A man and his first car are to make an emotional trip home to the Highlands.
Alex MacLennan will bring his beloved Morris Marina north for the first time in more than 20 years for this year’s Inverness Classic Vehicle Show.
He will then turn and head back south to his current home in Northumberland for another classic car event which he helps to run.
The mustard-yellow car was first registered in Aberdeen in 1977 and Mr MacLennan bought it in 1988 for £150.
The car was last in Inverness in 1993 – but Mr MacLennan believes a return north would be a suitable way to mark its 40th birthday.
The 47-year-old works for the Forestry Commission in Northumberland now – but grew up in Bunchrew just outside the Highland capital.
He said: “It should be an interesting few days.
“It’s the first time the car has been back in Inverness since 1993 so that will mean a lot.”
He originally sold the car but bought it back after spotting it abandoned in a layby just outside Nairn by the side the side of the A96 Inverness to Aberdeen road.
It had fallen into disrepair and required a complete overhaul of its engine – but Mr MacLennan bought it back for just £35 and has kept it with him ever since.
Mr MacLennan’s car has the relatively low total of 62,000 miles on the clock – and now does around 1,000 miles a year.
The Marina has a mixed reputation – and was regularly featured as a figure of fun on the BBC’s Top Gear programme, where the presenters found a series of ways of destroying the car.
Even Mr MacLennan admits that it is not the greatest car ever built – but that doesn’t stop him maintaining and running it.
He said: “Everybody hates Morris Marinas but it’s all about the nostalgia.
“Like everybody else I’ve got a modern car as well and it always starts and they are all the same.
“It’s just not as much fun.”
In support of the road trip Mr MacLennan is raising funds for the Highland Hospice and the Calvert Trust, a Northumberland-based charity which organises trips for disabled children.
