Tag Archives: Scottish Wildlife Trust

Scones

Wee Bear Café

7 Comments

 Quite some time ago our Trossachs correspondents recommended the Wee Bear Café  at Bridgend of Lintrathen. We thought it was an interesting name and lodged it at the back of our minds. Perhaps it was a reference to the brown bears that used to roam throughout Scotland until the 5th century, along with wolves and all sorts of other things you wouldn’t want to meet on a dark night. Or even a light night come to that. Nowadays, more people are killed by cows than any other animal and, of course, midges just make you wish you were dead.  

Wandering

This morning we thought we would pop out for breakfast. We didn’t have anywhere in mind but ended up at Scotts at South Queensferry. We reviewed its scones four years ago and have been back many time s since … but never for breakfast. As expected it was excellent and we left as very happy bunnies indeed. A beautiful day so instead of heading back home directly we took the Queensferry Crossing and drove north. We thought we might visit the antique centre at Abernyte near Dundee. However, when we were almost there we saw a large roadside sign for the Alyth Show.

For almost the first decade of my life, I lived in a cottage in Kilry, a sort of tributary glen to Glenisla. Some would say it was the middle of nowhere but for me it was my entire world. A van appeared every Saturday with everything required for survival in a Scottish glen.  Alyth, a market town of about 2,000 souls, as far as I was concerned, was the “big city, a veritable metropolis. When Pat and I arrived in Alyth we realised that we were only four miles from where I grew up and remembered the words of our Trossachs correspondents. Hence this very long winded explanation of how we ended up here at the the Wee Bear Café.

View across Lintrathen loch
Loch of Lintrathen
Bears?

Friends of my parents looked after the Loch of Lintrathen, the water supply for Dundee. It was only a mile or so from our house so we used to visit the village regularly. At that time there was a tiny shop but nothing like the Wee Bear. It’s quite a big place with a restaurant, bar and even accommodation if you want to stay. The owners have done a superb job and it turns out that the name has nothing to do with bears. “Bear” is simply the name of their much loved dog … a small dog, hence the name!  Internal view of the Wee Bear Café, Lintrathen

There were lots of tables outside but we decided to sit in the shade inside. A scone at the Wee Bear Café, LintrathenThe tables in here are made from recycled old cable drums. The café must employ all the young girls in the village  because the service was very efficient and friendly. In no time we were sorted with everything we needed including a fruit scone to share. They didn’t have cream, however, it was all very nice. About as close as you can get to a topscone without actually getting it. The Wee Bear is a fantastic place and thoroughly recommended.

It all happens in Glenisla

Many people think that nothing of note ever happened in Glenisla. The truth is very different! Let us enlighten you! For example, when I was about five we got “the electric”. It was a new fandangled thing and absolutely life changing. However, when I talk of this to my grandchildren they just look at me pityingly as if I’m from some distant galaxy. To be fair, I can hardly believe it myself. However, that’s not all. Other earth-shattering things have happened here as well.

The bar at the Wee Bear Café, Lintrathen
the bar at the Wee Bear, scene of many musical evenings

John Farquharson, a local renowned poacher, invented the falling block breech loading rifle that could self cock and dispense with the spent cartridge in one smooth continuous motion. Not having any tools or a workshop, he carved out his prototype from a turnip. And another local man, James Sandy, invented the invisible hinge. We would show you a picture but for obvious reasons, that’s difficult.

A sign at the Wee Bear Café, LintrathenMy father was a forester in Glenisla. He once did a small favour for an old lady who lived nearby. In gratitude she presented him with a chicken, plucked and ready for the pot. He protested that this far out weighed the value of the work he had done but she was insistent and assured him “it was dying anyway“. Such was life in the glen, everybody knew everybody and although isolated with no transport we were never stuck for anything.

Progress?

