The following year though Charles decided to try and regain the throne by overthrowing Cromwell’s Parliamentarians. He sailed in from France and started his campaign here at Speyside Coffee Roasters. Okay, perhaps not exactly here but certainly within 100m of here. That same year, 1650, according to Samuel Pepys, coffee had started to be enjoyed in the Grand Café in Oxford. Charles, however, would have been oblivious to the joys of Starbucks and would have been totally flummoxed by Speyside Coffee Roasters. Exactly why he chose to start his campaign here in this pretty little village where the River Spey joins the sea, we have no idea. 
As soon as he stepped ashore he signed the Solemn League and Covenant and set about raising an army. It was all for nought, however, in 1651, Cromwell’s New Model Army showed him the way back to France after a comprehensive defeat at the Battle of Worcester. When you are here in Garmouth it’s almost impossible to believe that this sleepy little backwater saw the beginning of such momentous events. . 
Charles II was known as the Merry Monarch. He left no legitimate children but acknowledged twelve by other means. They were all given dukedoms and the current Duke of Buccleugh, who owns much of Scotland is a direct descendant of one of them.
Enterprising
The cafe is run by a lovely young enterprising couple who seem to be running a successful business roasting coffee for all the local cafes and restaurants as well as their own.
There is a large outdoor area to the side of the cafe where you can eat your bacon rolls or toasted panninis. Part of the building is dedicated to their roasting business and the rest is the cafe. They have a good selection of cakes for sale as well as their range of different Brazilian and Guatemalan coffees. Our coffee was great … almost as good as our favourite, Henry’s. The scone was great as well and almost a topscone but not quite. It had good texture and the crispy crust we like but the overall presentation let it down a little. However, we thoroughly enjoyed everything about this place and wish the owners every good luck with their enterprise.
Making sure
By the way, Charles II went on to issue the Royal Declaration of Indulgence in 1672. You would have thought that a declaration like that would have made mention of scones … but it didn’t. All boring stuff about religion! He did regain the throne again after Cromwell passed away peacefully in 1658. The fact that he was already dead didn’t stop Charles beheading him and displaying his head on a spike. Aah, the good old days!
The last time we were in this part of the world was back in 2017 in Burghead, just along the coast from Garmouth. There are lots of distilleries around here but Pat still hasn’t bought me a bottle of whisky since our abortive attempt at Dalwhinnie. She has bought me a jar of marmalade infused with whisky though so I suppose that’s progress.
IV32 7LU 07772 402451 Speyside Coffee
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