Window on the Trossachs, Scotland

In which we see lochs, learn lessons, and become a little lost...

Something you need to know if you plan to visit Scotland: it can get a little chilly north of the border, and rugging up (putting on a woolly cap and mittens, for instance) becomes essential - even as early as August! It seems this rule extends to bollards on the footpath. On a grey day in Callander, in the Trossachs just north of Glasgow, we found these cheery fellows well-dressed for the cold.

Don't worry if you haven't heard of the Trossachs before. You will know of Loch Lomond, probably from the old song, popular many years ago. 'The bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond' is one line in it, and here is lesson #2 about Scotland. FYI 'bonnie' means good or beautiful – and a loch is a lake. However, you should realise that not all of the words you will hear or read up in the north of Britain will make sense!

This tea towel, which we saw in the window of a waterside souvenir shop, should either be incredibly useful to you - or totally baffling. Good luck with it! Of course the locals, like people anywhere, are friendly and very willing to explain things to visitors, and to proudly share their favourite places.

Lesson #3. Even though Scotland officially uses the same currency as England (GBP - pounds sterling) you will notice bank notes may look different and are marked Bank of Scotland. Occasionally a shopkeeper may even refuse to accept English notes.

 

 

 

Lesson #4. Scotland, and indeed all of Great Britain uses miles, not kilometres. This is one of the older-style local road markers. The small town of Callander was where we stayed on our first night, and naturally we explored it, despite the chilly weather and drizzling rain. 

One thing we have learned about Scottish cooks is that they are great bakers. We saw these cakes are in Callander's main street, in the window of a small bakery, but how delicious they look. Home cooks, too, are skilled at turning out baps, potato cakes and oatcakes, and a host of other wonderful things - especially if they are sweet.

And here we are back at the cafe with the knitted bollards that we saw earlier. Not knowing where to find the best coffee in a strange town is always a problem, but here we solved it easily by asking a local - someone who looked like they would know a good coffee - and they directed us to this place. The name in fact translates as Scotland Deli.

Despite its French name, when we entered we could see it was the sort of place the local mums and littlies gathered for cake and a cuppa after dropping the older children at school. Just look at those cakes, and there was another cabinet crammed with good local cheeses and hams. Shelves held fresh eggs, local products and produce. We knew we had found what we were looking for, and the double-shot coffee (made that way without us asking) certainly braced us for a chilly day of sightseeing.

Lesson #5. Scottish humour is more direct and playful than English humour, which is often dry or relies on puns, and clever plays on words.

This wee (little) gem was indeed this, crammed with everything from sporrans (the hairy purse worn at the front of a kilt) to silver brooches, ornaments, hides and coats.

More baked goodies. The flat breads at lower right are called crumpets here. Those are baps, a soft white plain bun, in the centre, fruit scones at the back, and pikelets or drop scones, lower left.

Our hotel for the night in Callander was the very upmarket candy-pink Roman Camp Hotel, with fairytale turrets and gardens filled with topiary. It was an unusual name, we thought for the loch district of Scotland. However...

....its origin extends back to Roman times like so many places in Britain. The hotel was named because of conspicuous Roman earthworks visible across the meadows to the south of the gardens. There are also remains of a Roman fort at Bochastle north of the town.

Before becoming a hotel in 1930, this was originally a modest manor house built in 1625 for the Dukes of Perth. Read more about the history of the Roman Camp.

Now beautifully appointed, it is a very comfortable place to stay with an impeccable pedigree. The Earl of Moray was one of the original owners. He was a member of one of Scotland's most ancient families that joined the Royal Family via an early ancestor who married a sister of Robert the Bruce. Another Earl was regent of Scotland during the childhoods of King James VI and I, the son of Mary Queen of Scots. 

Nevertheless, we happily settled for the haughty company of a peahen and her chicks outside our room.

Despite the luxurious suites, one of the highlights of any stay here is the food. In Britain (and often Europe) when dining in a top restaurant, guests are invited to relax in the lounge or library while they enjoy a pre-dinner drink and make their choices from the menu. We felt very civilised, indeed, as we followed this custom.

The set menu is grand enough, but what is not listed is the amuse bouche of foie gras with apple jelly which preceded it. The dining room is large and very restrained in lighting and ambience. The uniformed wait-staff came in pairs to deliver each course: one person holding the tray with the plates, the other to unload and carefully place each dish in front of the guest. I do love a bit of theatre with my dinner!

