In a week’s time, on Sunday 8th June, Thirlestane Castle will play host to the 2025 BVAC Classic Festival of 
Motoring and 2025 marks the running of the 50th BVAC Classic Festival of Motoring event.
To celebrate 50 years of the BVAC Classic, this year’s event will have a distinctly Seventies theme with iconic cars which were all brand new in the Seventies, taking centre stage at the BVAC Classic themselves and 70’s fancy dress prizes too!
Described as ‘the Best Classic Car Festival in Scotland’, it’s shaping up to be an amazing, jam-packed day for all the family!
To give you a flavour of what will be on display at the event, pictured above are just some of the lovely cars that were on garage forecourts in the decade when the show first began. From a Ford Capri and a Triumph Stag to a Jaguar XJS and an MGB Roadster, not forgetting the VW Camper. All very much cars of the Seventies.
50 Years of the BVAC Classic will be the central theme of this year’s show, but more than 1,000 vintage and classic vehicles of all shapes and sizes will be making their way to Thirlestane Castle in Lauder.
The organisers are encouraging people to really get into the Seventies theme by ‘digging out their flares’ next Sunday 8th of June, with exciting prizes for the best dressed in 1970’s style. To enter on the day, just visit the Borders Competitions stand which will be located in front of the castle.
The Hill Rally stage returns again this year and we are delighted the Hill Rally Paddock will be open to all, so visitors too can get up and close to the cars, drivers and teams! And this year the stage will be running more frequently, so there is even more to see and visitors will be able to enjoy the sight and sound of over 30 Hill Rally monsters, setting off on a special timed stage in the grounds of Thirlestane Castle, as they battle it out to win the Scottish Summer Hill Rally.
The On the Edge Motorcycle Stunt Show, a professional team of motorcycle stunt riders will perform stunts throughout the day to ‘wow’ the crowds. The show itself includes numerous obstacles on which the top-class riders will demonstrate their high level of skill, balance and technical control of their motorcycles. Stunts i
nclude 15ft jumps up vertical walls, drop offs and interactive stunts all to amaze and entertain everyone at the show.
Visitors will also have the chance to enjoy a dream ride in the car of their dreams, courtesy of the Sporting Bears, who will be offering short runs in their lovely selection of cars, in return for a charitable donation to the Riding for Disabled and Heart and Mind Clown Doctors.
Away from the cars and adrenaline fuelled action, enjoy performances from the excellent Hawick Pipe band, or a take a trip back in time and explore the stunning 16th Century Thirlestane Castle, with free flow tours bookable on the day for £10 at the castle front.
If your needing to take a pit-stop during the day, there will be a mouth-watering selection of food & drink vendors serving up everything from juicy burgers to tasty tapas, to refreshing beers (alcohol free too!) and artisan coffee. In addition, there will be an opportunity to take a browse round our retail, food and drink marquees to grab some wonderful gifts and treats, plus there will be a wide selection of ‘Autojumblers’ selling car parts, tools and many other automotive themed items.
You can check out some of the wonderful collection of food, drink and retail exhibitors attending here: Exhibitors List
There will also be plenty to do for kids (and big kids!) with festival favourite rides, slides, games, swings and much more. There really is something for all the family at this year’s BVAC Classic!
Be sure not to miss out on the action; book your tickets online to benefit from our advanced ticket price of £15, available to visitors who purchase before midnight this coming Wednesday 4th June.
Under 16’s, accompanied by an adult, can enjoy free show access and tickets will also be available to purchase on the day, for £20*. Well behaved dogs on leads will also be welcome!
Please note, while we will have a blue badge holder car park, as close to the show entrance as possible, those with mobility challenges should be aware that the event takes place predominantly on grass, which is undulating and b
umpy at points around the show ground. As such, if relevant, all terrain wheel chairs, or mobility scooters would be recommended.
The show gates will open at 11am and the event will close at 5pm.
*Due to the high volumes of show visitors, mobile phone network connectivity can be slow. With this in mind, while card payment options will be available throughout the show, we recommend bringing cash on the day to enable you to make trouble free payments.
We are pleased to share that we are trialling a new free Bus Service thanks to support from Scottish Borders Council and Borders Buses for this year’s show to help more people access the show. The 41-seater buses will run hourly from Galashiels (Stirling Street) via Tweedbank station and will drop passengers in Lauder town centre, a short walk from the Castle Wynd foot entrance to the show. Please see all the details here.
Thirlestane Castle is located, 25miles south of Edinburgh, in Lauder, Scottish Borders. Please follow the event signage on approach for directions to the car parks.
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