Tag Archives: Ben A’an

Ordinary, Scones

Brig o’ Turk Tearoom

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In the past, whenever we have been here in this part of the Trossachs, the Brig o’ Turk Tearoom has been closed. Today we seem to be retracing events of 1973 when we got married in a Glasgow registry office before driving in HAL, our trusty Citroen Dyane, to the village of Strathyre for our reception.

Pat with HAL in 1972

As we drove over the Duke’s Pass with its multiplicity of hairpin bends we marvelled at the fact that we ever made it to Strathyre. With four of us in the car it must have taken all of HAL’s 602cc to power us up these inclines (he was named after the computer that had a mind of its own in 2001, Space Odyssey). In terms of performance  HAL, with a following wind, could do 0-60mph slightly faster than it takes to soft boil an egg. We loved HAL dearly and were very sad when we eventually had to go our separate ways.

Today we are in another French car but much more powerful … no need to take account of the wind direction. We descended the other side of the Pass and were treated to fabulous views of Ben A’an and  the surrounding hills. We felt we were very lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world. And as if to confirm that thought, when we reached the tiny hamlet of Brig o’ Turk, the tearoom was open … lucky, lucky, lucky!

Salacious

Externally it looks like a big green shed but it’s a big green shed that’s been here for 100 years. It first opened its doors in 1923 and it’s been fairly eventful.  The tearoom was used as a set in the remake of the film “the 39 Steps”. Brig o’ Turk was also the setting for a famous love triangle. It was between the much celebrated writer,  artist and philosopher, John Ruskin, his wife Effie Gray and John Everett Millais. The affair has been made into a Netflix film “Effie Gray“. If you want more detail you should watch it. The story is much too salacious to be recounted on an erudite, genteel scone blog such as this.Internal view of Brig o' Turk Tearoom

Veggie

Internally it looks quite pleasant but still rather shed like. We were going to be eating again later so for now we just wanted tea and a scone. A scone at Brig o' Turk TearoomIt’s one of these places which is enthusiastically vegatarian. They are determined that you will leave healthier than when you came in. They pride themselves on their local produce … even the menu is limited until their vegetable garden starts to produce. Why then is their Meadow Churn butter not local and from the Iceland supermarket? Of course, there was no cream so just the scone  with the butter and some jam. It was all rather nice though and we were happy that we had managed to  visit the tearoom at long last.Logo of Brig o' Turk Tearoom

Just a few hundred yards from the tearoom lies the bicycle tree. A young man going off to fight in WWI left his bike lying against the tree. It either says something for the honesty of the neighbourhood or the state of his bike that it wasn’t stolen. He never returned to collect it and the tree slowly grew up round about it. Parts of the bike can still be seen about eight feet up protruding from the trunk. In 2015 it was given protected status. It’s not a threat to anyone competing in the Tour de France although the young man probably died there.External view of Brig o' Turk Tearoom

Don’t mess

The Westminster politicians currently messing with the devolution settlement for Scotland should be thankful that they won’t have to deal with Ellen Stewart. She’s a bit of a hero with folks in Brig o’ Turk. In 1650 when Cromwell’s army was blazing a bloody trail across Scotland leaving thousands dead they eventually came to the Trossachs. For safety the locals decided to place their women and children on an island on Loch Katrine. However, when an English soldier decided to swim out and capture their boat he hadn’t reckoned with the women folk in these parts. As he clambered up the rocks on the beach Ellen promptly chopped his head off with a sword. Don’t mess with the Scots … especially the women!

FK17 8HT        Tel: 01877 376283     Brig o’ Turk Tearoom

///crispy.shallower.lashed

ps: the other day, friends invited us round to their house for an afternoon catchup and some nibbles. The nibbles, of course, turned out to be scones.

Half were plain and the other half were fruit. Gently warmed by the sun, lots of jam and cream and the company of good friends … lucky, lucky, lucky again!

pps: recently I was lamenting to a Texan singer/songwriter friend that the older I got the less I seem to understand. She replied that knowing how little you know is in itself, wisdom. Okay, it was never in doubt but I would just like readers to know that although I don’t know anything, I am wise!

Ordinary, Scones

Brenachoile Café

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Here we are in the Trossachs … again! If you are going for a sail around Loch Katrine on the Sir Walter Scott steamship you will have to get on board here at Trossachs Pier. It’s a busy place because the smaller Lady of the Lake also does cruises. Also Katrinewheelz  will kit you out if you want to cycle round the loch to Stronachlachar … busy, busy!  The Brenachoile Café sits on the hill above the car park giving it a great view of the loch and all the activity below.

View from the café
View from the café

The Last Eighty and the Great British Pound

We were just passing the time while some our younger and fitter compadres climbed the nearby Ben A’an. A fantastic wee hill that, once upon a time, we used for practice rock climbs. It even has it’s own guide book. I distinctly remember ‘The Last Eighty‘ causing me some problems. It was a dull day so the prospect of a good cuppa and a scone was uppermost in our minds. Sadly it was not to be.
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The Brenachoile Café probably suffers in the same way as many such places that have a captive audience .. if you don’t come here there is nothing else for miles, so they, unfortunately, can get away with inferior food and inferior service. They don’t close until 6 but at 3.30 they were piling chairs onto tables as if they were closing … not a good look and more than a little unwelcoming. What a shame when the whole place is buzzing! Brenachoile 03Our coffee was okay but the scone was pretty dire and just as disappointing as the rest of the place.

Almost as disappointing as Bloomberg’s 2016 report on the performance of world currencies. The great British pound languishes in last place as the worst in the world, just behind the Argentinian peso. Still, none of that matters a jot when we have wall to wall coverage of things totally meaningless in Rio … like a cosy anaesthetising blanket!  As long as Team GB is doing well, we don’t need to know about anything else … do we? The Brenachoile is run by the Winnock Hotel in Drymen. There is much room for improvement before they see any medals or awards from us!Brenachoile 04FK17 8JA         tel: 01877 376799            Brenachoile Café