Tag Archives: MOD

Mariners Coffee Shop

If you were asked to name a village in Scotland which is south of both Carlisle and Durham you might be more than a little perplexed. However, if you were a bit of a smartypants, you might have said, Drummore, at the southern end of the Rhins of Galloway. And you would have been right! We’re here because we decided to visit the  lighthouse which is just two miles further south and as far as you can go without ending up in the sea.

Mull of Galloway lighthouse on a misty day
Mull of Galloway lighthouse … almost!

 

As you can see it wasn’t a great day for visiting lighthouses, or birdwatching or anything else for that matter. Even driving was difficult. We found out later that it was only this little area that was under a cloud, about 15 miles away the whole country was bathed in sunshine … c’est la vie! Hence we ended up at the Mariners Coffee Shop hoping to brighten our mood if not the weather. Not sure about brightening our mood but it certainly changed it. This place is a tad different!Internal view of Mariners Coffee Shop in Drummore, Mull of Galloway

Bike enthusiasts

A veritable cornucopia of what might otherwise be justifiably called ‘junk’. It’s soooo bad, it’s good! There’s a drum kit as you come in and behind that a motorbike in the window. Not just any old plastic replica but an actual full sized motorbike. Goodness knows why it’s there, it’s not on display or anything. It’s just there taking up room. Given the motorbikes outside you begin to understand that this place may be owned by bike enthusiasts. As if further evidence was needed the ceiling is completely covered in old speedway progammes from all over the UK. Internal view of Mariners Coffee Shop in Drummore, Mull of Galloway

Fred Wedlock greatest hits

Music enthusiasts as well! One wall was decorated with old vinyl LPs. Not the covers but the actual records and they displayed somewhat diverse tastes … Elvis, the Beatles, Santana, Chopin Nocturnes, Bob Dylan, Elaine Delmar and, of course, Fred Wedlock’s Greatest Hits. Internal view of Mariners Coffee Shop in Drummore, Mull of Galloway

Southerly scones

The amount of stuff in here is slightly overwhelming, everywhere you look there is something else. In amongst it all though we did notice some scones. Pat decided  on cheese while I went for my usual fruit. A scone at the Mariners Coffee Shop in Drummore, Mull of GallowayUnfortunately they did not live up to their exotic surroundings. Or maybe they did? Mine was okay but nothing special while Pat left half of hers … disappointing. No topscone but this would have qualified as Scotland’s most southerly scone had it not been for the fact that there was a scone bearing cafe at the lighthouse. It was a typical touristy kind of place, however, so we decided to give it a miss. This place had much more in the way of quirky character but probably has to settle for second most southerly scone. A K2/K6 telephone box near Drummore on the Mull of Galloway

Likewise the prize for Scotland’s most southerly telephone box would have gone to a Saracen foundry K6 in the village but we accidentaly deleted the photo, sorry! The eagle eyed Pat however spotted this K6 at a farm not far from the village, so maybe it should take the prize … it’s a bit on the small side and might even be a K2. Difficult to tell sometimes when they are manufactured in China, no attention to detail. No idea why it’s there either!'Big Scare' MOD map of Luce Bay

Big scare

Outside the village there was an interesting map in the sand dunes showing Luce Bay with a bit outlined in red which is designated a danger area by the Ministry Of Defence. They use it to test weapons. For some reason the most southerly bit is labeled “Big Scare“! Ooooh, that should keep Putin at bay! What with the Facebook, Skripal, and Windrush scandals still going strong and, the ultimate distractions of Royal babies and weddings, Brexit has all but vanished off the radar. Among all the clutter  in the Mariners however was a sign which probably sums up the ongoing Brexit negotiations.Pigs flying sign at the Mariners Coffee Shop in Drummore, Mull of GallowayDG9 9PS            tel: 01776 840550               Mariners Coffee ShopTA

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