Past Trials

1923 Scottish Six Days Trial

In the 1923 SSDT the major talking point before the trial was the inclusion of three new hills to test the competitors. The first was a short cut from the northern shore of Loch Leven up to the Mamore deer forest, through the grounds of Mamore Lodge to join General Wade’s original road to Fort William. The hill was to be known as Mamore and would become one of the best known of the ‘observed’ hills in the event, and arguably the longest surviving. The second new hill was Bodesbeck Hill, starting between St Mary’s Loch and Moffat and climbs from 500 ft above sea level to 1,580 ft. The third new hill started in a street in Langholm, yes, the border town in Dumfriesshire. It is named Whita Hill (Kirk Wynd on the old O.S. maps) and rises some 300 feet in an almost straight line with a short stretch steeper than 1 in 3. The event was due to lose one of its existing test hills, Glendoe, which was scheduled to be relaid over a different approach later in the year, to level out some of the steeper parts to aid local traffic.

The 1923 event attracted 131 entries with the light cars, of which a record 130 made it to the start.

The routes for the 1923 Scottish were:

First Day - 206 miles

Perth - Amulree - Kenmore - Crianlarich - Fort Augustus - Glendoe - Inverfarigaig -Inverness - Strathpeffer.

Second Day - 140 miles

Strathpeffer - Auchnasheen - Gairloch - Dundonnel - Aultnaharrie - Garve - Strathpeffer.

Third Day - 194 miles

Strathpeffer - Applecross - Strathpeffer - Elgin.

Fourth Day - 194 miles

Elgin - Fochabers - Tomintoul - Braemar - Blairgowrie - Perth - Stirling - Edinburgh.

Fifth Day - 166 miles

Edinburgh - Broughton - Talla Linns - Bodesbeck - Hawick - Langholm - Dumfries.

Sixth Day - 110 miles

Dumfries - Thornhill - Abington - Lanark - Edinburgh.

Gold Medals Awarded

A F Downie (AJS sc)
A L Downie (AJS)
W L Hector (BSA)
J W Burton (Coventry-Eagle)
L H Alexander (Douglas)
A Malcolm (FN)
C C labin (Indian)
Miss M Cottle (Raleigh)
D C Cruikshank (Raleigh)
H Gibson (Raleigh)
W H Hardman (Triumph)
W T Tiffen (Velocette)

There were 41 competitors retired during the week with various problems.

Information compiled and provided by Deryk Wylde.