Back in 2015 we spent some time at the rather isolated Ardanaiseig Hotel on the southern shores of Loch Awe. As blogging newbies we had one of our formative scone experiences there. Sitting in front of a large open log fire with toasted scones and pots of tea … heaven! Ardanaiseig is owned by Bennie Gray who also owns Alfie’s Antique Market here in Marlebone in the heart of London. It’s where we are today. He called it Alfie’s after his father. Ardanaiseig had lots of quirky features and this place is no different, in fact it’s the very essence of ‘quirky’.

Winter Hag of Death and Darkness

But first, have you ever wondered how Loch Awe came to be there? Wonder no more!

There’s a magic well high above Ardanaiseig on Ben Cruachan where a beautiful goddess called Beithir used to bathe every evening.  By doing so she preserved her glorious good looks but one night it all went wrong. She forgot to replace the capstone … argh! The well overflowed down the mountainside and formed the loch we know today. As punishment she was banished by the gods, cursed with immortality and transformed into the ancient Winter Hag of Death and Darkness. Her cold hard voice still echoes around the snow filled corries of Ben Cruachan and beyond. The Winter Hag of Death and Darkness is rarely seen but oddly there have been several reported sightings recently. Actually, they’ve all turned out to be Liz Truss, however, you can understand the confusion.

Alfies is housed in an Art Deco building and is spread over four floors. If you are looking for something unusual and quirky to decorate your home, chances are you will find it here. It’s a fascinating place to walk round though a bit confusing with lots of little stairs leading off in all sorts of directions. Jewellery and lighting seem to be a speciality. There’s also an indoor pond full of carp and water lilies. You don’t get that everywhere! Soon, of course, all this perusing takes its toll and sustenance is required.

The cafe is called the Kitchen on the Roof and that’s where we ended up. Lovely to sit out on a beautiful day in October. The only problem was wasps. They were a real nuisance and eventually they drove us indoors.

Huge smiles

We are being looked after by a lady who had the biggest smile imaginable. She was so happy and seemed delighted to be working there. It makes such a difference. Our lunch was fantastic and seemed incredibly good value. Omelette and chips … £4, homebaked scone with jam and cream … £3, pot of tea … £1.60 and so on. Seven years ago we awarded Ardanaiseig Hotel a topscone and although there was no open log fire here we decided that our overall experience was good enough to do the same here. Well done Alfie’s.

Progress?

Spending a day surrounded by beautiful works of art does make you wonder in astonishment at the state of the world today. For all our supposed technological sophistication it seems that the only way to settle arguments is to destroy everything and kill lots of people. This week we discovered that, with the help of DNA sampling, Homo sapiens are indeed related to the Neanderthals. They used the same methods for disputes but surely we should have progressed a wee bit in the intervening 40,000 years. Let’s have another scone!

NW8 8DT        tel: 020 7723 6066     Alfies Antiques

///reef.fancy.sheets

ps: our Utah  correspondents have been in touch. Not to report on scones in Utah (do such things exist?) but to send photos of scones encountered on the North Antrim Cliff Hike in North Ireland. They had already completed the John Muir Way in Scotland.

They said that both these scones were very good however Laragh Lodge definitely came out in first place. Congratulations go to them for completing the hike and for taking time out to send these pics.