Once when I was  hired as a very small beater for a pheasant and rabbit shoot, one of my fellow beaters got shot. It wasn’t serious. He had only taken one shotgun pellet to the head but he was a bit upset. My perplexed father wondered what to do with him. In the course of the day the rather impatient landowner (whose shoot it was)  had observed the urine being squeezed from the shot rabbits. He came up with the answer ” Oh, just piss him and put him in the bag!” Those were the days! Who would have thought back then that “the electric” would mean us ending up with hundreds of TV channels in full colour. And very few worth watching!External view of the Wee Bear Café, Lintrathen

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go to the bird hides on the Loch of Lintrathen. It’s home to tufted ducks, shovelers, great crested grebes, mallards, coots and herons. We did pass the Incheoch farm, however, home to 1200 ewes, 220 beef cows, a few hens and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. We know about the woodpecker because it was on a tree straight in front of us … fantastic!

A K6 telephone box in Lintrathen
This telephone box was opposite the Wee Bear Café. Sadly no longer functional
Reminiscing

Here in the county of Angus, kelpies and fairies lurk just out of sight on riverbanks and hillsides, waiting to draw unsuspecting travellers into another world. Given that, it seems shameful to introduce something as sordid as politics. So we won’t! 

Just a great day in a great place and a great scone. Apologies for all the personal reminiscing … couldn’t help it!

DD8 5JH         tel: 01575 560427             Wee Bear Café

///copper.gong,fights

island, Ordinary, Scones

The Douglas Hotel – Again

1 Comment

This is another Scottish island repost from 2016. That was back when the Scottish Conservatives were feeling rejuvenated. Today, however, Jackson Carlaw resigned as their leader, after only five months in post. Hopefully, he has seen the hopelessness of their cause.  Just the mention of them, however, is always liable to bring on a rant. They never have anything remotely like a policy of their own and simply resort to attacking the wicked SNP. British nationalists, of which Boris is a prime example, are an odd bunch. They refuse to acknowledge Scotland as a country in its own right, however, when it comes to debt it’s a different story. They delight in pointing out that Scotland has the biggest fiscal deficit of any country in Europe but never feel inclined to explain why.

Technically, Scotland cannot have any debt because it’s not allowed to borrow money and it’s legally obliged to balance the books every year. Only the UK government can borrow money. This is how it works. When they borrow say £100million, 10% of the debt is automatically apportioned to Scotland (on the basis of our population size) however, little if any of the money ever comes north of the border. It’s all spent in England .. and for ‘England’ you can read ‘London’. So with that accounting system, is it any wonder we have a deficit! Anyway, rant over, let’s go to the wonderful Isle of Arran.

We arrived a day early for our Scottish Wildlife Trust outing on Arran and stayed the first night at one of our favourite places, the Kilmichael Country House in Glen Cloy. There were peacocks all over the place. We thought that they would give us a sneaky head start over everyone else with our bird list. They are a pernickety lot however in the SWT. We were left in no doubt that peacocks were not allowed on the list .. verboten! The rest of our stay was to be here at the Douglas in Brodick, just a stone’s throw from the ferry terminal. It’s built from locally quarried red sandstone. In 1782 it spent some time as the doctor’s house until eventually becoming a hotel in 1852.

the MacNab
the MacNab

A couple of years ago it underwent complete modernisation and now terms itself ’boutique’. If ’boutique’ means having vast beds then it definitely qualifies for that sobriquet. If there’s anyone in bed with you, you certainly had to go searching in order to find them! Not sure why they have a large portrait of ‘The MacNab’ in reception. Maybe he liked the beds as well. He never married but had 35 illegitimate children.

Anyway, there was no way we were going to be able to stay here for the best part of a week without sampling their scones. We thought we might as well get it over and done with. Douglas 01We decided to sit out on the patio area overlooking Brodick Bay while a young cheery chap from Kilmarnock buzzed to and fro bringing us tea, coffee, scones etc. The scones were good, full of fruit but hot, almost too hot to handle. Pat had a cheese scone but it had to be left to cool down as well. Not topscones but who cares when you get great service and all you have to do is sit and watch the ferries coming and going. If there is one in you wonder when it will leave. If there isn’t one in you wonder when one will arrive .. exciting!

View from our table
View from our table

Election results

The dust has now settled on the elections and, in Scotland, the media have hailed the results in rather peculiar ways. They have made much of Labour’s continuing failure to recognise that Scotland has changed. They have also trumpeted the Tory’s supposed rejuvenation?? When the Scottish Tory vote collapsed to 24% in 1987 under the much-hated Margaret Thatcher, who would have thought that a trifling 30 years later it would have rebounded to 22%. What are they on about?