When in Scotland, Scotch beef fillet is the ideal dish to enjoy, especially with girolle mushrooms and truffle shavings. Here it arrives, meltingly tender and surprisingly accompanied by an empanada of braised shin.

After an excellent breakfast the next morning (porridge and cream of course, and all the staples of a good Scottish cooked breakfast) we say goodbye to Madame Peahen, and head off for more explorations.

It's a good thing that the area is quite well signposted, as a peep at the map we had picked up showed a maze of lochs and waterways, inlets and islets. The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, the first national park to be created in Scotland, has 22 lochs. At 24 miles long, Loch Lomond is the largest and, at its deepest point, is deeper than the North Sea.

Most of the roads in the park hug the edges of lochs, so almost every bend will reveal another delightful view. Be prepared to stop often to take a photograph or simply soak up the serenity and beauty of this lovely area. The scenic charms of the Trossachs came to popularity in Britain in 1810 with Sir Walter Scott's poem, The Lady of the Lake, which mentions many local place names, the lady herself being found on Loch Katrine in the centre of the Trossachs. Understandably many artists were drawn to the area as well.

History-lovers find plenty of interest here too. The Clachan Inn in the small town of Drymen, is the oldest registered licensed pub in Scotland, dating from 1734. If you come here be prepared for a log fire most days, and true Scottish hospitality in its bar, restaurant, and comfortable bed and breakfast accommodation.

When driving around Loch Lomond, you have two choices. You may travel on a minor road on the eastern side of the loch, or a main road on the western side. This is Balmaha, a short drive from Drymen on the eastern bank.

Here we chatted to locals and admired the nearby island of Inchcailloch. 'Inch' is the Scottish word for island and we saw it many times on maps and signposts. There are 22 islands in the lochs, and Inchcailloch, a haven for wildlife, is the easiest one to visit with a regular ferry service from Balmaha.

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Of course, when a road finishes, there are always walking tracks and hiking trails, mostly with splashes of pink Scottish heather by the side of them. This hardy plant is a symbol of Scotland and believed to bring good luck to anyone wearing a sprig of it. Find out more about it.....

Our new friends at Balmaha impressed on us that we had to see Tom Weir's statue on the town's shorefront. Tom was a local identity, and known nationally for his his long-running television series Weir's Way. This statue was unveiled in late 2014 on what would have been his 100th birthday.

Tom and his wife had been long-term residents of the town, and he is fondly remembered for all he did to raise awareness of the area and promote Scotland in general.

At this point we decided to switch sides of the loch and join the main road on the western shores. and within a few minutes reached Aldochlay, a lovely corner of Loch Lomond.

Directly across the road from the loch was this extravaganza of blooms. In snatches of bright sunshine, it was eye-achingly colourful, and the amount of work and planning and tending (not to mention weeding) which must have gone into creating and maintaining this beautiful place, made us feel tired just to think of it.

Yet another island at this point – there are twelve just at this lower end of Loch Lomond – and that is Inchtavannach you are looking at.

Just in case you have forgotten that playful Scottish sense of humour, here it is again, sighted on a gate in Luss, almost directly across Loch Lomond from Balmaha.

By now it was lunchtime and we found just what we wanted, at the Coach House Coffee Shop in a side street near the Luss wharf. Not only were we served a Stokie, a soft bread roll like a bap generously filled with cheese and salad and served with a side of coleslaw on tartan-patterned crockery. Even our friendly waiter was dressed in a kilt made with the Loch Lomond tartan.

Luss is one of the key ports on Loch Lomond and waterbuses connect opposite sides of the loch as well as islands. Check details here.

As you would know, Scotland enjoys plenty of rainfall, so it is always advisable to carry a coat and umbrella. Check this site to help you make some decisions about the best time to visit.

Our destination for that night was a newly opened property in the northern part of the Trossachs.

There was nothing on the tourist map were using, but we had the address, and confidently punched into our GPS that magical set of numbers, the postcode, which, in Britain leads you right to the door of the house you want. It was late afternoon, the dark sky threatening rain, but we were used to that too. What could possibly go wrong?

We were to discover that a GPS can only be trusted so far. In the past few weeks, Patsy, our friendly dashboard voice, had never failed us. Yet. However the wilds of middle-Scotland, the area around Balquhidder, and the rutted, one-lane lochside road defeated her. And us.

Somehow we missed seeing this sign (yes, how could we?) and spent about an hour backtracking in rain, to-ing and fro-ing. Each time, as we reached a particular point in the road, Patsy would firmly tell us we were at the property. It was a derelict house, nothing like an upmarket hotel.

