Category Archives: Ordinary

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The Milk Barn

Well here we are at The Milk Barn on the south side of Falkirk on a dull chilly day. The upcoming General Election has well and truly kicked off with all parties promising more scones tomorrow. Main issues seem to be: 1. should banker type folk get more cream on their jammy scones 2. should ordinary folk (i.e. not bankers), get any jam 3. is the EU meddling with our scones 4. should folks north of the border be allowed to call their scones Scottish instead of British.

Appealing MPs

Being Scottish the last one is of particular interest because once again the main unionist parties are demonstrating tInternal view of the Milk Barn, Falkirkheir complete lack of comprehension of what Scotland and its scones are about and in so doing seem to risk the Union itself. From a sconologist point of view, the unionist parties should really be promoting United Bakeries, who make brilliant scones. Unfortunately they are in Norway .. which isn’t even in the EU. So maybe not. Interesting though that all MPs are effectively sacked and then have to win back their jobs by appealing to us folk. Not only with scones, but probably with jam and cream as well. It will be an interesting few weeks.

The Milk Barn is a great bit of diversification by the Reid family who run Glen Farm. It’s probably not the sort of place to go if you don’t have children. The noise levels can be pretty high. On the other hand if you do have children it is a must do destination. There’s a great play area inside for smaller kids. An adventure playground outside for the bigger ones. A large grassed area for playing football. A fab ice cream parlour where you can watch it actually being made.

Fibreglass cows

You can even milk Glenda the life-size fibreglass cow! So great fun if you are looking for the kids to be entertained while you try and sneak in a quiet cup of tea and, of course, a scone.
Milk Bar sconeThe scones are home baked and although mine was an odd shape it tasted fine and butter and jam were provided free. Oh, and fab strawberry tarts

The place is busy most of the time. However, although the staff were run of their feet they still managed to be smiley and friendly .. well done.

FK1 3AA                       tel: 01324 630703                       Milk Barn

Tree Shop Café

We were actually heading for the Loch Fyne Oyster Restaurant & Bar at Cairndow only to find out that they don’t do scones. Nor much else to go with a cuppa .. black mark. Undaunted we went next door to the Tree Shop Café. There we were told that they did not have any scones either .. aaargghh! Since there is nothing elseTree Shop int for miles we ordered some other goodies to go with our cuppa. On finding a seat however we looked over only to see a whole new batch of steaming hot scones being removed from an oven. A’hmm, what are these?

Tree Shop sconeForgotten

The lovely lady serving us apologised profusely saying that she had completely forgotten that there was a batch baking. No problem whatsoever, our cakes were exchanged immediately for fresh hot scones.
 All things considered, The Tree Shop is what you might call a typical garden centre café. A bit soulless and nothing to write home about. As it turned out neither was the scone but we enjoyed it nevertheless.

The garden centre specialises the best choice of plants suitable for Scottish conditions. The staff have a wealth of knowledge of what plants do well in our conditions and are happy to advise all our visitors.

PA26 8BL             tel: 01499 600263                       Tree Shop

The Green Welly Stop

Green Welly Stop logoBecause it is situated in Tyndrum at a bifurcation in the road, one road takes you north to Fort William and the other west to Oban, this is a an extremely busy stop-off place for cars, motorbikes and tour buses. Just as well it has a huge car park to cater for all the traffic. There are several shops as well as the Green Welly Stop which is correspondingly big and must cater to thousands and thousands of tourists. Hence you can get pretty much anything you want on a self service basis. Needless to say it was the scones we were after.

A Green Welly scone!
A Green Welly scone!

 

To be fair they were better than expected. But struggling to get above average … which is pretty good for someplace so busy. Jam was extra. All in all it was pretty much what you would expect from a place like this. Did the job and that is what the Green Welly Stop is set up to do.

Main meal items produced in the main kitchens are hearty affairs. We always have a selection of traditional Scottish dishes on offer, as well as the internationally recognised Lasagne and macaroni. Pasta dishes do feature on our all day menu – these are so popular with the customers who have been hill walking, cycling or whatever healthy pursuit they have been doing!

Always trying to improve quick-to-eat, snack items, you don’t want to miss our range of home made pastries. These are a crispy delight! There is a vegetarian cheese and onion option, and the meat pastries vary daily between Steak, Haggis and Steak Mince. Enjoy these in the restaurant, or purchase them at the Snack Stop! A cracking meal deal is available here – a pastry and a soup to take away and enjoy!

Haggis and Steak

Our home baking continues going from strength to strength – once again, all of our baking is available for you to take home – The Snack Stop and the Filling Station have baking selections and we highly recommend our Fruit, Banana and Date and Walnut loaves – these are all baked fresh for you.

FK20 8RY     www@thegreenwellystop.co.uk     tel: 01838 400271