Before Rolls-Royce expert Paul Wood’s passing, he had discussed with daughter Georgina and the family that he would like to arrange a tour of the Highlands for some of his P&A Wood customers. Scotland is somewhere both Paul and his twin brother Andrew have always loved since they were young, and in recent years Paul, Valerie and daughters Gillian and Georgina had acquired a house on Loch Ness with a 200-year-old bridge that, naturally, Paul restored.
Around 18 months ago, Paul’s daughter Georgina and wife Valerie were at the house in Scotland and discussed that they should consider arranging the tour to follow through on Paul’s idea. The thought was daunting, to say the least, but with overwhelming support and enthusiasm from the rest of the family and the team at P&A Wood they did it.
It was decided that the first tour would be considered a ‘guinea pig’ tour and only customers who wouldn’t mind if everything went wrong would be invited. It would be a rally for modern cars (with one exception of course, more on that later) so there would be no requirement for back-up and the team could check out the chosen route, hotels, activities etc.
So, on Thursday April 24, the P&A Wood crew (Toby, Lisa and Ryan), the family (Valerie, Georgina and her husband Ben, Andy and Marilyn) and six couples who are long term customers of P&A Wood met at the Cameron House Hotel ready to start the tour. To set the scene, they enjoyed a falconry display on the banks of Loch Lomond before a quick briefing by Georgina making sure everyone knew what to expect from the next few days. Drinks, dinner and an early night… the excitement of the first driving day looming!
The cars were lined up impressively out the front of the hotel. They included a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Rolls-Royce Wraith by P&A Wood, three Rolls-Royce Ghosts and a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Alongside the customer cars the team was loaned some fleet cars from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars for the tour, which comprised two Rolls-Royce Cullinans and a Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost. The other car on the trip was Georgina’s own 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost as she wanted to see how a heritage car would fair over the route.
On Friday morning, they set off on the first day of the tour with Georgina leading the way. After a couple of hours driving around the banks of Loch Lomond and up through Glencoe the first stop was a light lunch at the Inverlochy Castle Hotel, where Georgina and Ben had been married in 2019. The team there were extremely welcoming and everything was superb, so the participants almost didn’t want to leave. However, a Loch Ness Cruise beckoned, so they drove off to Fort Augustus, parked up and set sail to check out the most famous Loch in Scotland. Once back on shore, they drove the short journey to the overnight hotel and had a wonderful meal overlooking Loch Lochy.
Saturday was the longest driving day of the tour, covering just over 200 miles, so it was an early start before arriving at the first refreshment stop at the Eileen Donan Castle – a beautiful scene for the cars to be lined up for photographs. Then with excitement building, it was off for our first challenge: the Applecross Pass. The clouds loomed with mixed skies and misty weather as Georgina’s Silver Ghost led the other nine cars over the tricky terrain. After lunch at the Applecross Inn, the cars made their way back over the Pass to continue the journey on to the pretty village of Kylesku for an overnight stop.
A slower pace for Sunday meant a later start and our journey along the north coast began – stunning scenery in every direction meant the WhatsApp group was buzzing with photos from all angles. A quick pit stop at the Cheese & Toasted Snack Shack in Durness allowed everyone to take in the spectacular views of the coastline before a steady journey to lunch. An unfortunate puncture meant putting the P&A Wood team into action. Plans for this eventuality meant little inconvenience to the tour as it continued onto the overnight stop at Forss House – a beautiful Scottish delight.
With an afternoon to spare it was time for the P&A team to whisk everyone off in the fleet cars to the Wolfburn Distillery where a tour of the premises had been arranged (they were extremely accommodating opening for us on a Sunday) and those who had never enjoyed whisky got the taste for it and came away with a bottle (or two!). A fabulous meal ended the day at the top of the Highlands.
Monday arrived and it was time to start heading back south but not before a quick trip to John O’Groats. With the obligatory photos taken, Georgina continued to lead the way along the Eastern coastline to Dunrobin Castle where there was the chance to look around this enchanting place. Then onwards for a quick lunch before winding across to Invermoriston (we won’t mention Georgina running out of fuel, another eventuality that had been planned for) that would be the tour’s home for the final two days of the tour, with Paul’s eldest daughter Gillian and her husband Ben joining us that evening.
Tuesday was April 29 – Paul and Andrew’s birthday. This was by far the most important day of the tour for the family and what better way to spend it than driving down Paul’s favourite road in Scotland, which he had aptly named ‘The Road to Nowhere’. The tour set off from Invermoriston and made its way across this beautiful single file road, which can be a bit hairraising at times, and down to the café at the end, which had opened especially for the tour. There was tea and homemade cake in glorious sunshine before heading back across the 22-mile road and off to Whitebridge for lunch at one of the family’s favourite pubs.
An afternoon at leisure gave the team time to refresh and prepare for the evening celebration; champagne on Paul’s much-loved bridge to conclude the tour. Georgina drove her Silver Ghost, having led the way for the entire trip, onto the bridge and at 6pm, as the tour group arrived, a bagpiper played while everyone admired the spectacular views. With speeches made, awards given, birthdays celebrated and plenty of tears shed, it was back to the Glenmoriston Arms for the final meal together.
It is without doubt that everyone involved shared a very special experience. They laughed, cried and bonded over miles of baron lands, hairpin bends, shear drops and alcohol…all thanks to Paul. This first tour was something no-one will never forget, and once everyone has recovered, they’ll surely consider doing it all over again.
