Category Archives: Scones

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Ordinary, Scones

The Station Coffee Shop

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Okay, we see all your perplexed expressions asking how come we’ve ended up in the the Station Coffee Shop in Aberfoyle when there isn’t even a railway there? And well you might ask, although of all the things featured in this post that might be the least mysterious and the easiest to answer.

The simple answer, of course, is that at one time the Strathendrick and Aberfoyle railway which ran from Glasgow ended here. It was supposed to go on to Crianlarich but, would you believe it, this was as far as the funding would take it. Funding problems are not new! It opened in 1866 and ran until 1951 so although we regularly visit the village we have never known it to have a station. Now the station building has become the Station Coffee Shop.Internal view of the Station, Aberfoyle

But that’s not why we are in Aberfoyle! That’s a bit of a mystery as well and the people responsible are our Devon correspondents. We haven’t seen them for four years but they came to visit us in Falkirk on their way to the Scottish Taiko Drumming Festival … in Aberfoyle! One of them actually does taiko back home in Talaton hence the big trek north. Bear in mind that Devon is a cream first place when it comes to scones so it’s hardly surprising that they might be into ancient Japanese drumming as well!

This was Scotlands first ever Taiko festival. An opportunity not to be missed to see Kenny Endo, an American musician and taiko master. When it comes to taiko our ignorance can only be described as complete and profound. Did we want to learn? Mysteriously, we ended up buying tickets for his concert at Killearn Village Hall in the evening. 

Taiko stuff

A scone at the Station, AberfoyleAnyway, it’s customary to start every taiko festival with a scone. Apologies, that’s not true, we are just trying to justify ourselves. There was lots of taiko stuff going on across the road in the Forth Inn but it was all for people wanting tuition. We  just wanted a scone hence we are here tucking into a rather handsome fruit scone. To be honest it didn’t look that promising but turned out to be very good. It had a rather strange but not at all unpleasant texture and loads of fruit. The cream came in a jar labeled ‘English’, not advisable perhaps in a week starting with the theft of Scotland’s Stone of Destiny yet again. More of that later.

Never too old to learn!

After a walk round Aberfoyle we headed for dinner to the next village and one our favourite pubs … the Black Bull in Gartmore. The railway used to run through Gartmore as well so there must have been a station here too. No evidence of it today! You may remember that we stayed at the Black Bull when we visited the nearby Devil’s Pulpit.

After a lovely meal it was time to head off to yet another village, Killearn, for the concert. The Village Hall here is a very plush affair and during the day has a lovely cafe called the Kitchen Window. When we got there the hall was packed, presumably with other taiko officianados like ourselves? Unfortunately the stage was far too small to accommodate all the drums so they had to spill over onto the main floor. Pride of place, however, went to a very impressive drum that apparently was made from a single 300 year old tree. It’s called a wadaiko and, rather appropriately, the wooden sticks are known as bachi. See, we do learn!Taiko drums in Killearn Village Hall

Once everyone had settled, a hush fell over the hall as Kenny and his troupe of about ten players entered. We had been told it would be loud … it’s loud! Even sitting at the back of the hall you could feel the vibrations through your body. Kenny Endo in action

At first, it seems like a lot of very loud random drum bashing but very quickly you come to realise how disciplined it is. Every ‘bash’ is coordinated with all the other players and once your ear becomes accustomed it is all rather wonderful. A great experience. Many thanks to J&N.

Escape

The last mystery for this post is the coronation. Why? Turns out less than 30% of Scotland are in favour of the monarchy and they are nearly all octogenarians. We were hoping to escape the proceedings on a Hebridean island without any televisions. That plan, however, has become a victim of circumstance so it will be difficult for us, and indeed anyone, to miss the 24hr obsequious coverage.  

As Charlie places his fundament on Scotland’s Stone of Destiny people in the street outside who simply utter a single word of criticism will be promptly arrested and, who knows, may never be seen again. We are all supposed to swear an oath of allegiance to Charlie while sitting on our sofas. What planet are his advisers on? The most ridiculous  and expensive fancy dress party designed solely to cement the top tier of society in what they regard as their rightful places. Instead of angelic choristers we can only hope that Kenny Endo will be doing the music. At least some of the nonsense being spouted by Archbishops in even weirder hats than Charles, would be drowned out. We’re also being invited to say “God Save The King“. Forgetting of course that, if there was a God, he/she/it would thoroughly disapprove of the entire spectacle.

BREAKING:  wonder of wonders, Edward, yes that completely talentless nonentity, is to be the brand spanking new Duke of Edinburgh. Individually they are all nice people but why are we allowed to do this to them? After this post we fully expect a knock on the door! 

BREAKING BREAKING: Donald Trump has just landed in Scotland. Goodness, this rant could go on forever!

FK8 3UG      tel: 01877 389105        The Station

///prank.belt,buildings

Ordinary, Scones

Kingsbarns Distillery

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The point of today was to catch up with our Bathurst correspondents. We haven’t seen then since 2019 but they are over from Australia visiting their daughter and her family in St Andrews. This trusty pair have been responsible for much of our sconological knowledge of New South Wales with posts from Myrtle House, the Blue Wren Bush Cafe, Clancy’s Cafe and many more. Typically, they arrived on bikes for our meeting at Rufflets Hotel in Fife.