One thing the media has not made much of is the SNP success. Their achievement – increasing seats and votes after almost 10 years in power is truly astounding yet gets only grudging acknowledgement. If it gets any at all. Anyway, who cares when all you have to do is sit in the sunshine eating scones, watching ferries come and go. Oh, and the red-breasted mergansers swimming in the bay. Lots of them, and they’re allowed!

KA27 8AW     tel: 01770 302968      Douglas Hotel

As you know our antipodean correspondents have been excelling themselves lately. Pumpkin scones then Waltzing Matilda scones. And no sooner had we convinced ourselves that we had run out of Aussie scones than a note drops into our inbox from our Brisbane correspondent. Not a scone as such but a scone poem, no less. We knew that this particular correspondent had difficulty getting out of bed in the morning but had no idea about his poetic inclinations.

Flour butter milk
Give that all a stir
Maybe add some fruit
If that is what you prefer

Bung them in the oven
While you whip the cream
I put mine on the bottom
But some say that’s obscene

Such a simple recipe folks
But of variations, there are galore
You could wander round for years
And still not sample them all

Top scone or bottom scone
Or somewhere in-between
Could it be? Though scone blasphemy
All about the placement of the cream

Bill and Pat, you write about the scone
But you also jam in some history
With a dash of current affairs
Your scone blog, sure is the cream to me

Do any other sconeys feel a poetic urge?

 

island, Ordinary, Scones, self-service

Brodick Castle – Again

1 Comment

This visit to Brodick Castle was back in 2016 in cahoots with the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Things were better then. For one thing, I was four years younger and my arthritic hands had not deteriorated to the extent they have today. I mention this because it raises an important question. 

Pat and I are muddling through this COVID-19 isolation business as best we can. The other day, however, while trying to extract a cork from a bottle of prosecco I noticed I was having some difficulty. So what is the question? Well, women have babies; they have to contend with everything mother nature throws at them; wear high heels; look beautiful; put up with men all while being sensible. So, if a man can’t even pop a cork … what’s left? It’s okay I’m not un dergoing some sort of crisis … I don’t think? Anyway back to the wonderful Isle of Arran.

On the opposite side of Brodick Bay from our hotel stands the imposing Brodick Castle. We have been here before but having looked across the water at it for the past few days we thought another visit might be worthwhile. But first, so that you can get this scone in context, a little history.

King Hakon and all that

Some sort of fortification has been on this site since at least the fifth century. By the tenth century, Norse influence had grown, and Arran was controlled by King Hakon of Norway. However, when some Scottish upstarts began to question his authority, he sent a large fighting fleet to sort things out. That resulted in the Battle of Largs in 1263 … which he lost. He retreated to Brodick and then to Orkney where he died the following yeBrodick Castle 03ar. The ensuing Treaty of Perth in 1266 ceded Arran and other islands to the Kingdom of Scotland. Oliver Cromwell occupied the castle for a while and then it fell to the Hamilton family who occupied it for several centuries. In 1957 it was gifted to the nation by the Duchess of Montrose to avoid death duties. The National Trust for Scotland eventually took it over.. and now we are here!

Scottish produce

The grounds are immaculately kept and there is a tearoom for visitors but of course today we’re sitting outside in the spring sunshine. Like most NTS places, it is self-service so we duBrodick Castle 05ly selected a mixture of cheese and fruit scones. Sometimes, if we are feeling particularly daring, we mix things up and have half each. Everything was fine though we can sometimes get a little irritated by the presence of the ubiquitous tubs of Rodda’s cornish cream. The Arran Creamery is just down the road, do we really have to bring it all the way from Cornwall? The jam was from Manchester … c’mon NTS! Do you know what the ‘S’ in your name stands for? What must tourists think?

Brodick Castle 07The scones were very nice but not quite nice enough for a topscone. We got plenty exercise chasing fly away napkins but, all in all, it was a lovely scone-break in a beautiful setting.

