Tag Archives: Rocco

Dornoch Castle Hotel

Where would you go when there is barely a cloud in the sky and you fancy a walk on a beach? Dornoch, obviously. There is also a link between this post and the previous post for the Cafe at the Carnegie Hall in Portmahomack because just up the road from Dornoch is Skibo Castle. It was once the home of philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. Dornoch itself is famous for many things. The last witch in Scotland was burned here in 1727. The golf course is judged to be the 5th best outside the US. The thirteenth-century Cathedral and Pat’s first holiday destination when she was at school. Most famously of all, of course, Madonna had her son, Rocco, christened in the Cathedral before her marriage at Skibo!!

Buckets and spades
the beach at Dornoch
the beach at Dornoch

Having little  requirement for burning, golfing or christening, we headed for the beach .. and what a beach! Miles of beautiful sand stretching as far as you could see. Needless to say, in early April, it’s not quite warm enough for lazing around on. We had also forgotten our buckets and spades. It wasn’t too long before we thought that a scone wouldn’t go amiss. We knew that there were good scones at Gordon House because we reviewed them last year. In the interests of continuing research however, we thought we should try somewhere different. So here we are at Dornoch Castle Hotel, just across the road from the Cathedral. Dornoch 03

Originally built as the Bishop’s Palace, it has been here quite a while and certainly retains some of its old-world charm. Eight foot thick stone walls and a big welcoming log fire. The hotel is a slightly odd mixture of old and new. The bar area, where we were, being quite characterful but the dining room at the rear of the hotel is very modern and seems strangely out of keeping. Dornoch 05Never mind that though what about the scone testing. Well, once again the scones were okay, but nothing to write home about. So what exactly are we doing writing about them .. answers on a postcard? They were nicely presented with jam and a pot of whipped cream but the scones themselves were definitely not topscone material, though enjoyable enough.

End of an era

We had an Englishman with us so we had to post a photo of his effort at preparing a scone. These days we are nervous about not giving glowing reviews because, in the past week, we were given the devastating news that McEwens of Perth had suddenly closed down. Some disingenuous folk have suggesting that it was because we did not rate their scones highly enough. Joking aside this really is bad news because McEwens w

Oh dear, cream first??
Oh dear, cream first??

as one of our favourite shops. Family run, a bit quirky, a bit old fashioned, a bit of an institution. It’s passing is very sad, it will be sorely missed, especially by the 130 people who worked there. For Perthshire, it is the equivalent of Tata Steel closing down in Port Talbot but we don’t think there will be any similar governmental attempts at a rescue package. End of an era.

So, although Dornoch Castle Hotel did not get a topscone award either we really hope, in spite of that, it continues to prosper for many years to come.

excellent whisky display
excellent whisky display

IV25 3SD         tel: 01862 810216        Dornoch Castle Hotel

Gordon House

Dornoch is a beautiful little town just north of Inverness. In her schooldays Pat used to come here on holiday. It is centered round the Cathedral which held its first service in 1239. However, recently it has become more famous for the christening of Madonna’s son Rocco in 2000. There is also a world class golf course (voted 5th best course outside the USA) and a fantastic blue flag beach. In many ways Dornoch has it all. However, the burning question is, can any of its many eateries  produce a decent scone?

Amongst all the antique shops and hotels there are lots of possibilities but we eventually chose Gordon House on the High Street close to the cathedral.Lots going on here as well because Gordon House combines a gift shop, art gallery and café. Great selection of delicious looking home baking but of course it had to be the scones for us.
After a poor start to the day the weather

Internal view at Gordon House in Dornoch
Cafe area behind the displays

had cleared up nicely so we sat outside and watched the good people of the town going about their business. The last witch to be burned to death in Scotland met her unfortunate end here in 1727. We were hoping the same fate had not been dished out to the scones.

Talking of witches, we hear that the Home Secretary thinks that the UK will face its worst constitutional crisis since Edward VIII abdicated if Scots get involved in democracy … and London has banned bagpipes!

Bonkers

The world truly has gone bonkers. A scone at Gordon House in Dornoch This snippet from NewsBiscuit kind of sums it up. “Meanwhile along the north coast of France coastguards and emergency services have been working round the clock to cope with boat loads of Daily Mail readers crossing the Channel in dangerously overcrowded makeshift vessels. ‘They come here seeking a better life and to get away from persecution,’ said François Berthand, manager of the Calais Detention Centre known locally as ‘Little England’. ‘They come here telling tales of being forced to eat Tunnocks tea-cakes, ceilidh dancing and longer-term deficit reduction strategies. Some weep uncontrollably and hug and kiss us. When they start being nice to the French, you know something must have really spooked them’”.

Lighting

No worries about burnt scones though, when they arrived they looked ‘proper’ and tasted really good. No cream but sometimes you just have to rough it. We also think that the artist exhibiting in the gallery was the self same artist who baked the scones. Now that’s talent. It is always nice to come across a place which is making a big effort to cater to a wide range of customers, and succeeding. Well done … but change that LED lighting. It may be efficient but it looks weird, you can get warmer ones!

IV25 3SH             tel: 01862 811737          Gordon House