The Bathurst correspondents at Rufflets Hotel
Rendezvous with our Bathurst correspondents at Rufflets

It was fantastic to find them in good form and catch up on all their news. After a great chat, all too soon, we had to bid them farewell. We decided to try and find nearby Kingsbarns Distillery.Sign for Kingsbarns distillery

Crest of the Wymss Family
Crest of Clan Wemyss
This is definitely golf country. Thousands of golfers from all over the world make the pilgrimage to St Andrews, where it all started. It’s just seven miles away from Kingsbarns. It was a former golf caddie, Douglas Clement, who realised that golfers also loved the amber nectar but there was no handy distillery for them to visit. He decided that a disused building in Kingsbarns would be ideal. After a shaky start bogged down in financial woes, the Wemyss family (pronounced Weems), who live nearby in Wemyss Castle, came to the rescue. The distillery eventually opened in 2014. Kingsbarns got its name in 1519 when the barns here supplied the royal palaces at Falkland and Crail.
Internal view of Kingsbarns distillery
Good deals
When we arrived it was very busy with German and French tourists but it soon settled down when their buses left. The cafe is light and airy and they had scones – plain, fruit and cheese. You could get a bowl of soup packaged with a cheese scone so we went for that. We were going to share the cheese scone and then share a fruit scone with our tea later. Scones at Kingsbarns distilleryThe lady serving us said she would put it through as two soup/ scones because that would be cheaper for us … how thoughtful! We thoroughly enjoyed everything although they don’t have a kitchen so everything has to be brought in from external bakers Fisher & Donaldson in St Andrews.
Doves and pigeons
Kingsbarns Doocot whiskyNot a topscone but it’s great to see yet another new distillery trying to cater to the seemingly insatiable global demand for Scotch. Biggest market last year was France with India not far behind. Third was the US … come on guys, we thought it was “America first”. We did our bit by buying a bottle of Kingsbarns Doocot whisky as well as a bottle of their Darnley’s gin. A ‘doocot’ (part of a building housing doves and pigeons) forms part of the distillery building.
 
Kingsbarns Golf clubhouse
the back of the clubhouse on Kingsbarns Golf Links
We had been advised to go and visit Kingsbarns beach. Thinking it was simply a matter of walking towards the sea we inadvertently ended up trudging through Kingsbarns Gold Links. It’s a famous course which  has hosted many major tournaments … the helipad was a bit of a giveaway! Goodness, if we had known we wouldn’t have bothered with the car! Golf has been played here since 1793 and the 12th hole is a 606 yard monster. I only played golf as a youth. That was because I was too immature to realise it was a huge waste of time. Mind you, much of my golfing career was spent in the bushes looking for my ball.
 
Kingsbarns beach
We did eventually make it to the beach which stretches as far as the eye can see in both directions. However, the weather today was coming in from Greenland and wasn’t too conducive to building sand castles. 
Contentment
On the way home we paid a visit to Crail which was as quaint as ever.  
Crail harbour
Crail harbour

People in the Kingdom of Fife are an independent lot and quite content with their lot. Once, when a Fife man was asked if he had ever been abroad, responded with “I once knew a man who had been to Crail“. Maybe we should all try to be a bit more content like that man from Fife and not be surprised when other people from Sudan and elsewhere want to see if they can find contentment.

It has been another great day. We are sooo lucky to live in Scotland with all this stuff on our doorstep! The Doocot is lovely, by the way, light with a hint of pepperiness … a good breakfast whisky, cheers!

KY16 8QE.      tel: 01333 451300.        Kingsbarns Distillery

///bulky.orders.cuddled

Ordinary, Scones

The Pier Cafe (revisited)

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The Pier Cafe in Stronachlacher is one our Trossachs correspondents favourite haunts and the last time we were here we were with them. Not today, though, they are sunning themselves in Spain. However, diligent, as ever, they have just sent a report from the Lemon Tree in Mijas which they last reviewed in 2019.

The Lemon Tree, Mijas
The Lemon Tree Cafe, Andalusia

In their own words “Greetings from Mijas. The Lemon Tree is still here maintaining a good standard with Scones,Jam and Clotted Cream. As on previous trips this is so far the only source for scones that we have discovered in Andalucia. The search continues“. Now that’s dedication … all that way just to check a scone!

External view of the Pier Cafe, Stronachlacher
Looking over to Factor’s Island with the trees. Rob Roy MacGregor imprisoned the Duke of Montrose’s factor here when the Duke confiscated the MacGregor lands as punishment for not supporting the Act of Union in 1707

Meanwhile, Stronachlacher is also basking in sunshine though probably not as warm as Mijas. The Pier Café is sometimes described as Scotlands most picturesque cafe and it’s easy to see why. The views over Loch Katrine are superb. To get here requires an eleven mile drive over a single track dead end road. The road ends at Stronachlacher. You pass Loch Ard, Loch Chon and Loch Arklet on the way so it isn’t any kind of hardship on a day like today. You can, however, get here by bicycle or take one of the cruise boats from the other end of the loch.

Small world

A scone at the Pier Cafe, StronachlacherWe were here with one of our neighbours who thoroughly enjoyed the drive and, of course, we were all looking forward to some lunch. The cafe has always been great but it is now under new management so it was going to interesting. No worries it was all delicious. The fruit scones we had to finish were delicious as well. They had been warmed and came with raspberry jam and little cubes of butter. No cream, so not quite a topscone but a very good effort. We were served by a super friendly lady from Kinlochard who actually knew our Trossachs correspondents. We didn’t dare tell her they were eating someone else’s scones in Spain.