MacBraynes

We have probably travelled on a couple of dozen ferries over the past year or so and, as a consequence, have become quite familiar with Caledonian MacBrayne. It was once said that “God gave us the earth and MacBraynes the Western Isles”. A slight, inferring that the ferry company held the islands to ransom. There may have been an element of truth in that at one time but, with the introduction of RET (Road Equivalent Tariff), not any more. Our trip to Arran, involving four ferries, cost a grand total of just over £50 for a car and four passengers. Not too bad at all!

Building ships in Scotland again

 So, we are delighted with the news that the Scottish government, in the face of all the EU regulations, have managed to award the ongoing £900m contract to publicly owned CalMac over privately owned Serco. And build their ships on the Clyde. Even King Hakon would have been proud.Brodick Castle 02

We had walked along the beach to Brodick Castle from our hotel but decided to get the bus back. Brodick Castle 08The bus stop on the main road opposite the castle entrance makes waiting for the bus a real pleasure. There were seals sunning themselves on a rock and an oystercatcher’s nest on the seaward side of the wall. You are almost annoyed when the bus comes.

Amongst other things, today we saw siskins, sedge warblers, guillemots and red-legged partridges. Alas, still no eagles.

KA27 8HY       tel: 0844 493 2152           Brodick

We may owe Boris an apology. He has singlehandedly broken the UK up into its constituent parts. Bravo! It has always been thus, of course, but before now Westminster and the media have always thought of the UK as ‘a country’ rather than a ‘state’ made up of four equal countries. Okay, two countries, a Principality and a province to be precise but you know what we mean. Boris has unwittingly downgraded himself, to Prime Minister of England, the selfless wee soul that he is.

Still got £5.36 in my pocket

ARRAN SHED

A shed at the Kilmichael Hotel, Isle of Arran
A shed at the Kilmichael Hotel on Arran

island, Scones, Top

Machrie Bay Tearoom – Again

1 Comment

As Boris recovers at Chequers we wonder if he will ever be held to account for his and government’s deplorable part in the current crisis? Will the media, including the BBC, simply continue to put sticking plasters over everything? Rumour has it that the next government spokesperson will be Hannibal Lecter … apparently he has more compassion and empathy than Priti Patel.

Anyway, this is the third in our random “island scone” reposts and this one is from the Isle of Arran. It’s from May 2016 when we were on yet another of our birdwatching expeditions with the Falkirk branch of the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

In our last post from the gorgeous Café 54, we said that we had to make our own scones because coronavirus meant there was nowhere to buy them. At the end of this post, we provide you with an opportunity to buy ‘virtual’ scones. Don’t say we’re not good to you!

We are still on our quest to see how many different species of bird we can see on Arran. Today we are in the SW of the island but the only place that seemed to be open in Blackwaterfoot was the Kinloch Hotel and we had already reviewed that last year. However, just a hop, skip and a jump along the coast we came to the Machrie Bay Tearoom. It was well and truly open!Machrie 03

Best buns on the beach

Apparently in the middle of nowhere, it is part of the Machrie Golf Club. It has tennis courts, play area for kiddies and everything else you could wish for. Including a good range of scones, all baked by Granny Rae. They obviously don’t take themselves too seriously when their advertising is “best buns on the beach” … would it have the best scones though, that was the burning question? It was scorchio once again so we sat out on their decked area looking towards the Mull of Kintyre surrounded by a party of Americans over here tracing their family roots.

Machrie 01 We were not sufficiently famished to tackle the Machrie Bay afternoon tea but one arrived at the next table so we asked the two lovely Shiskine ladies who were sharing it if we could take a photograph. Turned out they had won it in a raffle! It looked very good, particularly the scones, but they didn’t offer to share any of them. We eventually had to resort to buying our own. There were fruit scones and cherry scones but we opted to try the cheese and the apple and cinnamon. Machrie 05They arrived on lovely heart-shaped plates with lots of jam and were soon followed by a large plate of whipping cream.  Whoever Granny Rae is, she certainly knows how to rustle up a scone. They were excellent, and definitely the best scones we have had so far on Arran … easy topscone. Well done Machrie Bay Tearoom!  Machrie 04a

After our recent quest to find a Scottish tea plantation near Amulree it was great to get some fab Scottish coffee. Okay, okay it’s not exactly Scottish coffee but it is roasted in Scotland and on a day like today they could probably roast it on our table.

