The Skeoch cycle car project

The Dalbeattie Men's Shed's signature project. We recreated a cycle car, that was built in Dalbeattie over 100 years ago from a handful of parts and some of the original plans.

Displaying 31 - 38 of 38
The Skeoch cycle car in the Annandale Distillery courtyard
The Skeoch cycle car in the Annandale Distillery courtyard - August 2021
 ITV filming crew with Fiona Armstrong, Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries

The car is now essentially complete mechanically, and ready for the paintshop, final details such as the hood and radiator badge will be fitted after painting. Discussions with Fiona Armstrong, Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries, in her role as President of the 2020/21 Royal Highland Agricultural Show regarding displaying the finished Skeoch at the RHAS in June 2021 are positive, and in her role as a television journalist, Fiona spent several hours filming in Dalbeattie and Palnackie for a Border Life piece on Shed life during Covid lockdown. The film is planned to broadcast on ITV Border in November.

With the Skeoch now ready for paint, it has been loaded into our display trailer where it sits waiting for space in the paintshop. Meanwhile thoughts turn to post completion displays as our original plan to unveil the Skeoch at the 2021 Scottish Motor Show [100 years after its first exhibition] has, like Burns said of many plans, “gang aft agley”. Even without the restrictions of lockdown the Scottish Motor Show has not run for several years and is not planned for 2021 too.

The Skeoch is now being prepped for painting

The Skeoch is now being prepped for painting, starting with the driver’s side being flatted down.

Prepped for primer and paint

Tighter lockdown due to new variant COVID knocks confidence in public events; centennial plans to display and publicise the finished Skeoch are scrubbed.

February 2021 – The Skeoch comes home

A superb paint job at Sanderson Auto Repair – thanks Sany – and the Skeoch is ready to return to storage pending a few wee tweaks and lockdown easing sufficiently to arrange public unveiling(s).

Our Skeoch display in the bandstand at Colliston Park, Dalbeattie

After 16 months closed The Shed was re-opened on Monday 5th July with restricted numbers attending, under protocols compliant with Covid Protection Level 1.

The Skeoch cycle car in the Annandale Distillery courtyard

Following the successful exhibition of the Skeoch car in Dalbeattie and points west in July, in August the car exhibits were to the east. On Saturday 28th August we were invited to exhibit the car at Annandale Distillery. This event was particularly poignant because Fiona Sinclair had arranged the visit with Professor David Thomson to allow the car to be driven around his distillery, and by bringing her parents to the event we achieved one of the principal project milestones – drive the Skeoch with Betty Sinclair, daughter the original Skeoch designer and builder, as passenger.

Skeoch Supporters

Dalbeattie Men's Shed wishes to acknowledge the following without whom the Skeoch project would not be possible.

Pages