It’s funny how things work out! Several months ago we fell in with a couple of ladies who got on our London bound train at Edinburgh. They were cousins, one in her nineties, from the south of England and the other, in her seventies, from California. They were great fun. At one point, the one in her nineties waltzed off to the restaurant car for a couple of bottles of wine to have with their sandwiches. We only hope that we can still do that when we are that age. Anyway, as part of our four and a half hour chat they mentioned that the previous day they had been at a fantastic farm café in Fintry. Hold on to that snippet.

Definitely a Marilyn!

Unusually for us, today we find ourselves with nothing to do except please ourselves … wow! It’s a beautiful day, the type you don’t want to waste, so we set of rather aimlessly to go ‘somewhere’. Eventually we found ourselves wending our way alongside Carron Valley reservoir, Falkirk’s water supply, taking in the fantastic autumn colours. On the other side of the water was the Meikle Bin (1,870 ft, not a Munro but definitely a Marilyn), a hill etched in my memory as one on which I pushed a mountain bike to the summit so that my young son could hurtle back down, kamikaze style.

Also on that Sunday morning, there were a lot of other people carrying very heavy objects up the hill. Turned out they were radio hams setting up a UK wide network where lots of other hams, similarly placed on top of hills, could hook up together? Judging by the amount of effort, they must all have been mega-enthusiasts! Wonder if they still do it considering the ease of communications these days?

To cut a long story short, we found ourselves a few miles past Carron Valley, in Fintry at round about scone-o’clock where Pat suddenly remembered that she had noted, on her phone, the name of the farm  given to us by the train ladies … remember? It was called Knockraich and we eventually found it on the Fintry to Kippen road, a road we had never been on before. What an absolute pleasure it was. The café gets its name from the courtyard in which it is situated and the whole place was buzzing with entrepreneurial flair. They bake all their own stuff; sell non-homogenised milk by the litre; make their own ice cream, yoghurt, butter, you name it!

Taking pride

Most of the tables were pre-booked so we had to wait a little while. They also sell furniture, lights and all sorts of other stuff, so a short wait was no hardship. After some recent scone disasters we were hoping for an upturn in our fortunes and The Courtyard looked very promising. The staff were warm, welcoming and seemed to take real pride in what they were doing. Everything came beautifully presented, just as if someone had actually thought about it! Mercifully, the scones were wonderful and it was a pleasure to give them a topscone award. In the summer, the Courtyard, with it’s outside seating area, would be even better. We may be back!

And just when you thought the whole world had gone slightly mad, Fintry itself, seems to be a rare oasis of sanity and bonhomie, with a great sense of community spirit. Fantastic, long may it remain so!

Oval or rectangular office?

Many thanks to our train companions for the recommendation. The lady who lived in California hated it. She had lived there for many years, but would have moved back to England in the blink of an eye if it wasn’t for grandchildren! We discussed the upcoming Presidential elections but, being an alien, she wasn’t allowed to vote. We are sure, with something like twenty four hours to go, that she is counting her blessings. With each of the US presidential hopefuls facing the prospect of having to swap the Oval Office for a more rectangular affair with bars on the windows, you really couldn’t make it up. By the time you receive the next scone post, however, the result will be known …. ooooo, scary!G63 0LN         tel: 01360 860132        Courtyard Café