Tag Archives: Arran

The Douglas Hotel – Again

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?

 

The Wineport- Again

This is yet another repost from 2016 at the Wineport on the Isle of Arran. Yes, even we are surprised at how many island scones we have consumed. Back in March, we were trying to narrow it down when we decided to repost island scones. But who would have thought we would still be doing it in the middle of July? Amazing but let’s get on with some serious grouching.

The 51st State

Day by day the UK is becoming more and more like the US. As the Union comes under increasing strain over COVID, no UK government official can now be seen on TV without the background being draped in Union Jacks. A  desperate sign of newfound insecurities. Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon gets vilified for saying that she cannot rule out health checks on the border with England. Meanwhile, in Australia, the government has just closed the border between Victoria and New South Wales for exactly that reason. These are just two states within a country whereas Scotland and England are two different countries? Make of that what you will!

And like the US, our UK government now has a department to explain what our Prime Minister means when he speaks. Again like the US, usually, the exact opposite of what was actually said. In anticipation of the inevitable enquiry into their lamentable handling of coronavirus, Boris has attempted to offload blame. He said, “We discovered too many care homes didn’t really follow the procedures in the way that they could have.” In true Trumpian style officials then lined up to say that what he really meant was that care homes had done an absolutely brilliant and outstanding job. Unbelievable!

Back to 2016

This is a lovely spot, in Cladach on the outskirts of Brodick.  Cladach actually used to be the main village before modern Brodick was built on the south side of the bay. Now, most of the former houses are used for small businesses. The Wineport is just one example. It probably derives its name from a small harbour area, now disused, a short way along the coast which at one time would have been used by all ferries and imports to the island.

Last year it came under new management and now provides a fantastic family-friendly relaxed atmosphere with all the facilities you could think of. Unlike Brodick Castle they use lots of local food and drink suppliers such as; Arran Dairies, The Arran Butcher, Island Cheese Company, Creelers, Arran Brewery, Taste of Arran, Arran Ceramics, and Arran Aromatics. That’s more like it. This place can show the National Trust for Scotland how to do it!

Outside the front door is a large beer garden, perfect for our kind of birdwatching. It’s at the start of the path up Goatfell, maybe we would catch sight of an eagle? Wineport 03We sampled some of the local beer and then because we had seen some scones on the bar, we thought we should give one a try. It came with lots of jam and the coffee came with a little piece of millionaires shortbread … nice touch. The scone was fine, lots of fruit but just a tad on the heavy side.

Summary

So, by way of a recap … as we sadly prepare to leave Arran after a great trip, all the scones have been enjoyable enough but we are left with a total of one topscone -at Machrie Bay Tearoom. Well done them. Wineport 02

Barcelona and the Saltire

Today, of course, is football day with the English and Scottish Cup Finals both being played. Arguably of more interest, however, is the Copa Del Ray cup final in Madrid between Barcelona and Sevilla. The Catalans are just as uppity as the Scots so the Spanish government, in their infinite wisdom, banned the use of the Estelada  (Catalan flag) at the game. The Barcelona supporters, however, said they would use the Scottish Saltire instead. That was enough for the government to revoke its ban … the power of the Saltire!  Grey wagtail might be the last to be added to the list. But we still have a little time left on Arran, so our final bird count won’t be revealed until the next post. Will there be an eagle on it?

KA27 8DE      tel: 01770 302101         The Wineport

Earlier we were berating the National Trust for Scotland for not stocking Scottish produce in their cafés. Yesterday, at least they managed now got rid of their odious President, Neil Oliver over the equally odious David Starkey affair. His leaving may provide the Trust, with all its dukes, barons, earls and lords with a long-overdue and much-needed opportunity to have a long hard look at itself and how it manages its affairs.

shed on the west coast of the Isle of Arran
What’s left of a shed near Balliekine on Arran’s west coast

 

Felicity’s at Eden Lodge – Again

It was back in May 2018 that we visited Felicity’s at Eden Lodge at Whiting Bay on the Isle of Arran. Not that long ago but David Cameron was at No 10 and Brexit was still a hot topic. Time really does fly! Arran, because of its scenic diversity, is sometimes called “Scotland in Miniature.” If you only had a couple of days to “do” Scotland you would be hard pushed to do better than spend them on Arran … little bits of everything Scotland has to offer. We recommend, however, that once this COVID-19 lockdown is eased you take much longer and Visit Scotland … spoil yourself “you’re worth it”. Anyway …

Kings Cross Point looking towards Brodick and Goatfell, Holy Isle on the right
Kings Cross Point looking towards Brodick and Goatfell, Holy Isle on the right

We are at beautiful Kings Cross Point, just opposite the Buddhist retreat of Holy Isle. After a morning spent bird watching and exploring Viking forts, we were well and truly in need of refreshment by the time we reached Whiting Bay. We have decided that all tourists to Arran should have to go on a course. It would explain when things are open on the island. Some are closed on Mondays, some Tuesdays and others are closed on Wednesdays … confusing! Felicity's 01

Having tried some places that were closed we ended up here at Felicity’s at Eden Lodge. in a way, we were happy because this place was probably the nicest. The couple who run it have only had it a year and don’t have the hotel side of things operational yet but when they do it should be good. They did their training at Gleneagles. We were looked after by a young chap from Rockhampton in Northern Queensland. He had been on Arran for about three months but was struggling with the heat!!

