Tag Archives: Doune

Ordinary, Scones

Woodside Hotel

5 Comments

Sign at the Woodside Hotel, DouneWhen the American War of Independence started in the ironically named Concord in Massachusetts the first shot was fired from a pistol that was made where we are today. Yes, you guessed it, we are in the village of Doune, once famous for its pistol making. The first shot was fired from the American side and we are pretty sure that whoever was on the receiving end wasn’t bothered about where the gun was made. It would be ironic, however, if whoever got shot was from Scotland … or even Doune! Even more ironic if the person firing it was from Scotland as well … we like to be even handed. Today we are not thinking of starting a war but simply to visit the newly reopened Woodside Hotel.

Mosaic at the Woodside Hotel, Doune
Mosaic at the main door
Transformation

For years we have been driving past this place and been dismayed to see it become increasing dilapidated. Snug area the Woodside Hotel, DouneFor a few of years it lay empty. All change, however, because it was recently taken over by people who already run a couple of popular establishments in nearby Stirling and Dunblane. They’ve spent a lot of money and it shows … very pleasantly surprised as soon as we walked in the door.  It has a light airy dining room, a modern bar area and a large coffee lounge.There’s also a nice cosy little snug area with a  wood burning stove. Internal bar view of the Woodside Hotel, Doune

We were seated in a large bay window. A spot of brunch was the order of the day and then a scone to share. A scone at the Woodside Hotel, DouneFirst thing we noticed was the coffee. It was fab and , of course, it turned out to be our favourite Cat’s Pyjamas from Henry’s Coffee Company. They only had fruit scones left and it turned out to be quite a spicy affair with lots of raisins, sultanas as well as things like peel that you don’t normally get. It was very nice and the spiciness was really unusual.  Bit on the large side for our liking and, of course it came with the ubiquitous Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream. Not quite a topscone but delicious nevertheless.

Think we might be back here quite often because one of Pat’s favourite shops is only about 100 yards away.

Internal view of the Woodside Hotel, Doune

Righteous and indignant

It’s a small village but Doune is famous for more than just starting far away wars. It has a castle that’s featured in Outlander, Game of Thrones, Monty Python and the Holy Grail to name but a few. It has a distillery and a huge antique centre. As well as all that it is also a favourite place for the fairy folk. They are often seen dancing on the nearby Fairy Knowe. And if you think that’s a bit far fetched, the news these days seems to be full of balloons. No, not the type we have in government! Huge Chinese ones that are floating over the US’s nuclear arsenal in Montana. Goodness, John Dutton would never have stood for that sort of thing over his Yellowstone ranch. Always amusing when governments get all righteous and indignant about others spying on them …. as if they didn’t do exactly the same!Logo of the Woodside Hotel, Doune

FK16 6AB       tel: 01786 643399        Woodside Hotel

///reset.cherry.overjoyed

Scones, self-service

James’ Coffee Bar

5 Comments

Here’s another random scone. When you walk along Main Street in the peaceful little village of Doune, apart its rather formidable castle, you probably wouldn’t ever imagine that it was once famous for the manufacture of guns. Yet from the mid 1600s to the late 1700s pistol making was the main industry here. All that is long since gone and the reason we come here nowadays is not for guns but for dresses. Or, whenever we think we have accumulated too much money! Woodlane of Doune is an excellent ladies dress shop for sorting that problem out.

It was when Pat was in a changing room that I was asked if we were going across the road to the Buttercup Cafe afterwards. I said that we had been there recently and thought we would try and find somewhere else. “Oh, you should try James’ Coffee Bar” was the reply “It’s open air but it has a roof … and it’s not far from here.“

Internal view of James'

Being outside

We’d never heard of it. We were intrigued … open air in December?  With what little money we had left we took our leave of Woodlane carrying several large bags. The ladies in the shop, however, had given us clear directions to James’ Coffee Bar so we set off to find it. It’s in the middle of nowhere on a road that we never use so that’s why we hadn’t come across it before. It sits adjacent to Stockbridge Nurseries Garden Centre and takes the form of one of those American Airstream aluminium trailers. The seating area is ‘outdoors’ but the roof is extensive and on a dull but nice day like today it was rather good to be ‘outside’.internal view of James'

Local products

The first thing we saw at the counter was the scones and just a few other cakes and things. Then we realised there was huge menu on the wall beside where we were standing. A scone at James'Eventually the order was two bacon rolls and a fruit scone to share. The girls in the trailer were delightful and soon had us sorted with everything we needed. No fine china here but, of course, in an establishment like this that would have been totally inappropriate. Our scone came in a cardboard tub along with a jar of jam, a wee tub of cream and a wooden knife. The coffee, Grumpy Mule was good but no as good as our favourite Cat’s Pyjamas. Puzzles us why people use companies hundreds of miles away while there are local products which are just as good, if not better.