Lady of the Lake arriving at StronachlacherAs we were about to leave we could see the Lady of the Lake approaching the pier. Myself and our neighbour had positioned ourselves near the railings to watch proceedings when a freak wave came over and soaked us both. We were both absolutely drenched! A situation, which wasn’t helped in the slightest by the hysterical laughter coming from Pat and everyone else watching. External view of the Pier Cafe, Stronachlacher

Judgement

You know how sometimes you just can’t take to someone. You don’t really know them but for some reason, which you can’t quite put a finger on, you just don’t like them. For us, Dominic Raab, the former deputy Prime Minister, was one such person. Why Rishi Sunak appointed him in the first place is beyond comprehension. Now he has resigned following a report into his unacceptable behaviour towards his staff and others. Typically, perhaps, he hasn’t gone gracefully. It must be galling for these guys, however, when the seat at your desk isn’t even cold before someone else is sitting in it. Disposable politicians!

R.I.P

And we have just heard that Sir Les Patterson has died. Now there was a diplomat if ever there was one! We can only imagine what he would have had to say about people, like Dominic Raab who take themselves so seriously.

FK8 3TY       tel: 01877 386374           Pier Cafe

///greyhound/files.odds

A scone in Corpus Christips: Just as we were congratulating our Trossachs correspondents on their dedication we received a note from our Texas correspondents in Corpus Christi. They said “A top scone, known here in Texas as a biscuit, butter from Kansas and jam from Ohio!”. Honestly, what is wrong with Americans? They can’t call things by their proper names, they can’t spell things correctly, they can’t drive on the correct side of the road, we could go on. 😀Hopefully some American readers will get in touch to tell us what is wrong with them!

Scones

Pleased To Meet You

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Today we are super pleased to be in Pleased To Meet You. No idea why it has that name but it’s a cafe/restaurant in Morpeth, Northumberland. It’s our first visit to the town though we’ve actually been here many times before but that was just passing through on the train going to London. We’ve never got off the train here. The Sunday Times says it is one of the best places to live in the UK so we thought we should investigate. Morpeth was our destination for today.

Department stores

Turns out the Sunday Times may well be right. We were very pleasantly surprised. The town dates back to the 12th century and has managed to retain its traditional market-town charm combined with some classy streets. It even boasts a couple of department stores, a thing of the past in our home town. The Sanderson Arcade even has an M&S store … Pat was impressed and maybe a little jealous.

Aberdeen Angus bull sculpture, Morpeth
This magnificent actual size beast is an Aberdeen Angus bull. It commorates times when they would be brought from Scotland to be sold in Morpeth.
Negotiating with Westminster

In the local park there is a statue to suffragette, Emily Davison. She was quite a lady: arrested nine times; force fed when she went on hunger strike; locked herself in a prison cell only to be flooded out by a hosepipe wielding magistrate; attacked a church minister she mistook for Lloyd George. She died after throwing herself in front of the King’s horse in the 1913 Derby. All this just to get a vote. She won eventually but her story does indicate what it still takes to negotiate with the turgid Westminster governments to this day.  

Internal view of Pleased To Meet You, MorpethAnyway after some delightful sunny hours wandering the sights of Morpeth it was scone time. There were numerous options but we had had a recommendation for Pleased To Meet You.  It’s in a historic 17th century building which used to be the Queens Head Hotel. Pleased To Meet You, or PTMY, has adapted it and stripped it back to its original structure. It is vast.  Take a ball of string if you want to find your way back from the toilets.

Galloping girls

We managed to get a little table at a window so we could see what was happening outside on the street. It’s great to people watch when you are in a new place. At one point, through all the traffic, a young girl galloped past at high speed on a horse smoking a cigarette. Wow, no elegant trotting in this neck of the woods, it’s a full blown gallop or nothing! Nobody batted an eyelid so presumably it’s  an everyday occurrence. By the way, it was the girl smoking the cigarette, not the horse!

A scone at Pleased To Meet You, MorpethEventually we were distracted by the arrival of our fruit scone. We could have opted for one of their fully loaded scones which actually looked quite good but we decided to be purists and do it for ourselves.  

A scone at Pleased To Meet You, MorpethIt was wonderfully warm and had a super crunchy exterior and a soft interior with lots of lovely fruit. Plentiful jam and cream as well as delicious coffee and friendly service. What was not to like? Nothing! An easy topscone. We liked everything about PTMY, it seemed to have everything. The staff must walk miles each day but they were unstintingly helpful and friendly.Internal view of Pleased To Meet You, Morpeth

Blow me down

When we left we walked a short way down the street and came on the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum … what?

Painting of French bagpipes
President of the Provence Parliament playing the musette … bit overdressed but looks like a lovely chap

What’s that doing here in the North of England? Although normally associated with Scotland there are lots of different kinds af bagpipe and Northumberland has it’s very own pipes. Totally different from the Scottish variety which at one time were outlawed by the English as a weapon of war. Just being found in possession of bagpipes was a penal offence. The Northumberland pipes, like the Irish pipes have a much softer sound and as far as we know have never been outlawed. The museum was very well set up and definitely worth a visit even if you have no particular interest in bagpipes.

Self raising

Most readers will have heard of Be-Ro self raising flour. But did you know that the inventor, Thomas Bell, lived and worked in Morpeth. He called his invention Bell’s Royal flour, or Be-Ro for short. The things you learn on allaboutthescones.com!              