Palmyra and birdwatching

From where we were sitting in the tearoom it was only a thirty-minute hike to the site of the famous Machrie Stones, which consist of numerous ancient standing stones mysteriously arranged in circles. Sort of Arran’s answer to Palmyra. However, unless there was a golden eagle perched on top of each one, it simply was not going to happen. Instead, we continued practising the ‘shades on, face towards the sun‘, approach to birdwatching.

Poverty and ripped jeans

Actually we did think we had seen a golden eagle earlier in the day at Shannochie. On reflection, however, it was probably too far south so probably a buzzard. Or maybe a swallow! Still no eagles on our list. You can measure the level of poverty in the UK by the number of people, especially young women, whose jeans are all worn and ripped. The delightful young woman who served us was a particular example … badly torn at the knees. We left a healthy tip for her to put towards new ones.

KA27 8DZ       tel: 01770 840329      Machrie Bay Tearoom

ps: Our fantastic Aussie Bathurst correspondents sent us news of an opportunity to buy virtual scones online.

With no Sydney Royal Easter Show this year because of COVID-19, the Country Women’s Association (CWA) tearoom will not be providing the usual tea and scones.  The CWA have taken their fundraising efforts and baked treats online. They help communities and individuals still feeling the impact of drought, those left reeling after the bushfires and now coronavirus. They acknowledge that a virtual scone isn’t the same as visiting their tearoom and enjoying the treats in person but they must continue to fundraise. A plate of “virtual scones” is $5, a Devonshire Tea is $10, a dozen plain ‘virtual scones’ is $20 and a whole batch of cyber delicacies is $50. In return for the donation, they will receive the CWA’s “famous” scone recipe. To purchase a ‘virtual’ sweet treat and scone recipe, visit the CWA shop.

WARNING: In order to lend a bit of support to a worthy cause we purchased a virtual Devonshire Tea. However, their ordering system gives no other options than “Australia”. We had to enter that and “New South Wales” for our whereabouts. Does this mean that we will not receive any scones?? We will let you know about the “famous” recipe though.

ARRAN SHED OF THE DAY

A shed at Dougrie on the Isle of Arran
A shed at Dougarie just around the coast a bit from the Machrie Tearoom.

Ordinary, Scones

Shoreline Café in Craster

Craster is yet another pretty little village on the Northumberland coast. Its main claim to fame, the Craster kipper! They are caught and smoked here then distributed throughout the land. Here’s a question … what do you think the 46th Punjabis and the Tibetan Expedition of 1904 have to do with this village? Give up? Well, the harbour wall was built in 1906 to commemorate Captain John Craster who was shot through the heart while serving with the regiment. His obituary reads “The FIFTH have once more to mourn the loss of a comrade Captain J.C.P. Craster – who was killed in the fighting at the village and monastery on the left bank of the River Gyangtse, in Thibet on the 28th of last month.”  Tibet? … is there a country in the world that Britain has not been at war with?View of Craster village

Craster is very close to Dunstanbourgh Castle which means that it is also very busy with tourists who start here and walk along the coast to reach it.

Dunstanburgh Castle near Caster, Northumberland
the ruined Dunstanburgh Castle … built in 1313 keeping the Scots at bay

Quelle dommage

Besides kippers and castles, Craster also boasts the Shoreline Café. When you walk in you are confronted by a magnificent display of scones … good start. Scone display at the Shoreline Café in Craster, NorthumberlandLike our previous post about the Drift Café in Cresswell this place was buzzing.  So far as we could tell it was the only show in town> However, all the activity needn’t necessarily mean it was good. A scone at the Shoreline Café in Craster, NorthumberlandOur scones, when they arrived with their pots of jam and cream, looked very promising. They did taste very good but so crumbly they were quite difficult to control. Breaking into pieces when you tried to spread them, quelle dommage!

Nevertheless we thoroughly enjoyed them and, with its shop area filled with local arts and crafts, we also like the whole ambience of the place itself. No topscone but well done Shoreline, keep up the good work. Interior view of the Shoreline Café in Craster, NorthumberlandNE66 3TH              tel: 01665 571251             Shoreline Café

Later in the day we had a trip booked to Coquet Island, a must for birdwatchers in this part of the world. The island is owned by Ralph George Algernon Percy. Probably better known to you and I as the 12th Duke of Northumberland. But then he owns almost everything around here.

