A cartie race in the centre of Brechin on Saturday will be the largest of its kind in Scotland.
After a successful inaugural event last year, this year’s Cartie Race In The City promises to be bigger and better.
The course has trebled in length, from 300 metres to 900 metres, with 34 elaborately designed carts scheduled to take part, up from 21 last year.
Organiser Bravo (Businesses Retailers and Voluntary Organisations) Brechin is also expecting thousands of people to line the course.
There is a host of other activities taking place in the town including Angus Farmers Market and live bands playing at Brechin Leisure Centre in River Street.
Bill Sturrock, chair of Bravo Brechin and clerk of the course, said: “This year we have 34 carts taking part, which makes us the largest cartie race in Scotland.
“There are junior (12 to 16-year-old) races, and 16+ races for professionals and amateurs. There’s also a couple of carties with sidecars racing against each other.
“We are hosting the last round of the Scottish Cartie Association’s Championship, which is still up for grabs and will be decided at our event. People are coming from as far afield as Derbyshire and Leeds to take part.”
The course starts at the top of the High Street, turns into Bridge Street and finishes on River Street.
The carties just rely on gravity to complete the course. All carties have to have a steering mechanism and brakes and are subject to a safety check on Saturday morning.
Practices on the course start at 9am, with the first competition at noon.
Bill said: “Last year the fastest cart achieved 37.2 miles an hour that’s just by gravity, there’s not even a push start.
“There’s no engine or people cycling this is Oor Wullie-style cartie racing. Brechin High Street is one of the steepest in Scotland, which is how we came up with the idea in the first place.
“There is a flatter section as you turn into Bridge Street but then Bridge Street has a section that’s steeper than the High Street.
“We don’t know what speeds they will get up to but we will have speed traps out, displaying what speeds they achieve.”
As well as the carties providing entertainment, there will also be a demonstration from inline skaters a type of rollerskate down the track and a performance by Brechin pipe band prior to the races getting under way.
The final cartie race will take place at 3.30pm with prizes presented at 4pm. Bill said he was delighted the community had got behind the event.
He said: “The aim of Bravo Brechin was to get the community together, be proud of where we live and create community events that are a bit different.
“This year we needed 3,000 rectangular straw bales to line the course. Farmers donated fields to us which they cut with old style combines so the bund wasn’t too big for old-style balers.”