Competitions

When we travelled down to Morpeth we met a chap who joined us at Berwick-on-Tweed. He was super excited to be going to Leeds to support his team playing against Liverpool. The score line ended up Leeds 1 Liverpool 6. Oh dear, hope he is okay! It can’t be any worse than the coverage we are being subjected to of all things Monarchy. First we have to watch Charles and his floozie being fitted with new hats followed, a few days later, by the Eurovision Song Contest. Impossible to decide which is the most surreal and ridiculous.

Black Bull Pub, Morpeth
For a moment in Morpeth we weren’t sure where we were … then we were! It was the Black Bull!

Morpeth gave us a great day out and it looked like there were plenty more scones to be explored so, who knows, we might be back!

NE61 1NB       tel: 01670 333970          PTMY

///casually.hockey.subsystem

 

Scones, topweird

Greens at the Courthouse

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Although this post comes from Greens at the Courthouse in Dornoch our target destination for today was the little village of Embo in Sutherland and yet another beach.

The beach at Embo
Part of the beach at Embo

In 1245 the Battle of Embo took place here between the Scots and the Vikings. Honestly, if you have to have a battle this is a great place to have one … there must have been a lot of kicking sand in faces. And in 1988, without a drop of blood being shed, Embo declared itself independent from the rest of the UK. They even issued their own currency, the Cuddie (two Cuddies to the Pound). Okay it was only for one day and it was to raise funds to create a community centre. Scotland could learn a thing or two from Embo but, of course, our currency is destined to be the smackeroonie!

Sconeless Granny?

Embo is where Grannie’s Heilan’ Hame is and if ever there was a place guaranteed to provide a good scone this has to be it … surely? The granny in question was Kate Mackay who, in 1952, went to live in Boston USA. The well known song reflects on visits to her Embo home. To hear a rousing version click here.

   Where the heather bells are blooming, just outside Grannie’s door,
   Where as laddies there we played, in days of long ago.
   ‘Neath the shadow of Ben Braggie and Golspie’s lordly stane.
   How I wish that I could see my Grannie’s Hielan’ Hame.

Grannie's Heilan' Hame in Embo
Grannie’s Heilan’ Hame is now much extended at the centre of a huge caravan park

When we went to the restaurant to ask if they had any scones or cakes we were informed “No the closest we would have to scones or cakes is toast“… what? Don’t think granny would have been too happy about that. Crest fallen we retreated a mile down the beach to Dornoch and Greens at the Courthouse.

A pirate ship in Embo
Before leaving Embo we managed to board a pirate ship … mega exciting!
The milkman

We were here in 2017 when it was called the Carnegie Courthouse. Apparently the combined problems of Brexit and COVID were too much for the previous owners. Since earlier this year it is under new management. Still looks pretty much the same with its large painting on the back wall of the courthouse in action. Madonna had her son, Rocco, christened directly across the street in Dornoch Cathedral and then got married to Guy Ritchie the following day in nearby Skibo Castle. They are both featured as well as a host of other celebrities including the local milkman.Internal view of Greens at the Courthouse

If you remember, our previous scone was at the Rosemarkie Beach Cafe and it was white chocolate and cranberry. Here it was white chocolate and cherry. Is there  a white chocolate theme going on up here in the Highlands? 

Premierships measured in scones

We’ve actually had a few other Dornoch scones at Gordon House and Dornoch Castle but back, when we were last here in late 2017, we were contemplating how many more scones we could write before Theresa May’s eventual demise. She was definitely on a shaky peg at that time but nevertheless she lasted longer than expected largely because there was no one of any merit to follow her. Boris Johnson amply proved that point by following her! Likewise he lasted longer than expected because there still wasn’t anyone of merit in the Tory party but eventually he became too much an embarrassment even for them. He was followed by Liz Truss and we only managed to write one scone before she was out on her ear after a couple of weeks. She will always be remembered as the proud owner of that record … One Scone Liz.

A scone at Greens at the CourthouseOur scone fell into the weird scone category but was really good. Even Pat, definitely sceptical at first, ended up heaping praise on it. She wouldn’t normally contemplate anything to do with cherries. I always have to eat the cherry on top of her empire biscuits. That’s fairly typical of the hardships we endure together. A topweird scone was eventually awarded … well done Greens at the Courthouse.

We paid for our scone contactless but can’t wait to pay for them in smackeroonies! 

IV25 3SD       tel: 01862 811241        Greens at the Courthouse

///slacker.estuaries.flipping

 

Scones, weird

Rosemarkie Beach Cafe

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Readers could be forgiven for thinking that our life is just one long care-free jollification because that’s not too far away from the truth. First we were meeting friends in Shetland, then wined and dined by old friends at Cairn Lodge. Now we are relaxing for a few days with our family near Inverness. Mind you ‘relaxing’ is really nothing more than a somewhat forlorn ambition when you have six granddaughters to contend with. Five of them are with us today and they seem to have boundless energy. A beach seemed like a good bet if we were to have any hope of tiring them out. Hence this post comes from the Rosemarkie Beach Cafe on the Black Isle.

Rosemarkie beach
View from the Rosemarkie Beach Cafe and an intrepid grandchild off for a swim

Things are just a little different in this part of the world. The Black Isle isn’t an island and it’s not black. It’s a peninsula sandwiched between the Cromarty Firth and the Beauly Firth. We think the ‘black’ derives from its rich dark soil. For such a beautiful part of the country it’s difficult to believe that it was an important player in the North Sea oil industry. Many of the oil rigs were built here in the 60s and 70s and now some of them lie redundant in these sheltered firths having served their purpose as we all try to go ‘green’.

