If you just drive past the ferry terminal at Wemyss Bay going west you immediately come to Skelmorlie. A small but beautiful village that straggles along the Clyde coast towards Largs. Most of the big Victorian houses here were built for Glasgow tobacco barons and all of them have magnificent views across the Clyde towards the Isle of Bute and the Cowal Peninsula.

Reviewing friends

On our way to Rothesay on Bute but were purposely early for the ferry. We had long promised ourselves a visit to friends who run the Clyde tearoom in Skelmorlie. We had been meaning to do it for years. Maybe we hadn’t visited earlier because it’s always tricky reviewing a friend’s scones. What happens if they are rubbish … arrgghh?  The Clyde tearoom is independent from but forms part of the large Strathclyde House retirement home complex and shares some of its facilities. A pretty good symbiotic arrangement. We could have sat outside in the georgeous sunshine and taken in the views across the water. However we decided that the views were good enough from inside. Inside it was.

Our scones when they arrived were accompanied by loads of jam and cream. We needn’t have worried about them not coming up to scratch. They were excellent, with a lovely texture and just the right amount of fruit … spot on! Coffee was great as well!

New warships

For those who are not too familiar with Skelmorlie and that could be quite a few.It’s not exactly on many people’s destination list. You will though have heard of the famous Skelmorlie Mile! No? It’s a measured nautical mile just off the coast which used to be used by the Royal Navy to gauge the speed of their brand spanking new warships. No longer in use we feel that, with Britain’s current isolationist stance, it may not be long before it is revived. Just think of all the trouble we can cause unfettered by the likes of the EU. We may need as many fast warships as we can muster!

Many thanks to A&M for making us so welcome and making our lives easy by providing such good scones and we were in time for the ferry!

PA17 5AN       tel: 07779 720930       The Clyde Tearoom TA