Attracting perhaps the most interest from visitors was father-and-son team Jac and John Neatley’s 1931 short-chassis Invicta 4.5-litre

The first day of the Octane-sponsored Culzean Autoclassica, held at the spectacular Culzean (pronounced ‘Cullain’) Castle in South-West Scotland, drew a broad cross-section of classics – from an 1899 De Dion to 1980s Ferrari F40.

While the event is modest in size when compared with the big-name festivals at Silverstone or Goodwood, its location is definitely the most picturesque of any in the United Kingdom – perched on the cliffs overlooking the Firth of Clyde, with views to the Isle of Arran and even Northern Ireland. The large number of visitor attractions hidden away in the sprawling Castle estate makes it a very family-oriented day out, and the cars on show on Saturday August 23 reflected that: popular models such as MGAs and E-type Jaguars mingled with rarer classics that included a brace of SS100s and an example of the short-lived 1990s AC Ace.

Attracting perhaps the most interest from visitors was father-and-son team Jack and John Neatley’s 1931 short-chassis Invicta 4.5-litre, restored from the proverbial box of bits to concours condition; while most unusual exhibit was a homemade Range Rover-based special that was on a round-the-world trip from Melbourne, Australia – next stop Canada!

Sunday promises to see even more spectacular cars turn up for the Culzean Concours, and, with the weather forecast set to be dry, it looks like being a memorable day out at what is deservedly one of Scotland’s most popular tourist destinations.