White chocolate and cranberry scone at Rosemarkie Beach CafeWith the grandchildren on the beach or swimming in the sea there was nothing left for us to do but have a scone. The speciality of the house was white chocolate and cranberry so we thought we had better try one. We sat on the terrace area where we could keep an eye on the children … we’re not totally irresponsible! Jam didn’t seem appropriate for such an exotic scone so we just had butter. In spite of looking a bit on the insipid side it was surprisingly nice. We could taste a hint of chocolate and the cranberries made it deliciously moist. Not a topscone but definitely a bit of a weird one.

Nobody at home?
Beach at Rosemarkie Beach Cafe
Dolphin spotters

Later we walked along the beach to a spot where the kids could watch for dolphins with their binoculars. Great excitement when some suddenly appeared following a boat out in the bay. It’s a popular area for dolphin spotting but even at that, they were really lucky to see them. If that wasn’t exciting enough we then took on an even harder task … looking for fairies! The Fairy Glen lies just behind the cafe and was a delightful walk. We didn’t actually see any fairies but there was plenty of evidence. They weren’t faraway though because one little house had a couple of deck chairs outside where they had obviously been sunbathing earlier.  The Fairy Glen, RosemarkieApparently there’s some doubt about whether it is good to actually see fairies and, of course, you have to respect their privacy. Dolphins would have to do for today.

What planet?
Shells in the form of the Himalayas
Grandchildren’s representation of the Himalayas at the seaside

Meanwhile, away from Rosemarkie and fairies it has just been revealed that the UK’s £200m plan to export all refugees to Rwanda has had zero effect. The number of people crossing the Channel from France in rubber dingys is exactly the same as last year … surprise, surprise! Meanwhile the entire population of France seems to be rioting because the pension age has been raised from 62 to 64. What planet are they living on? Joe Biden has completed a 17 hour visit to N. Ireland most of which he spent asleep. Then he went to the Republic and ‘home’ to Co Mayo. Why do all American presidents have to come from Ireland. Is it a pre-condition? Even Obama was from Co. Offaly?Beach at Rosemarkie Beach Cafe

In the UK the doctors are on strike and now the the civil service is to go on strike as well. Think we’ll just stay here in the Fairy Glen. 

IV10 8UW       tel: 07923 402647       Rosemarkie Beach 

///blown.response.loafing

Scones, Top

Cairn Lodge

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Shetland seems like a distant but very fond memory now. We will always remember the friendliness of the people there. These days there’s a tendency for people to be a bit self-absorbed so it was great to see a healthy spirit of community on these islands. Anyway, now it’s back to reality. Although we would have a cheek to call Cairn Lodge in Auchterader, reality!

If it is reality then we are having a very soft landing. Today we were invited for breakfast by friends which was fabulous. And now we are at Cairn Lodge because other friends have invited us for afternoon tea. How lucky are we?

One of our aunts really liked Cairn Lodge so we used to come here years ago. Since then it has been taken over by Aurora Hotels  and they have completely revamped it to become a luxury destination. Probably just as well because its next door neighbour is the well known haunt of the rich and famous, Gleneagles Hotel.Internal view of Cairn Lodge, Auchterarder

Friends to the rescue

It might be an age related thing but ‘time’ seems to play tricks on us these days. Huge amounts of it seem to simply disappear. We haven’t seen these friends since they rescued us from a car crash near their home … and that was over six years ago! Incredible! Ironically, the car that crashed into us was racing to try and catch the ferry from Aberdeen to Shetland. Nobody seriously hurt but our car was completely wrecked. Our friends, however, galloped to the rescue. They fed and watered us then insisted on delivering us to our destination many miles away in Pitlochry. Much water has flowed under the bridge since then so there was a mega amount of stuff to catch up on!

An afternoon tea at Cairn LodgeThe young lady looking after us was superb and within two shakes of a lamb’s tail she was filling our glasses with bubbles and presenting us with an absolutely delicious artichoke based amuse-bouche. Then came a three tier stack of afternoon tea. Two of them between the four of us as well as a separate plate of sandwiches. Sometimes we think that afternoon teas are misjudged in that there is often too much of everything. We thought this one was judged perfectly. Separate little pots of jam and clotted cream completed the presentation. It probably goes without saying that everything was delicious and the scones were no exception. There was a plain scone and a whisky soaked fruit scone for each of us.

Harmony

Scones at Cairn Lodge, AuchterarderThinking about it now, it seems unbelievable that, in Scotland, this is the first whisky soaked scone we’ve ever come across. Lovely and warm, nice and crunchy on the outside and a delicate soft interior with that ever so subtle hint of the amber nectar. Two of our favourite things brought together in perfect harmony! So good they almost made our ‘totallyeffinbrilliantscone’ category!

Not so brilliant perhaps was Scotland’s new First Minister, Humza Yousaf’s first week in his new job. Many have expressed disappointment but we feel he needs to be given a chance. He has a mountain to climb! Isn’t it peculiar that all political parties recognise Scotland as a nation yet refuse to give us permission to determine our own future. What sort of logic is that? It’s also a bit odd that we now have Humza Yousaf, a practicing Muslim of Pakistani extraction and Rishi Sunak, a practicing Hindu of Indian extraction fighting over Scottish independence. You couldn’t make it up!A lounge in Cairn Lodge

Today has been fantastic and it is all down to our wonderful friends. With friends like ours and whisky soaked scones, what more could we possibly ask for?

