Tag Archives: Cloanaig

Ordinary, Scones

Out of the Blue Bistro

It’s not often we find ourselves in Strachur, and we had no intention of being here today either! We were taking the scenic four ferry route to Arran for a few days with the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Wemyss Bay to Rothesay, Rhubodach to Colintraive, Portavadie to Tarbert, Cloanaig to Lochranza. When we got to Portavadie, however, we found that the Tarbert ferry  had broken down. You can plainly see Tarbert from Portavadie. It’s just over there across the water. However, there was no alternative but to drive the 90 mile detour round Loch Fyne … arrrggh!

Not far from Strachur - looking down the Kyles of Bute
Not far from Strachur – looking down the Kyles of Bute

 

 

 

 

 

Diversions

By way of compensation of course it meant driving through some wonderful countryside but, nice as it was, one cannot live on scenery alone. Strachur  was as far as we got before we had to stop for sustenance. As we drove round the corner, out of the blue, we came on the Out Of The Blue Bistro .. brill!

Looking from the bistro to the shop
Looking from the bistro to the shop

 

No idea why it has that name Out of the Blue Bistro except that you do come on it quite suddenly. As well as a bistro it serves as the local Post Office and shop. In other words, it is the beating heart of Strachur. Although it was quiet when we were there it is a popular place with locals and, by all accounts, has a good reputation for delicious food. We were just here for a scone of course and before long the attentive staff had us all sorted. Out of the Blue 04Unfortunately the scones, although quite acceptable, were not top notch. There was a suspicion that they might have been microwaved and that sometimes makes them a bit flabby. Loads of jam and whipped cream though so ten out of ten for effort and hospitality.

Eurovision

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on which side you are on, Ukraine has just won the Eurovision song contest, sparking major unrest in Russia who, along with almost everyone else, thought they should have won. It didn’t help that the Ukrainian song, ‘1944’, was about the year that Stalin deported all the Tatars from their native Crimea … ouch! Hope it does not come to it but who would have thought that Eurovision had the potential to start a war. The important thing to remember is that Australia came second, otherwise it would be difficult to take the European song contest seriously.

We will be in holiday mode for the next week or so. That generally means more scones than usual, so prepare yourselves for a veritable avalanche of posts. We have also started a bird list of all the different species we see during the trip. If anyone wants to guess the final score you can put it in the comments. We will reveal the final tally when we get back … exciting!

PA27 8DD      tel: 01369 860221     Out of the Blue Bistro & Shop FB

island, Ordinary, Scones

The Kinloch Hotel Blackwaterfoot

After having been on some of the smaller islands, Arran feels big and a bit like the mainland. You can get up to 30mph on some of the roads and, of course, there are several small towns with shops … and everything. We arrived on the Claonaig ferry at Loch Ranza with the intention of driving round the southern half of the island and ending up in Brodick. External view of the Kinloch Hotel, BlackwaterfootThe day was breezy with bright sparkling sunshine so the scenery was fantastic. Driving through places like  Dougarie and Machrie was a real pleasure.

Very much an island

By the time we reached Blackwaterfoot, however, it was scone time so we pulled up at the Best Western Kinloch Hotel. The biggest and most obvious place in town … however big and obvious is not necessarily the best. The place was going like a fair so definitely not an intimate coffee shop ambience A scone at Kinloch hotel, Blackwaterfoothowever service was efficient and friendly enough. Our fruit scones arrived in double quick time. Fruit, turned out to be cherry, which I suppose is fruit, but not what we had been expecting. Nevertheless they were quite good, though it was a shame about the scooshie cream that quickly dissolved into something more akin to milk. Arran is big and does not feel as remote as some of the smaller islands. However, you are quickly reminded that it is very much an island. Hardly any mobile reception .. wifi, what’s that??

English settlers

Also, like many of the west coast islands everyone here seems to be English. Some have been here so long they could probably qualify as locals. Scotland wants to encourage immigration so it is great that so many feel they would like to settle here and leave the fast pace of life in London and the south behind. It is not difficult to see why they choose Arran, it’s a very beautiful island.

View from Kinloch hotel towards the Mull of Kintyre and N.Ireland
View from the hotel towards the Mull of Kintyre and N.Ireland

KA27 8ET         tel: 01770 860444        Kinloch Hotel