Tag Archives: Dingwall

Hettie’s Tearoom

Logo of Hettie's TearoomWe’re on a mission! And, unbelievably perhaps, it’s not for a scone. We are trying to find where my grandfather, John McKinnon, was born. I never knew him but some information has come to light recently so we’re on his trail. He was born at the Heights of Fodderty  just north of Inverness. That’s a long way, 170 miles. We know that our Aussie correspondents would regard this as comparable to a trip to the shops but for us it’s a long way. A stop was required round about the half way mark. That’s why we’re here in Hettie’s Tearoom in Pitlochry.Blackboard at Hettie's Tearoom

Remember our recent somewhat disastrous visit to Woodlea Cafe where chaos reigned and the scones were inedible? Well, this place is the exact opposite. It was busy but the chap at the counter welcomed us and said “I’m sure we can find you a nice wee table somewhere“. Already we were feeling good. The staff here know exactly what they were doing and seem happy doing it … great! 

Oo Oo!

A fruit scone to share was our order. Pat chose a coffee and I chose Oo Oo Butterfly Blue tea. Egg timer at Hettie's TearoomApparently it’s supposed to help you “fly through a bright sunny day” … just the ticket! Hettie’s tearoom is super enthusiastic about tea and they send their special tea blends all over the world. Obviously my tea was loose leaf and came with its own egg timer so that I would know when it was suitable infused. They even give you a second saucer in case you want to remove the little basket of tea leaves. How thoughtful.External view of Hettie's Tearoom

Red kites

We’re always on the lookout for birds and as we sat there we pondered on why we hardly ever see  red kites. And when we do occasionally  see them they always seem to be in relatively small geographical pockets. We reckoned it had to have something to do with them being a reintroduced species but then our attention was interrupted by the arrival of our scone. It was deliciously fresh and came with small pots of jam and cream. They don’t even ask if you want cream it just comes automatically. They know how to do things at Hettie’s Tearoom. Not very crunchy but thoroughly enjoyable nevertheless. Overall this was a delightful experience … topscone!

toilet directions at Hettie's Tearoom
Multilingual directions to the toilets – cludgie is Glaswegian
McKenzies

Grandfather's birthplace at DochnaclearYou probably don’t want to know about my grandfather but we are going to tell you what little we know anyway. It illuminates an era which was not very long ago but now seems like a completely different world. We have never been to the Heights of Fodderty before and it was something of an adventure along almost impassible roads trying to find the house at Dochnaclear where he was born. John’s mother was a McKenzie and believe it or not McKenzie’s still live there. 

Spooky

A red kitePicture of a stagAnd equally unbelievable they run a very successful taxidermy service specialising in red deer. We hadn’t expected that! In one of the large outhouses they showed us a room full of stuffed red deer heads with magnificent antlers all ready for shipment to Dubai. It’s difficult not to feel conflicted about this sort of thing, but given that there are far too many of these fabulous creatures in Scotland doing untold damage to our forests and woodlands. we can just about handle it. And guess what, as we stood chatting a couple of red kites were wheeling overhead … spooky or what? Later we went to the schoolhouse where my great grandfather signed the register for his son’s birth with his mark.

Fodderty schoolhouse
Fodderty old schoolhouse with the mark (copied from the certificate) my great grandfather used
The laird, the doctor and the minister

It had never occurred to me before that members of my family would have been unable to read or write. It’s perfectly obvious, of course, when you think about it. Back then reading and writing was probably the preserve of the laird, the doctor and the minister. Anyway, John eventually moved to Fort Augustus where he married my grandmother, Catherine McDonald, in 1914. I never knew her either because she died four years later giving birth to my mother and her twin sister.

It seems almost inconceivable nowadays that John was left on his own with twin baby girls and their slightly older sister. Nowadays we take so much for granted. There was no NHS back then and social services must have been rudimentary at best. Presumably the local community would have stepped in to help him because all three girls grew up to be very fine women. He died in 1938.

Mission accomplished, we felt very satisfied with our day!

PH16 5AB          tel: 01796 473991            Hetties

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ps: In our wandering along the Heights of Fodderty we unexpectedly came across the Neil Gunn memorial. He is one of my favourite authors but one which I normally associate with Helmsdale, about 100 miles north of here. Turns out he spent the latter part of his live just a couple of hundred yards away from where my grandfather was born. It’s a small world! We also named our eldest daughter (by 5 mins) Kirsty, after a character in his book The Silver Darlings.

Neil Gunn Memorial
The Neil Gunn memorial with the Cromarty Firth and Dingwall in the distance

He wrote in the mornings and spent the afternoons walking. Looking at the state of the world today we will leave you with one of Gunn’s observations as he walked his beloved Heights of Fodderty.

“For at the end of the day, what’s all the bother about?  Simply about human relations, about how we are to live one with another on the old earth. That’s all, ultimately. To understand one another, and to understand what we can about the earth, and, in the process, gather some peace of mind and, with luck, a little delight.”

Storehouse of Foulis

The trip back from John O’ Groats to home is a good six hour drive so sustenance of some kind is called for along the way. We have passed this place, just off the A9 on the banks of the Cromarty Firth many times but, until now, have never managed an actual visit. Exterior view of Storehouse of FoulisThis is Munro country … not hills over 3000 feet, but actual Clan Munro country and, at one time, this was the centre of their empire. The first chief of Clan Munro was Donald O’Caan, Prince of Fermanagh. He came with his followers, from the River Roe in N. Ireland, to help King Malcolm drive out Viking Invaders. In thanks, the King granted Donald all the land between Dingwall and the River Alness. Even today, one thousand years later, it’s still known as ‘Donald’s Land’ and it’s still home to many Munros.

Carts and sloops

It’s rich agricultural land and this storehouse was built in 1740 as a central collection point. Tenants of the estate would bring their oats and barley here. These were then distributed to farm workers as wages or sent off to markets further south by boat together with things like timber and salmon. Boats could land on the gently sloping beach, load up, and then take off at the next high tide. Today, the horses,  carts and sloops of yesteryear no longer come. Now it is a large farm shop/restaurant with lots of car parking. It is busy, busy! Interior view of Storehouse of Foulis

Although it goes like the proverbial fair it runs like a well oiled machine. Lots of people serving and lots just clearing tables and making sure everyone is looked after. We decided to have a spot of lunch and then just share a scone. Normally we would have had a plain or a fruit scone but, just because they had them and in the interests of sconology, we plumped for the chocolate and banana scone??? Life on the edge! A scone at Storehouse of FoulisLunch was fantastic … and the scone? Perhaps it is a little unfair. If we had chosen one of their more common place scones, perhaps it would have got a topscone award. However the chocolate and banana just didn’t do it for us. Near the top in the weird scone category, though!

Oil as a burden

When we look out across the water from the big bay window we can see Nigg and its associated oil platforms parked just offshore.  We don’t believe that Scottish independence should be predicated on oil … far from it. It should be based solely on the right to self determination that all other countries, except Scotland, enjoy.

Nevertheless it is annoying that, during the independence referendum of 2014, oil was depicted as “running out within a few years” and as a “real problem” for the Scottish economy. In fact, production since 2014 has increased by 16% and within the last few weeks a new field (the biggest ever) has been discovered and will come on stream in 2019. It will deliver billions more barrels … but we barely hear about it. We wonder why? Could it be that it falls into the banned “good news for Scotland” category? The Prince of Fermanagh would have had something to say and he wasn’t even from Scotland! The Storehouse of Foulis is great, highly recommend!

IV16 9UX           tel: 01349 830038      Storehouse of Foulis