glencoe. It's a complete lap of Loch Leven and a fantastic road. Was hoping to meet you on your run down through Inverness (we live close by) on Sunday, but we're out for a run with the Jaguar owners in Crieff that day. We'll keep a look out for you in Aberfeldy or on the A9 on our way back north. Keep us posted. We love an adventure! David

Good luck and hats off to you. We went to Wales last year and got monumentally soaked but still had a blast. We christened the Westfield Nemo! The wet seats are the worst to me. Hopefully weather looks to be improving from Tuesday. Here in Rochdale the weather is stinking with really heavy rain and gales, first day of summer eh?

Its all part of the fun! I have done a 1 hour wet drive with a full hood and really enjoyed it, helped by having an enthusiastic passenger, who was armed with a towel that she used to fend off incoming wet, or at least try and keep the inside of the screen clear ish. The car now has no roof at all, and if to be honest less fun in the wet. Well a lot of fun initially and then tiring, I find the main issue is again, keeping the inside of the screen dry. But hey, you only live once. For weather reports, I find http://www.yr.no/ really good. Clunky but more informative/detailed than the beeb. Daniel

Was up there myself just over a week ago. All I had was a motorbike suit. Had all my gear in a overboard bag which did what it said and kept everything dry. I learned a hard lesson from my tour in May last year when I rained for three and a half days! It did rain on Skye and we went through four hailstorms on the journey up It was worth it though...

HOW much stuff? Now I see why not using full hood!

Hi buttercup. I did the nc500 last week and a bit more in my eBay find ford puma finishing with a track day at knock hill. Not wishing to dampen the enthusiasm but the roads are quite varied and I really enjoyed something with a roof, compliant suspension and a radio. I am old though. I have done 800 miles in a day in a westie with 7 hours of rain and never missed my westie in Scotland. Its a beautiful country and I spent hours looking out the window at legal speeds and then driving hard at legal speeds another day on a single track road. All round top fun. In my westie I would have been waiting for a wincing grounding moment..... If you go in your westfield make sure your ride height can cope. Fuel is frequent but variable in price, take a spare can for emergencies. Cheers jon

did you book the sunshine?

On 25 May last year I and other club members ignored a BBC heavy rain all day forecast and it was torrential all day. As I cannot get in with the hood on it was a very damp day and the roads were flooded. I reckon the forecasting these days is pretty accurate, sorry to say. Can you delay departure until Wed 03 June then the worst of the rain will have passed. Also 1st and 2nd June forecasts include severe weather warnings for strong winds of 40mph+. Hope you can get away soon.