Logo of James'Other than that we really enjoyed James’. It’s a family run enterprise born from the restrictions forced upon them by COVID. When we were finished we simply tipped everything into the appropriate recycling bins. For us it was just a little out of the ordinary and a bit of fun. We hope they go from strength to strength. Now that we know where it is the summer will doubtless see us back at James’.

Football business

For us the World Cup is proving to be not so much fun. In spite of FIFA pretending that they run and organise the event this one is pretty obviously being run by Qatar. Nothing happens without their approval. The whole thing, right down to them piping bird song into newly created parks is just a bit weird. The promised ‘greenest’ World Cup ever has proved to be a joke. Human rights seem to be another joke with all our home teams being too lily livered to wear an armband. Christiano Renaldo ‘not being sure‘ whether to accept £173m for a two year contract in Saudi perhaps illustrates all that is wrong with the modern business of football! AND, we have to have something to moan about!

FK15 9ND         Tel: 07936 078661      James’ Coffee Bar

///star.cello.megawatt

Ordinary, Scones

Cafe Circa revisited

5 Comments

It’s almost six years since we last reported from Cafe Circa. Have we really been doing this for that long?? Definitely confirms our state of mind?Logo of the Scottish Antiques & Arts Centre, Doune

Doune is not far from home so sometimes, if we have a few hours to spare, we come here to the Scottish Antiques & Arts Centre. It’s full of totally random stuff. This is definitely the place to come, to buy things you didn’t know you needed or even wanted. Today, for instance, we bought two coffee cans (one missing a saucer), a Venetian masquerade mask (don’t ask) and an 1893 book “The Tillyloss Scandal”. No idea what the book’s about but it sounds interesting. We’ll let you know!

Obviously, we don’t visit the cafe every time we are here. In the interests of expanding your sconological knowledge  we would normally try and go somewhere else in the vicinity. At this time of year, however, the days are short and it was already starting to get dark as we entered. And, after six years, it needed to be re-reviewed anyway!

Internal view of Cafe Circa in Doune

Nice and cosy in here though. It still occupies the same footprint it did six years ago but the decor has changed considerably! Instead of the usual COVID perspex space dividers they have voiles of thin translucent fabric that create quite a pleasing effect.
Internal view of Cafe Circa in Doune

Recycling

A scone at Cafe Circa in DouneThere were many things we liked about the Cafe Circa scones. The service was great and the presentation with little pots of jam, cream and butter was excellent. We will never know why more restaurants don’t do this! The glass pots (probably recycled from the Tiptree jam you get everywhere) can just be washed out and refilled. A little extra work perhaps but much better for the planet. Unfortunately, the scones themselves (£3.50), although very good, didn’t quite make it as topscones … pity.

Cafe Circa, like everywhere else at this time of year, has their Christmas tree up and the place bedecked in an attempt to engender festive cheer. It’s usually full of people like us trying to figure out why they bought the stuff they’ve acquired a few minutes earlier. Elsewhere, however, Christmas cheer is in short supply. Omicron is on the rampage and has thrown Christmas into doubt yet again. England, at last, has followed the more sensible countries of the UK and reintroduced face masks, social distancing and may even go as far as vaccine pasports. Downing Street frowns on Christmas parties though they see to be okay with it all as long as they are termed “gatherings” or “business meetings”. Look out for mistletoe at future business meetings!!

FK16 6HG       tel: 01786 841683      Cafe Circa FB

///anthems.ourselves.ordering

Scones, Top

Simply Sarah’s

1 Comment

Okay, hands up, we are as bad as Boris when it comes to telling porkies. Having told readers that Norton House would be our last post from Europe here we are sending another! The difference between our porky pies and Boris’s is that ours are purely accidental. Maybe Boris has had an advance batch of the new Liar Wine being launched tomorrow to celebrate our departure from the EU. We honestly did not think we would be posting another scone so soon but here we are at Simply Sarah’s doing just that.

Closing early

On this rather wet day, we found ourselves in Doune shopping in one of Pat’s favourite shops. On the way into the shop, we suddenly realised there was a café almost next door. We had always thought of Doune as being a one-café (the Buttercup Cafe ) village but had never noticed Simply Sarah’s. It’s tiny, maybe that’s why! It had to be done.