Scorchio

We got ourselves a table beside the bowling green … and, away from the sea breeze, it was scorchio! A scone at Felicity's of Eden Lodge, Isle of ArranWhen our scones arrived, complete with jam and clotted cream, it was obvious we would have to scoff them pretty quickly before the cream melted. This we did, and they were very good, but once again not quite topscones. Would we ever get an Arran topscone before we had to leave the island? Worrying!

Pretend birdwatching

As dedicated bird watchers, we have discovered something. When you are sitting there, replete with scones and coffee, the gentle sound of waves on the shore, shades on, faces pointing to the sun,  you can pretend you are earnestly looking for golden eagles. Though snoring does tend to give the game away.

Dirty tricks

Cameron has also been caught out with his back-door dealings with big businesses, like Serco, to back his ‘Remain’ campaign. We are not backing ‘Leave’ or ‘Remain’ yet but we don’t like the tactics. Just as we didn’t like them in the Scottish referendum. Oh, and joy of joys, the world’s largest oil field has been discovered off Shetland. Did you know that? Barely a word about it in the press or on TV. On the basis that nothing remotely good for Scotland can be reported it is hardly surprising. It might make us more uppity than we already are. Anyway, besides all that, is that a golden eagle or a swallow?

KA27 8QH           tel: 01770 700357               Felicity’s

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be in retreat across Europe at least. A sense of normality is beginning to take hold. It’s curious to think that it took something like coronavirus to bring the world together in a single shared experience. Not a religion, not a culture but a virus. Let’s hope that the shared experience ends up being something beneficial though even now, after George Floyd, arguments rage about race, creed and statues abound. We think Ella Wheeler Wilcox got it pretty much spot on when she said in Voice Of The Voiceless

So many gods, so many creeds,

So many paths that wind and wind,

While just the art of being kind

Is all the sad world needs.”

And scones, of course!

ARRAN SHED

A shed at Whiting Bay on Arran
Whiting Bay Gala Day. A shed at the putting competition … only a dog waiting.

 

Brodick Castle – Again

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

Machrie Bay Tearoom – Again

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.

Portavadie Marina

A ghost village

On our way home now and, after a fond farewell to Arran, we  crossed from Tarbert to Portvadie on the ferry that had broken down on our outward journey. Portavadie is a remarkable, thriving marina in one of the most out of the way places imaginable. What is now the marina was originally created as a dry dock in the 70s to build oil platforms.  They were supposed to exploit west coast oil reserves.

the ghost village of Polphail
the ghost village of Polphail
Ineptitude

The MOD, however put the kibosh on the whole thing when they said it would interfere with their nuclear submarines going to and from Faslane. The project was dropped, but not before a whole village had been built and equipped to accommodate 500 workers … but never occupied. What is now referred to as the ghost village of Polphail, stands like a monument to government ineptitude.

The local people told us, perhaps in typical Highland fashion, that after it was abandoned, they were able to just go in and remove fridges, washing machines, televisions, tumble dryers. Indeed, all the fixtures and fittings. When we were here last year we got a chance to explore and take some pictures. It’s a sad, eerie place. Portavadie 02

The marina on the other hand, just a few hundred yards away, is like another world. Shops, swimming pools, restaurants and millions of pounds worth of yachts tied up to the pontoons. The contrast could hardly be more stark.

Hard scones

Another wonderful day but this time we decided to sit inside. The staff were extremely attentive but there were so many of them they got our order a bit muddled up … too many cooks. Eventually they got it right but without a shadow of doubt these were the worst scones we have ever had. Portavadie 07Pat’s, especially, was as hard as a brick … couldn’t even cut it with her knife. Mine was hard too but at least I could get into it. There were profuse apologies and Pat’s was taken away (presumably to be used as ballast on one of the boats) and exchanged for another.It was much better but still pretty awful.

We wondered if it was a case of style over substance i.e. the surroundings were so swanky and lavish that expectations were raised to an unrealistic level. No, they were just terrible scones … and it’s not often we say that! It’s a shame because this really is a fabulous place. Great for a holiday with the kids, so don’t let the scones put you off visiting.

Scotland goes green

Don’t see it ever happening, but perhaps, if we could get rid of our weapons of mass destruction, the Clyde oil reserves may yet be exploited.  Portavadie 05Having said that, with the world being awash with oil at the moment, it hardly needs more of it. Good news though on the greener side of things with the world’s biggest floating offshore windfarm set to be commissioned next year off Peterhead. It is being built by Statoil the Norwegian state owned oil company. Great, but where is our own government when it comes to wind power? Oh yes, reducing support for green energy in favour of nuclear, brilliant! Portavadie 06

The final count

Okay, what you have all been dying to know. The final bird count for our Arran trip .. the grand total was 52. Not bad. Slightly surprising though that, having been near the sea almost all the time, there were relatively few waders. No redshanks, no sanderlings, no knot and relatively few ducks. Pat saw so many eiders though that she got a bit of a down on them … sorry! In spite of no eagles being spotted, and in spite of finishing on the worst scone ever, it was a great week.