PH3 1LX      tel: +44 1764 661095        Cairn Lodge Hotel

///tonsils.plan.calibrate

Scones

Fjarå Café Bar

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Today we have to catch the overnight ferry back to Aberdeen. This is our last day and our last post from Shetland! Hurrah, we hear you cry! However, we feel a bit sad and rather appropriately, it’s raining. Logo of FjaraBack in January we made friends with another couple when we were at Balbirnie House and, in conversation, discovered that they were going to be in Shetland at the same time as ourselves. They had Shetland connections. What are the chances of that? Needless to say, we promised to meet up. This afternoon we’ve arranged to meet them at Fjarå Café Bar in Lerwick so our day’s meandering would have to be kept in check.

View of Scalloway Castle
Scalloway Castle built in 1600 was the home of Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney and Shetland. ‘Black Patie’, as he became known in Shetland, oppressed the local people and was what we call in Scotland “a rank badyin”

Scalloway was our first stop. It used to be the capital of Shetland until Lerwick became more commercially successful around 1880s. It was an old Viking settlement and today the population of about 1200.  It looks a bit Tobermoryish with its brightly coloured houses. The famous Shetland Bus was based here. In 1940 Norway had been occupied by the Nazis. The Shetland Bus operated under cover of darkness transporting weapons and supplies across the North Sea and bringing back refugees. In small wooden fishing boats it was extremely dangerous, there were many tragic losses.

Map showing Trondra and BurraFrom Scalloway we headed south to the two long finger like islands of Trondra and Burra. Nowadays they’re not actually islands because  they’re joined to the Shetland mainland by single lane bridges. Rowing boats used to be the only means of reaching the mainland so by 1961 the population had dwindled to just 60. The building of the bridges, however, has meant that almost 1000 people live here now. There’s an annual rowing event, ‘Round Trondra Race‘ and recently they have introduced “Da Peerie Neep” (“The Wee Turnip“) which takes place in Trondra Hall.  One of the events is “Toss the Neep”. We’ll have to come back for that!

Another bridge took us to East Burra … famous for its bears. Not real bears but teddy bears knitted out of recycled Fair Isle jumpers at  the Burra Bear workshop.  When we got to the most southern part of Burra we came on the Red Houss . It had been signposted for miles so we thought it would be easily found. However it’s quite difficult, it’s tiny.

The Red Houss and Mike Finnie
The Red Houss and Pat with Mike, her new favourite jeweller

Inside we met Mike who was busy hammering out metal bunad buttons for a wedding in Norway. His workshop/showroom is bijoux but fantastic. Lots to see in this cosy well organised space. We particularly liked the beautiful silver necklaces he’d made from fragments of pottery picked up on the beach. Imagine what these fragments could have been. A teapot, a vase or maybe a plate that might have had a scone sitting on it in some far away place? Who did it belong to? How did it get broken? Anyway, he wouldn’t sell them … they were for an exhibition. Nevertheless my wallet took a fair bit of punishment hence Pat’s broad smile!

Now we had to head back to meet our friends at Fjarå. All readers who are fluent in Faroese will know that Fjarå (pronounced Feeara) means ‘beach’. Appropriate because it’s on the beach. As soon as we went in there were our friends. It was great to see them again. Much excited chatter as we swapped our Shetland experiences. Turned out we must have been standing right next to each other at the Delting Up Helly Aa in our Busta House post. Obviously, among all the celebrations and  noisy Vikings we had just missed each other.Internal view of Fjara

Fjarå Café Bar is a great place. It sits on a small peninsula of land jutting out into Brewick bay and has fantastic views across the water to Lerwick and beyond. A scone at FjaraYou can sit here and just watch the wildlife. You might see seals, otters, whales and all sorts of birdlife while just sitting having a coffee. A young lad was looking after us very well and he soon had us fixed up with coffees and a fruit scone. It came with loads of jam and cream. The scone itself wasn’t quite a topscone but nevertheless, very enjoyable. A great way to round off the last of our Shetland days.

Leaving Lerwick
Goodbye Lerwick

Soon it was time to catch the ferry and travel back to reality. Shetland is a great place to get away from the problems of world and UK politics … nobody’s all that bothered up here! They just seem to quietly get on with things in their own way. We’ve seen lots, reconnected with old friends and made new friends … fabulous!

ZE1 0ZJ     tel: 01595 697388     Fjara

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Scones, Uncategorized

Final Checkout

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WARNING: No scones feature in this post! However, before you judge us too harshly you should read on to see the extent of our efforts on your behalf. Scone hunting in the northernmost reaches of Scotland is not for the faint hearted!

Actually today started off in a different direction. Our intention was to go to Fair Isle which lies half way between Shetland and Orkney. Yesterday we had gone to Tingwall Airport, just six miles from Lerwick, to book seats but it was shut. No response to us knocking on the door of Terminal 1. There weren’t any other Terminals to choose from and it was Sunday!

This morning we were back again and the nice lady behind the desk looked at her screen only to announce apologetically that there was only one seat left. I said that Pat would sit on my knee, it’s only a 25 minute flight after all, but she just smiled pityingly and shook her head. A scone from Fair Isle would have been great but now we would have to revert to Plan B.  That meant heading in the opposite direction to get as far north as we could. Muckle Flugga lighthouse was our new target. Onwards and northwards!

Dedication

To get there we had to catch a ferry to Yell, drive across Yell then another ferry to Unst. It promised to be a good day, the weather was lovely and we like ferries. From a sconological point of view Unst has the UK’s most northerly tearoom … Victoria’s Vintage Tearoom. Honestly, the things we do for our sconey readers! 

