THE FIRST CULLEN RUN :: AUGUST 2002

After discovering MINI2 it didn't take me long to stumble upon the Meetings and Events section where lo and behold there was Scottish Run being planned. I signed up immediately...

Some three weeks later on a rather wet Sunday morning we found ourselves on the way to join the run at Blairgowrie. I must admit when we arrived, already late, I feared the worst, we had missed the rendezvous and the day was wasted. Anyway we thought we'd better give it ten minutes. Just as I was about to start the engine and head back to Auld Reekie a Dark Silver S cruised into the square and parked up beside us. "Are youz waiting on the MINI2 Run?" came a voice from inside. As it turned out the convoy from Dundee was late too and after 10 minutes one MINI appeared, then another, and another until the small carpark was filled with 8 MINIs in all. We were off!

The first leg of the run was form Blairgowrie over the pass of Glenshee, down into Braemar and onto Crathie Church to meet Zooooom and the Aberdeen crew. Nothing quite prepared me for the pace at which the group set off at. I don't think there was another car on the road that we didn't pass! The reaction from other drivers was the same though, a big smile and get the hell out of the way... 8 MINIs coming through!

The weather gradually improved as we headed north so by the time we were in Deeside it was a beautiful summers day. We met Zooooom, Brian and three other MINI drivers at the Crathie Church car park which was a welcome distraction for the coachloads of tourists loitering around there.

From Crathie we climbed out of the Dee valley and up the the Lecht Ski Centre where we stopped for a quick bite to eat. Then down to Tomintoul, Glen Livet, Dufftown and onto Keith to meet Alan Cooper who had only got married the day before but thought it'd be good to squeeze in a quick run before heading off on honeymoon! Every village and town we went through, the kids were out waving and adults walking along the streets were doing double takes as MINI after MINI went by.

From there it was only a short run down to Cullen and the ice cream! It was worth the 180 mile drive. Only problem was we had 180 miles to get get home.

Things get a little confusing from here as the group got split on the way back through Keith and unfortunately we were one of the ones who didn't know where they were going so it was at this point we called it a day and headed for home via Huntly, Inch, Torphin and the Cairn O Mount.

We got back to Edinburgh around 9.30pm having completed 360 miles through some of the best scenery Scotland has to offer. It was the first of many MINI adventures.

Monsta Mo Mini