Internal view of Simply Sarah's in DouneWhen we say tiny, we mean tiny. Two small tables and a grand total of four seats. Cat swinging is not advised! You might think that this is about as far away as you can get from the Norton House. Well, in many ways it is, however, don’t be so hasty. Sarah is a classically trained chef who used to work in the upmarket  Cromlix House Hotel before it was taken over by Andy Murray … and her experience shows.

We arrived at 2.45 and were warmly welcomed by Sarah. She also warned us that she had to close at 3.00 to go and pick her kiddy up from school. Being the only ones in we had our pick of the tables. We used both! There were two scones left which she had baked earlier in the day. Time was tight but we thought there was just enough to relieve her of those scones and still let her get away.

Prejudices

When the scones came, however, she had preloaded them with butter and jam… no cream. A scone at Simply Sarah'sReaders are probably weary of hearing us bleat on about preloaded scones and places that don’t have cream. Normally these two things alone would bar them from the topscone category. Here, however, at Simply Sarah’s we have decided to throw all these silly prejudices overboard because the scones were sooo good. Soft in the middle and just the right of crunch on the outside. On the strength of the scones, we bought a couple of Sarah’s homemade pies. It turned out that we had plenty of time for our scones. This hard-working lady was busy shutting up shop as we left so we hope she wasn’t late for pickup.Internal view of Simply Sarah's in Doune

Leave the light on

In about nine hours from writing this, we will be out of Europe and bobbing about uncontrollably on a sea of uncertainty like some unsavoury piece of flotsam. Okay, maybe not immediately as we still have the 12 month transition period to get through. But still it will be momentous for all the wrong reasons. The world’s media is descending on Scotland to see how this historic event is commemorated. Don’t expect fireworks here. Brexit has beautifully highlighted Scotland’s democratic deficit. People across the globe now understand the country’s plight better than ever before. Scots are proud Europeans but at 11pm tonight we must prepare to have that part of our national identity forcibly removed.

Perhaps all is not lost, however. As British MEPs were leaving the European Parliament last Wednesday there was a rousing chorus of that quintessentially Scottish song, Auld Lang Syne, accompanied by a promise to ‘”leave the light for Scotland” so it can find its way home. The Scottish Parliament has also refused to lower the EU flag as a symbol to those EU citizens living here that they are still welcome.

Who ate all the pies?

Pies, not the porky pies but the steak and the coronation chicken pies we bought at Simply Sarah’s have since been scoffed. Simply Sarah’s pies are simply the best!

FK16 6BY     tel: 01786 842304       Simply Sarah’s FB

///anchovies.fastening.origin

ps Thanks go to our Oregon correspondents who have informed us that they make vegan scones from recipes in Realm magazine. while listening to the music of Dougie MacLean.

Scones in Realm magasine
Realm magazine

However, they are concerned that the neighbours might start complaining about the Scots balladeer. Now we just happen to know that their garden in Lebanon is huge so they must have Dougie cranked up pretty loud. Anyway, for us, it conjures up a wonderful image of scones being baked to the strains of Caledonia. They must be full of Scottish goodness! Do any other readers have favourite scone making music? This is ours, you may remember it from a previous post at Sarocha’s Cafe, click here to remind yourself of its brilliance.

