Hotel moves into Top Gear for crew
Star presenting trio of The Grand Tour rolled up in classic 70s American cars when they stayed overnight at a Highland Perthshire hotel last week.
Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond were spotted in a Buick, a Lincoln and a Cadillac, whilst filming around the Pitlochry area on Tuesday.
The upcoming Amazon Prime series is understood to be following them as they drive from Edinburgh to the Hebrides.
The crew were spotted with their own caravans, possibly to help with social distancing, and reportedly with a COVID-19 testing centre van also in tow. The former Top Gear presenters’ spent the night at the four-star Atholl Palace Hotel with one source saying they and the production team “had the run of the place”.
Hotel general manager, Graeme Strachan, said he hopes the region’s appearance on the show will help revive the local tourism industry, which has been severely depleted by the coronavirus pandemic.
A post on the Atholl Palace Hotel Facebook page on Wednesday read: “Our general manager Graeme Strachan was delighted to welcome the Amazon Original Grand Tour team to The Atholl Palace Hotel last night. [It was] great to meet Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.”
The Grand Tour’s executive producer, Andy Wilman, said they had chosen to film in Scotland to avoid the risk of being hit by sudden quarantine restrictions if they travelled outside the UK.
“They [Clarkson, May and Hammond] love all parts of Scotland,” he said.
The Grand Tour presenters last visited the Pitlochry area in 2013 to film for the BBC predecessor show, Top Gear.
The tourism industry across
Perth and Kinross was badly hit by enforced closures, with some able to reopen when lockdown measures were lifted in July.
Among the local casualties of the lockdown was Pitlochry Hydro, which employed more than 30 people.