Despite the name, the Flying Scotsman having a Scotland-only route has only been a thing since 2026. It will remain that way for the 2027 edition on April 22–26.

The Flying Scotsman is organized by HERO-ERA and reserved for pre-1948 cars. The 2026 edition started on April 23 and concluded three days later, both at the Gleneagles Hotel by Auchterarder. The rally started with a Prologue that was a loop around the hotel, then started going eastward through the Scottish Highlands for Aberdeen and back.

“The roads were outrageously good, the weather was brilliant. It was another great Flying Scotsman. In fact, it was so good I don’t know how they are going to beat this one next year,” John Lomas remarked after finishing fourth in April’s event.

For prior editions, the route was in both England and Scotland. In 2022, the event kicked off at Slaley Hall and finished at Gleneagles. The 2023 race started on Scottish soil at RAF Turnberry, then past Kershope Burn along the border into Shopford and Haltwhistle; this was followed by the English villages of Eastgate and Newbiggin, then the Broomrigg Plantation, Carlisle Lake District Airport, and Solway Aviation Museum in Cumbria. Finally, it went back to Scotland to Edinburgh and Balado Airfield, into the Allean Forest, and home to Gleneagles.

2024’s rally started in Chester and went along Lakes Windermere and Ullswater before getting to Scotland’s Loch Lomond. Finally, Gleneagles awaited the finishers. The 2025 race started at the North Yorkshire Moors, went through the Yorkshire Dales into Northumberland and Newcastle, into Edinburgh and to Gleneagles.

Maybe it does make sense that the Flying Scotsman crossed between the two countries. After all, the name comes from the train service between Edinburgh and London.

Our route planners are already hard at work crafting what we hope will be the finest Flying Scotsman yet, building on the extraordinary success of 2026 while staying true to the spirit and character that have made this event Europe’s premier rally for vintage motor cars,” reads a statement from HERO-ERA.

Featured image credit: Will Broadhead