Scones, Top

Coffee Bothy – revisited

3 Comments
In the late 16th century, Lady Doune of Doune Castle, otherwise known as Margaret Campbell, must have been a formidable woman indeed.  Her son was known as the Bonnie Earl of Moray because of his good looks, athleticism, skill on the dance floor and his love of scones. Haven’t been able to verify this last claim but we just think he would have been an avid sconey. However, these attributes ended up making him an enemy of King James VI whose Queen, Anne of Denmark, was paying too much attention to the Bonnie Earl. Unfortunately the King was a Boris-like knock-kneed slobbering individual with none of the charms of the young Earl. Eventually, James got the Earl of Huntly, otherwise known as the Cock o’ the North, to take “whatever measures necessary” against Moray.
Best laid plans
In 1592, Huntly contrived to burn Moray to death by setting fire to another of Moray’s country seats at Donibristle in Fife. Moray fled with his head on fire but was struck down by Huntly’s men. Huntly drew his dirk and slashed Moray across the face. The Bonnie Earl’s last words were “You, Huntly – you have spoiled a better face than your own!”. Ouch! Definitely a sconey!
Now this may sound a bit like modern day politics. Unbelievably, Huntly, the King and everyone else associated with the dastardly deed denied all knowledge. Sound familiar? We now think that the Duke of York’s current memory problems may actually be a hereditary affliction affecting all aristocracy. No doubt due to centuries of in-breeding!  It’s just a thought but maybe we should cut him some slack … or maybe not?
Mothers
Moray’s mum, Lady Doune wasn’t having any of it and sought to expose all concerned. She had her son’s naked, stabbed and mutilated body put on display in the Kirk of Leith. A painting of the body was made for exhibition. She had his blood stained shirt paraded through the streets of Edinburgh. The outrage was such that the King had to go into hiding for a while in Glasgow and Huntly was imprisoned at Blackness Castle. That’s mothers for you.
Internal view of the Coffee Bothy atDeanston Distillery, DouneAnyway, all this is simply to tell you that today we are in Doune visiting one of Pat’s favourite shops. After a couple of hours of fairly intensive retail therapy, however, we were both in dire need of a scone. So on this -4ºC frosty day we decided to head a few hundred yards along the River Teith to the café at Deanston Distillery. Almost three years since we were last at the Coffee Bothy. so it was due a quality check anyway.External view of Deanston Distillery, DouneThe last time we were here the scones came as a brace and that is still the case. A scone at the Coffee Bothy at Deanston Distillery, DouneThey are quite small but if you want to try two different types, this is the answer. Unfortunately, on this occasion they only had fruit left so that wasn’t an option. Plenty of jam and whipped cream as well so the Coffee Bothy did not disappoint second time around. Just a smidgen off topscones but very enjoyable nevertheless.
You never know the minute
In our last post about the Coffee Bothy we were lamenting the fact that Deanston distillery (about 20 miles from Falkirk) had become the closest to home. It used to be Rosebank distillery (a few hundred yards away) but it closed in 1993. It had produced Scotland’s most light and floral whisky and came to define Lowland whiskies in general. Since then, however, it has been announced that Rosebank is to be completely renovated and will reopen in the next year or so. Not only that, a brand new Falkirk distillery, imaginatively called the Falkirk Distillery, is in the process of being built at the other end of the town and will also be opening within a few months. Bottle of whisky at Deanston Distillery, DouneNow, although this news may not excite all sconeys please remember that both distilleries will undoubtedly feature a coffee shop. Excited now? Watch this space.
For the first time in its history, the BBC has resorted to public challenges to try and get the Prime Minister to be interviewed by Andrew Neil like all the other party leaders. No success so far but don’t be surprised if Neil’s home suddenly goes on fire with him in it.
FK16 6AG            tel: 01786 843013          Coffee Bothy TA
///kneeled.blotches.fooling
Ordinary, Scones

Buttercup Café – Doune

1 Comment

Movies like Ivanhoe, Outlander, Game of Thrones,  Monty Python and the Holy Grail have all been huge box office hits. But what else do you think they might have in common? Yes, okay, they were all filmed here in this tiny hamlet of Doune, or, to be more precise, at the medieval fortress of Doune Castle. However, perhaps the most important thing they have in common is that, in spite of them all being totally unrealistic flights of fancy, they are all sooo much more believable than the current actuality of British politics. The situation has descended to such a level that watching ‘Westminster live’ has become compulsive viewing. Coronation Street has had to take a back seat as the masses switch to watching politicians conniving, lying through their teeth and stabbing each other in the back over Brexit. Some have even taken to stabbing each other in the front! Scriptwriters could not make this stuff up … it’s beyond imagination!

Doune on a wet day
Downtown Doune in the rain

Witches and MPs

This preamble, some might say ramble, is simply to say we are in Doune in the Buttercup Café, just a couple of hundred yards away from the castle. The last time we were in a Buttercup Café it was over a year ago in North Berwick. Back then we reported on how the town tortured and burned witches alive if they failed to conform. Looking at how the Tory party is dealing with its own MPs it seems that little has changed over the centuries.

Internal view of the Buttercup Café, DouneWe had just spent a strenuous few hours rummaging at the local Antique Centre on the outskirts of the village.  As is usual when we visit such places, we bought quite a few items we didn’t need. In spite of knowing we didn’t need them, we bought them anyway. Such is the influence of antique shops over weak willed souls like ourselves. So, when we arrived at the Buttercup we were in severe need of respite and sustenance.

Lovely lunch

Some lunch was called for. The ladiA scone at the Buttercup Café, Dounees here were super attentive and soon had us sorted with everything we needed, including a fruit scone for afters. Everything we had was super good and we were very much looking forward to our scone. Unfortunately it didn’t quite hit the mark. Enjoyable enough but a little bit dry and flowery for our taste. No topscone this time but a great wee café run by lovely people. We thoroughly recommend it.