Ferry
Our ferry ‘Bigga’ at Toft looking towards Yell

Before long we were at Toft to catch our ferry to Yell. It’s always exciting to arrive somewhere new and waiting for ferries just heightens the anticipation. To add to the anticipation we had been told by a lorry driver that he missed the previous ferry because he hadn’t booked. He wasn’t sure if he would get on the next one either. Argh! We weren’t booked either! Turns out catching ferries is a bit of a lottery if you’re not booked. No problem though, we got on and so did our lorry driver. Fifteen minutes later we were arriving at Ulsta on Yell!

Restoration project

Yell has a population of about 1000 people and has been inhabited since Neolithic times. There are many Pictish brochs. You can also find the ruins of the Windhouse – the most haunted house on Shetland. It was built in 1707 and when it was being renovated 160 years later skeletons were found under the floor. An English couple bought it in 2003 to restore it … no restoration ever took place and it’s back on the market. Anyone interested? Apparently, being this close to Norway, there’s quite a lot of trolls on Yell.

Ferry arriving
Ferry arriving at Gutcher on Yell with Unst in the distance
Luftwaffe

Once again the roads were first class and before long we were in Gutcher waiting for the ferry to Belmont on Unst. Gutcher is a tiny settlement but during WWII the Luftwaffe bombed the post office in an attempt to disrupt communications … hard to believe.

Welcome to Unst

Lord Bothwell, Mary Queen of Scot’s third husband, fled to Unst when he was accused of murdering her second husband. Three ships were sent to bring him back but the sea battle that followed resulted in him sailing off to Norway. Obviously, he didn’t need to book a ferry!

Stereotyping?

No time was wasted in making our way to Victoria’s Vintage Tearoom at Haroldswick in the very north of Unst. It was closed! If it wasn’t for bad luck we wouldn’t have no luck at all.

External view of Victoria's Vintage Tearoom, Unst
The Uk’s most northerly tearoom

We had an odd experience here. As far as we could make out we were the only people around for miles apart from two Americans working in the garden of the house next door. They were speaking loudly to each other but apart from a curt “it’s closed“, they steadfastly ignored us. That’s in spite of us being just a few feet away in this vast expanse of emptiness. Having become so used to the warmth and friendliness of the Shetlanders we found this a little disconcerting. Before we get into trouble with our American readers let us emphasise that we are not saying this is stereotypical American behaviour. We know the complete opposite to be true … honest!

End of the world

Not to worry, a little further along the road at Hermaness we reached the end of the road and our destination, the Muckle Flugga lighthouse. No ferries, bookable or otherwise, to the island but at least we could see it. To the east lies the Norwegian Sea, to the north the Artic ocean and to the left the Atlantic. Apart from a nature reserve there’s nothing here. It has that Tierra del Fuego “end of the world” feel about it.

Map of Yell and Unst
The lighthouse was built in 1854 to protect naval vessels going to war in Crimea … somethings never change! My birthday present bottle of Muckle Flugga whisky is supposed to be stored for 12 months in a cave near here to give it its unique characteristic flavour. Couldn’t find the cave!
Men!

It used to be most northerly inhabited island in the UK until 1995 when the lighthouse was automated. That honour has now passed to Unst. For those interested in geology, Muckle Flugga was formed when two giants fell in love with the same mermaid. They fought over her by throwing large rocks at each other, one of which became Muckle Flugga. To get rid of them, the mermaid offered to marry whichever one would follow her to the North Pole. They both followed her and drowned, as neither could swim. Men??

Sconeless we headed south again and this was when we came on the Final Checkout, the most northerly shop in the UK. Amazingly, at £1.55 a litre it also seemed to have the cheapest diesel in the UK.

Internal view of the Final Checkout

No scones so we decided to have a sassermaet (correct spelling) and egg roll.

Sassermeat and egg roll
Our Unst scone

Sassermeat is a Shetland speciality. It’s like what we would call ‘square’ or ‘Lorne’ sausage but made with their own spices. It had to be sampled. It was excellent but definitely not a scone! The initial appearance of The Final Checkout is deceptive. It’s big and has just about everything you could possibly think of: plumbing, electrical, household, groceries .. it’s all here! When I said to them “if I was to ask you for something you haven’t got, I would be struggling” They simply replied “If we’ve not got it, we’ll get it for you” … simple! We left with a supply of sassermaet to take home as a reminder of a very enjoyable visit.

Honesty

We have been surprised by the number of honesty boxes on Shetland … there’s a lot. A bit further down the road at Baltasound we came across this one.

Bobby's bus shelter on Unst
The bus shelter is the famous Bobby’s bus shelter. Bobby was a local boy who got his father to campaign to have the shelter reinstated after it was removed by the Council. He used to cycle to catch the bus and needed somewhere to leave his bike. Once it was put back odd things happened. Every summer it mysteriously acquires a sofa, a TV, a microwave, curtains and even its own website.

The honesty boxes usually contain things like eggs, jam, sweets and cakes and have little cash boxes for the money … a problem in our cashless society. This one was in the form of a little house and when we lifted the roof it revealed boxes of eggs and packets of Shetland fudge. We had three one pound coins so the fudge was ours … yeah! It’s rather nice to see these things all over the place and we think it says something about the way of life up here.

To add to the general weirdness, the little traffic island adjacent to the shelter is dedicated to renowned disk jockey, John Peel who died in Peru a few years ago! Why?