You will be happy to know that the recent blizzard of scone blogs will now be calmed down considerably. We are all sconed out. Many thanks to our traveling companions for their forbearance.

PA21 2DA    tel: 01700 811075      Portavadie Spa & Liesure Centre

The Wineport

This is a lovely spot, in Cladach on the outskirts of Brodick.  Cladach actually used to be the main village before modern Brodick was built on the south side of the bay. Now most of the former houses are used for small businesses. The Wineport is just one example. It probably derives its name from a small harbour area, now disused, a short way along the coast which at one time would have been used by all ferries and imports to the island.

Last year it came under new management and now provides a fantastic family friendly relaxed atmosphere with all the facilities you could think of. Unlike Brodick Castle they use lots of local food and drink suppliers such as; Arran Dairies, The Arran Butcher, Island Cheese Company, Creelers, Arran Brewery, Taste of Arran, Arran Ceramics, and Arran Aromatics. That’s more like it. This place can show the NTS how to do it!

Outside the front door is a large beer garden, perfect for our kind of birdwatching. It’s at the start of the path up Goatfell, maybe we would catch sight of an eagle? Wineport 03We sampled some of the local beer and then, because we had seen some scones on the bar, we thought we should give one a try. It came with lots of jam and the coffee came with a little piece of millionaires shortbread … nice touch. The scone was fine, lots of fruit but just a tad on the heavy side.

So, by way of a recap … as we sadly prepare to leave Arran after a great trip, all the scones have been enjoyable enough but we are left with a total of one topscone -at Machrie Bay Tearoom. Well done them. Wineport 02

Barcelona and the Saltire

Today, of course, is football day with the English and Scottish Cup Finals both being played. Arguably of more interest, however, is the Copa Del Ray cup final in Madrid between Barcelona and Sevilla. The Catalans are just as uppity as the Scots so the Spanish government, in their infinite wisdom, banned the use of the Estelada  (Catalan flag) at the game. The Barcelona supporters, however, said they would use the Scottish Saltire instead. That was enough for the government to revoke it’s ban … the power of the Saltire!  Grey wagtail might be the last to be added to the list, but we still have a little time left on Arran, so our final bird count won’t be revealed until the next post. Will there be an eagle on it?

KA27 8DE      tel: 01770 302101         The Wineport

Brodick Castle

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 traveled 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

Machrie Bay Tearoom

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 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

Felicity’s at Eden Lodge

Kings Cross Point looking towards Brodick and Goatfell, Holy Isle on the right
Kings Cross Point looking towards Brodick and Goatfell, Holy Isle on the right

We are at beautiful Kings Cross Point, just opposite the buddhist retreat of Holy Isle. After a morning spent bird watching and exploring Viking forts, we were well and truly in need of refreshment by the time we reached Felicity’s at Eden Lodge in Whiting Bay. We have decided that all tourists to Arran should have to go on a course. It would explain when things are open on the island. Some are closed on Mondays, some Tuesdays and others are closed on Wednesdays … confusing! Felicity's 01

Having tried some places that were closed we ended up here at Felicity’s at Eden Lodge. in a way, we were happy because this place was probably the nicest. The couple who run it have only had it a year and don’t have the hotel side of things operational yet but when they do it should be good. They did their training at Gleneagles. We were looked after by a young chap from Rockhampton in Northern Queensland. He had been on Arran for about three months but was struggling with the heat!!

We got ourselves a table beside the bowling green … and, away from the sea breeze, it was scorchio! A scone at Felicity's of Eden Lodge, Isle of ArranWhen our scones arrived, complete with jam and clotted cream, it was obvious we would have to scoff them pretty quickly before the cream melted. This we did, and they were very good, but once again not quite topscones. Would we ever get an Arran topscone before we had to leave the island? Worrying!

Pretend birdwatching

As dedicated bird watchers, we have discovered something. When you are sitting there, replete with scones and coffee, the gentle sound of waves on the shore, shades on, faces pointing to the sun,  you can pretend you are earnestly looking for golden eagles. Though snoring does tend to give the game away.

Dirty tricks

Cameron has also been caught out with his back-door dealings with big businesses, like Serco, to back his ‘Remain’ campaign. We are not backing ‘Leave’ or ‘Remain’ yet but we don’t like the tactics. Just as we didn’t like them in the Scottish referendum. Oh, and joy of joys, the world’s largest oil field has been discovered off Shetland. Did you know that? Barely a word about it in the press or on TV. On the basis that nothing remotely good for Scotland can be reported it is hardly surprising. It might make us more uppity than we already are. Anyway, besides all that, is that a golden eagle or a swallow?

KA27 8QH           tel: 01770 700357               Felicity’s