The ferry to Coquette Island off Amble, Northumberland
Our cruise ship at Amble harbour

Keeperless

Interesting (we promise this is the last time we mention it) that on the eve of the wedding, Theresa May managed to sneek another ten Tory and DUP peers into the Lords. This after promising to reduce the House of Lords last year. The woman knows no shame and it exposes her desperation over Brexit.

When the island’s lighthouse was built in 1841 the Duke ordered that it should look like a castle rather than a lighthouse so as to fit in with all his other castles along the coast. Perish the thought that it should look like a lighthouse! The first lighthouse keeper was the elder brother of the heroic Grace Darling. Nowadays it is keeperless and solar powered.Coquette Island off Amble, Northumberland

The list

Anyway the reason for our trip was to see roseate terns. Coquet is one of the very few places where they exist in the UK. Unbelievably, in the 19th century, exploitation for the millinery trade almost brought this elegant little bird to the edge of extinction. We also saw the other members of the tern family; common, artic and sandwich, as well as loads of puffins, kittiwakes and seals … fab! This signals the end of our trip and the end of Pat’s list. Her grand total was seventy one different species. Amazing when you consider that we never saw a robin or a greenfinch. The birds we see every day at home. Many thanks to our local Scottish Wildlife Trust for organising the event.

For those interested, here is Pat’s list: swallow, starling, song thrush, goldfinch, carion crow, jackdaw, pied wagtail, chaffinch, eider duck, shelduck, magpie, skylark, yellow wagtail, snowy owl, tree sparrow, wheatear, buzzard, chiffchaff, blackbird, mute swan, canada goose, lesser black backed gull, common tern, black headed gull, moorhen, mallard, grey heron, coot, wood pigeon, collared dove, barn owl, artic tern, house martin, pheasant, oystercatcher, common gull, tufted duck, longtailed tit, grey partridge, house sparrow, blue tit, great tit, reed bunting, sedge warbler, blackcap, whitethroat, lapwing, redshank, gadwall duck, cormorant, fulmer, turnstone, feral pigeon, herring gull, avocet, dunlin, stonechat, kestrel, whooper swan, willow warbler, sandwich tern, sand martin, linnet, gannet, greater black backed gull, dunnock, roseate tern, guillemot, puffin, kittiwake, swift.

 

 

 

Scones, Top

The Woodhouse

2 Comments

For those of you who know the tiny community of Kinlochard, here’s a question. What would a group of fifty Russians and Greeks be doing in the village? While you are cogitating let us tell you why we are here. As if our Trossachs correspondents don’t do enough, scouring places like Gibraltar and Lithuania for scones, they very kindly invited us to a ‘Scottish night’ at the village hall. They have already had very successful Indian and Italian nights. What a night it was! Excellent Scottish themed food and drink, and even better company.

Just walking the half mile from the house to the hall was exciting. Us townies tend to forget what ‘dark’ means until you are in a place like this. It’s dark! Goodness knows how Rob Roy and his merry band got around without iPhone torches! Unlike larger towns and cities, little places like Kinlochard certainly know how to generate community spirit. And it’s a really nice experience. There were no Russians or Greeks at our night however.

View across Loch Ard with Ben Lomond in the distance
Loch Ard with Ben Lomond in the distance

The Moss

The next day was beautiful. After a wee walk round the village we had to head for home  but decided to visit Flanders Moss on the way. Having attended a fascinating Scottish Wildlife Trust talk about the Moss the previous week we thought we should check it out. Again, it is one of these places that you know of as one of Scotland’s chief defences against the English in times gone by and as a place you drive past frequently. Not as a place you actually ever visit.