Return to Lerwick
Simone's petit cafe
The notice says: This is an honesty cafe, so help yourselves, use the book to write down what you have taken and paid … and enjoy!

On our return journey we took the road down the east coast of Yell. Near Burravoe we discovered Le Petit Cafe – Chez Simone. Unfortunately, only open in the summer but it even has its own Unst Weather Rock … more fun than looking at your phone! Back in Lerwick and dinner in the Dowry. Oh dear we’re getting near the end of our Shetland adventure.

Fingers crossed

Today, Scotland’s new First Minister, Humza Yousaf, was announced following the sudden resignation of Nicola Sturgeon. Hopefully he will accelerate our journey to becoming a self respecting independent country once again!

ZE2 9TW       tel: 01957 711666        Final Checkout FB

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Tower of London sconeps: our Austrian correspondents have sent a photo of a “delicious” scone they had in the cafe of the Tower of London. Last year they travelled all over South Korea but it was sconeless. Okay, we can delete South Korea from our bucket list. Many thanks M&C

Ordinary, Scones

Braewick Cafe

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It’s another day on Shetland and this time we are heading north west to a large peninsular area called Northmavine. There’s not a lot of cafes and restaurants up there and we had been told that the Braewick cafe still hadn’t opened for the summer. We would go anyway. In spite of what you might think we don’t have one track scone minds.

The spoils of oil

One thing you do notice when you arrive in Shetland is the roads. They are fantastic! Even single track roads going to settlements of five or six houses are as smooth as the proverbial baby’s bum. Don’t think we have ever come across a single pothole.  When the oil boom started in the 1960s and 70s, Shetlanders were smart enough to know they could extract money from the oil companies for the use of their islands. The huge Sullom Voe Oil Terminal became operational around 1980 and a consortium of companies had to pay into the Shetland Oil Fund. It was used to benefit the community in all sorts of ways, the roads are just one example.

Logo of Braewick CafeDirectly across the water from here lies Norway and if you ask any Norwegian where their oil riches have gone, they would know exactly. They have the biggest Wealth Fund in the world in which everyone shares. If you were to ask the same question in the UK you would just get a blank stare.

Spoils of oil spoiled

It has all been frittered away on vanity projects in the south of England and to further line the pockets of the wealthy. The M25, the Channel Tunnel, Crossrail and now  the greatest waste of money ever, the £130billion HS2 rail link … we could go on. None of it benefits Scotland and no one in Scotland  would be able to point to anything apart from jobs that have resulted from oil. Margaret Thatcher used North Sea oil funds to fight the unions and destroy all of Scotland’s manufacturing industries … not a happy story. Anyway, well done Shetland for getting some tangible benefits.

Humour

Let’s head out to the wild Atlantic coast. To do that a number of people have said that the best place is Eschaness on the western extremity of Northmavine.

Toilets at HillswickWhen we arrived in the biggest town, Hillswick, we wondered if there were any public toilets and were relieved to see this sign. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that they were ‘outside’ toilets, about eight of them. Shetland humour!

External view of St Magnus Hotel, Hillswick
St Magnus Bay Hotel

There’s not much in Hillswick except the St Magnus Bay Hotel. It’s odd when you arrive at places like this and think it’s deserted. You go in and it’s absolutely mobbed. Everyone was having lunch. All fully booked unfortunately, so they could only offer us coffee.

The chap who owned the hotel regaled me with the trials and tribulations of running a place like this. Fuel prices are going through the roof and staff are hard to come by. He’s been contemplating a windmill to power the hotel. Capital expenditure is prohibitive and the strength of the winds in Hillswick mean that they would need constant and expensive maintenance. In such an out of the way place as this, we can hardly believe that it can be run successfully at all yet he has been doing it for many years. Hats off to him!

The drinking horse

Onwards we go with Eshaness in our sights this time. On our way we see the massive rock formation, Dore Holm.

Dore Holm rock near Braewick
Dore Holm, Shetland’s ‘drinking horse’  in what we regard as a windy day and again in what Shetlanders would regard as a windy day

Internal view of Braewick CafeThe Braewick cafe is situated at Eshaness and guess what, it was open … yeah! It must be summer! It has a rather austere exterior and once again there didn’t seem to be anyone around. But that’s because, like the St Magnus, they were all inside

After some delicious lentil soup we set about the scone which we were sharing. A scone at Braewick CafeIt was a fruit scone of some sort but not in the usual way. There was fruit but we couldn’t quite tell what it was. The cream was scooshie and before long it was just water. The consistency was on the heavy side. Not the best scone we have ever had but probably not the worst. Heyho, it was nice just to be here and looking out at the view.

View from Braewick Cafe
View of the Drongs sea stacs from the Braewick cafe
Far too late

The coastline here is dramatic and little wonder … it is exposed to the full force of the Atlantic. Nothing between here and North America! Apparently about 350 million years ago Shetland lay near the equator and had a tropical climate. We’re sorry we missed that! The cliffs we see today formed the side of what once was the Eshaness volcano. How do they know this? Well, apparently it’s all in the plain to see (to a geologist) lava layers laid down by the volcano after successive eruptions.Cliffs at Eshaness

The Eshaness lighthouse was built in 1929, the last manned lighthouse built by the Stevenson family. It is built of concrete which all had to be brought in by pony and cart.

Eshaness is a holiday let if you really want get away from it all

Back to Lerwick after another great day and quiet night in. Tomorrow is another day.

ZE2 9RS       tel: 01806 503345        Braewick Cafe

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