Only one thing is sure

Now that Jo Johnson has decided to remove himself from the mess that masquerades as British politics we think he has shown an admirable and  excellent example to his brother. Don’t hold your breath though. Somehow Boris gives the impression that it is all, what they would have called at Eton, ‘a jolly jape’. Only one thing seems to be sure. No matter what happens Boris will be just fine and laughing all the way to the bank.

FK16 6BJ      tel: 01786 842511       Buttercup Café Doune FB

///crown.drummers.swooned

Ordinary, Scones

The Coffee Bothy

Logo for the Coffee Bothy at Deanston DistillerySince the closure of our own much missed Rosebank distillery in 1993 we have had to travel almost twenty miles to Deanston  to get to our nearest distillery. Not that we particularly need to get to a distillery. We did the distillery tour several years back. Deanston, however, is always worth a visit, just for the coffee shop if nothing else.

In the beginning

This place actually started life as a cotton mill back in 1785. It employed so many people that they built a model village round the mill in much the same way as David Dale did at New Lanark. Workers were paid in tokens that could only be exchanged at the village shop which, you guessed it, was operated by the mill owner. A perfect monetary circle .. for the owner! In 1966 the cotton industry came to an end and the building was converted to a whisky distillery drawing water from the nearby river Teith. For those of you with twitching tendencies, the river just opposite the distillery is a good spot for seeing common sandpipers. Interior view of the Coffee Bothy at Deanston DistilleryDeanston 03

Initially it was closed to the public but a couple of years back they must have thought they should cash in on the tourism side of the industry. It was opened the place up for distillery tours. Of course, there had to be the obligatory coffee shop. In this case, the Coffee Bothy, one of three such enterprises run by Blairmains Farm. Scones at Deanston DistilleryWe have been here several times before and have always enjoyed it’s good food and good value. When you order a scone you actually get two which, being quite small, isn’t a problem. In fact it’s a positive benefit if you want to try two different kinds. You also get plenty of jam and cream, though unfortunately it’s scooshie cream and you all know what we think of that. Not topscone but very enjoyable nevertheless.

UK economy

Much of the movie ‘The Angel’s Share’ was filmed here. For those unfamiliar with the term ‘angel’s share’ perhaps we can explain it like this. Imagine that our UK economy is the whisky in a barrel. Deanston Distilley name on barrelBy a process akin to osmosis, over the years, the whisky evaporates through the wood and upwards to the angels who gradually get happier and happier. They can hardly believe their luck. Meanwhile the whisky in the barrel gets less and less and weaker and weaker. Think you can see where we are going with this.

Eventually the barrel is empty and useless but in the process a few angels have become very happy indeed. A perfect analogy for Osborne’s UK economy. Sell off everything that belongs to the people to your mates at knockdown prices. Then hire it all back to the people at extortionate rates .. brilliant! We think he may have worked in that Deanston shop at one time!

If you haven’t done the Deanston distillery tour, you should. It is fascinating .. and then go to the Coffee Bothy for a brace of scones. A good day out and there is something strangely comforting about eating scones surrounded by two million litres of the amber nectar.A stag's head at the Coffee Bothy at Deanston Distillery

FK16 6AG             tel:01786 843013                The Bothy

Ordinary

Café Circa Doune

1 Comment

Wondering what to do when the rain is thrashing it down outside but you just want to ‘get out’? You could do a lot worse than a visit to  the Scottish Antique and Arts Centre on the outskirts of Doune. If you like a good rummage it will take quite a few hours to do the whole place justice. There are lots of different stands offering literally everything from a needle to an anchor. Thirsty work of course so it is just as well that there is a nice cafe area called Café Circa. A scone at Cafe Circa Doune at Scottish Antique and Arts Centre

We ordered the obligatory scone and when it arrived our appetites were whetted by the presentation. Nice cups, cream in a fine china teacup, jam and butter in little pots, everything sprinkled with icing sugar. What’s not to like? Well, the scones actually. They were home baked but for some reason they just tasted like something was missing. Maybe it was salt because they seemed more like bread than scones. The baking had also been a bit overdone with the base especially being very hard and crunchy. The cream was scooshie, which is never a great option. Whatever the missing ingredient is, we hope they find it soon because otherwise this is a good place to visit.

There seems to be something missing in the North of England as well with over 12,000 (73%) people surveyed in the Liverpool Echo wanting to join Scotland in the event of it ever becoming independent. Can it be that what they are missing is a voice? The times just get stranger and stranger!

FK16 6HG           tel: 01786 841683              Cafe Circa