View from the viewing tower at Flanders Moss
part of Flanders Moss with Ben Lomond on the left and Ben Ledi on the right

Strictly Come Sconing

It’s a designated National Nature Reserve and now it has a magnificent high viewing platform that provides a brilliant vantage point looking out towards Aberfoyle and the Lake of Menteith. Don’t think there is any connection with Flanders in Belgium. The name seems to be a corruption of an old gaelic word. On the edge of the Moss near to Kippen you come to The Woodhouse. Another of these café farm shops that seem to be popping up everywhere. Interior view of the Woodhouse Café, KippenYou would think there would be a cut-off point where there were too many and they would become  unsustainable? Not yet, they all seem to be really busy and

The Woodhouse is no exception. After our walk, lunch was definitely order of the day however there was no way we could pass up the chance of a scone test so that you, dear sconeys, can know that on your own visit to Flanders Moss it is safe to come here for sustenance. The things we do!

They are quite big so we decided to share one between the four of us … one of the biggest testing panels we have ever assembled. A sort of scone version of Strictly. Scones at the Woodhouse Café, KippenThe tea and scone was presented beautifully with an eclectic range of crockery. And with locally produced butter and cream as well as homemade strawberry jam – four 10s so far. Taste was excellent as well so, without too much deliberation it was declared a topscone. Well done The Woodhouse!

St Andrews day

Oh yes, the Russians and Greeks! They were in Kinlochard for a St Andrew’s night dinner … St Andrew, of course, being the patron saint of Russia and Greece as well as Scotland … but you all knew that! Quite why they should find themselves in Kinlochard however is still a bit of a mystery. Earlier today, St Andrew’s Day, the Prime Minister made a speech saying how proud she was of everything Scottish (the oil price is soaring) while simultaneously Angus Robertson was jeered for wishing the Commons a happy St Andrew’s day. Just have a great day everyone!Cake display at the Woodhouse Café, Kippen

FK8 3JA       tel: 01786 870156        The Woodhouse FB

island, Ordinary, Scones

The Douglas Hotel

3 Comments

We arrived a day early for our Scottish Wildlife Trust outing on Arran and stayed the first night at one of our favourite places, the Kilmichael Country House in Glen Cloy. There were peacocks all over the place. We thought that they would give us a sneaky head start over everyone else with our bird list. They are a pernickety lot however in the SWT. We were left in no doubt that peacocks were not allowed on the list .. verboten! The rest of our stay was to be here at the Douglas in Brodick, just a stone’s throw from the ferry terminal. It’s built from locally quarried red sandstone. In 1782 it spent some time as the doctor’s house until eventually becoming a hotel in 1852.

the MacNab
the MacNab

A couple of years ago it underwent complete modernisation and now terms itself ’boutique’. If ’boutique’ means having vast beds then it definitely qualifies for that sobriquet. If there’s anyone in bed with you, you certainly had to go searching in order to find them! Not sure why they have a large portrait of ‘The MacNab’ in reception. Maybe he liked the beds as well. He never married but had 35 illegitimate children.

Anyway, there was no way we were going to be able to stay here for the best part of a week without sampling their scones. We thought we might as well get it over and done with. Douglas 01We decided to sit out on the patio area overlooking Brodick Bay while a young cheery chap from Kilmarnock buzzed to and fro bringing us tea, coffee, scones etc. The scones were good, full of fruit but hot, almost too hot to handle. Pat had a cheese scone but it had to be left to cool down as well. Not topscones but who cares when you get great service and all you have to do is sit and watch the ferries coming and going. If there is one in you wonder when it will leave. If there isn’t one in you wonder when one will arrive .. exciting!

View from our table
View from our table

Election results

The dust has now settled on the elections and, in Scotland, the media have hailed the results in rather peculiar ways. They have made much of Labour’s continuing failure to recognise that Scotland has changed. They have also trumpeted the Tory’s supposed rejuvenation?? When the Scottish Tory vote collapsed to 24% in 1987 under the much hated Margaret Thatcher, who would have thought that a trifling 30 years later it would have rebounded to 22%. What are they on about?

One thing the media has not made much of is the SNP success. Their achievement – increasing seats and votes after almost 10 years in power is truly astounding yet gets only grudging acknowledgment. If it gets any at all. Anyway, who cares when all you have to do is sit in the sunshine eating scones, watching ferries come and go. Oh, and the red breasted mergansers swimming in the bay. Lots of them, and they’re allowed!

KA27 8AW     tel: 01770 302968      Douglas Hotel

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