An Angus couple with a love for trikes now offer exclusive countryside and coastal tours.
Gordon Carr and Ellie Whitehead opened their trike dealership Rewaco Trikes Scotland on April 1 this year.
Since the end of last year, the pair have refurbished their Brechin site and awaited a licence from Angus Council to run trike tours.
As the only other licenced trike tour in Scotland is in Orkney, it was no smooth ride to getting a private hire licence plate.
Now, they have already run their first tours from the Montrose Road premises and hope to drive more tourists to and around Angus.
Angus trike tours to drive tourism
To set up their dealership and get the tours going, Ellie and Gordon received help from The Trike Guy and Yorkshire Trike Tours in England.
They have noticed the tours bring in tourists from further afield.
Gordon says: “People aren’t coming from Yorkshire to get a Yorkshire trike tour.
“There are some people in Angus having a tour around Angus just for the experience.
“But we’re expecting people to come from further afield like England or maybe overseas.”
“We already have bookings from the USA.”
The Kirriemuir pair have already talked to other local attractions like The Gin Bothy, Glamis Castle and the Davidson Legacy Preservation Group about stopping by on tours.
To meet the demand of accommodation, they have already sorted special deals with a local hotel as tourists might opt for a night or two in Angus for their tour.
“Then if we’ve got vehicles they’ll buy fuel from the local fuel station, food from the shops and so on, and the council knows that,” says Gordon.
“We’re focusing quite highly on not just the benefits to us, but to tourism in the Angus area and the businesses here.”
Rewaco trikes expansion plans
For now, Gordon and Ellie offer hour-long and two-hour tours around Angus. Their routes include a coastal drive and views of Angus over the Caterthuns.
However, chauffeur Gordon can tailor the route to suit his client’s needs.
Ellie says: “If somebody wants a summer day experience with a hamper for lunch, we can do that.
“We wouldn’t do less than an hour’s tour, but two hours will probably turn out to be the standard.
“We aim to be as flexible as possible and would also like to branch into a formalised tourist experience where we can link up with local hotels and arrange tours.
“Angus is so beautiful, there’s so many places we can go.”
An hour on the trike for two people including fuel, the driver, protective gear, insurance and VAT is £120. Ellie and Gordon also sell vouchers towards the cost of tours.
The couple’s goal ahead of next year’s season is to get another touring trike on the go and hire a local driver.
Gordon explains: “To get a second trike on the go we have to make an application to the council, get it inspected and get approved for touring.
“We’re looking for growth next year. We don’t have targets, we just want to facilitate it and see how it goes.”
“The tours have already generated big smiles and appreciation of the experience which is unique to mainland Scotland.”
Conversation