'Turn left. Turn left, now!' she kept insisting, 'You have arrived at your destination.' The empty house was so creepy we immediately named it the 'ghost house'. 

Finally, we decided to ignore her and press on a little further, and in just half a mile here we were, arriving at this lovely place. Our relief made it seem an even more welcome sight because of the angst we had been through.

And this is the bedroom we thought we might never see!

High on luxury, safety and finally installed in our accommodation, we learned that the particular postcode for this property, strangely applied to about three others in this remote corner of Scotland. Oh well!

The Monachyle Mhor Hotel is owned and run by the Lewis family, who moved from Abergavenny into this 18th-century farmhouse in 1982. Originally Rob and Jean Lewis offered tea and scones to the many walkers who loved to hike the hills above Loch Voil and Loch Doine.

Slowly it evolved into a B&B serving meals, then to what it is now, a hotel with 16 individually-styled luxurious bedrooms and a reputation for fine food that has reached worldwide.

Carrying on the tradition begun by his mother, award-winning chef-owner Tom Lewis and chef Graham Kerr menus rely on an abundance of produce from the hotel's garden, foraged or hunted from the woods nearby, or specially grown and raised in the local area.

Our unforgettable meal began with an eclectic starter of tiny tastes: pigeon heart, turbot on rosti, beef tartare and potato and fennel gratin, just a hint of what the rest of the meal would bring.

The entree was  delicately flavoured and tender Isle of Mull scallops and local samphire.

Housemade sourdough from a 20-year-old starter, made daily, arrived at the table, a reminder that we had seen the day before the Mhor Bakery in Callander, and not realised the connection. An immediate mental note was made to visit there the next day on the way back to Glasgow.

A dish of Perthshire blackface lamb, tender and so tasty followed. An amuse bouche of locally hunted venison appeared at some point. It had been rolled in coffee and served with pickled beetroot, a reminder that here was a team of chefs that is not afraid to push the boundaries and experiment with tastes. It was - of course - delicious, the texture accentuating the surprising flavours.

Rather than filling a grand space, the restaurant extends through a series of small rooms, a part of it like an enclosed verandah. It has the effect of creating an intimate, romantic ambience and invites plenty of gentle conversation and laughter. The white-clothed tables are set with silver and the waiters wear formal long aprons. There is no sense of posturing for effect, just the feeling that this team of chefs and waiters want each guest to enjoy their experience to the utmost - and they succeed in this totally.

It was inevitable that a large meal like this would have to end; and also inevitable that it would conclude with something so memorable we would still be talking about it days later. Here we have (above) one of the most beautiful desserts ever, lush with macerated strawberries, strawberry semifreddo, rich vanilla ice cream and a top-knot of real flowers. 

After such a dinner the night before, it seemed unlikely that we would ever eat again, but come breakfast time, how could we resist a cup of tea and just a couple of slices of toast - oh, and all right, a perfectly poached egg. More toast? Housemade marmalade? OK.

The view over the slopes towards the loch was mesmerising, and we could see how, on a warmer day, breakfast or lunch on the terrace would be delightful.

With this era's grand makeover of the building it is easy to forget that these are the original buildings. Across the courtyard are the old stables, now welcoming guests.

The next day I caught up with Tom Lewis and he filled me in a little more on the history of Monachyle. I had already been captivated by the story I had been reading in a leather-bound album in our room. It is a great success story and a testament to courage and very hard work. Read more here...

He also explained that the pink exterior of this property and others which we had seen repeatedly in the area, dated from Jacobite times, when places painted this colour were known to be 'safe houses'.

Because of the tranquility of the area, and its apparent isolation, many people choose to stay for a few days, so there are sporting activities available for them too.

Today, the local area is as popular as ever for hill walkers and others who like to exercise on the bare and beautiful slopes. Scotland's colours may often seem muted by mists and cloudy skies, but the rich greens and gold of bracken, and the pink heather is truly beautiful. 

To soon it was time for us to leave, but at Balquhidder, a tiny hamlet a few kilometres away, we stopped on seeing this very strange phone box. It is such a great idea, and I was only sorry I did not have any books with me that I was prepared to swap.

This village is famous for something else though. Rob Roy MacGregor was a 17th-century Scottish outlaw. Born in this area, he joined the Jacobite uprising of Scottish king James II and became a local folk hero, continuing to be involved in disputes and feuds for the rest of his life.

His grave at the small grey church on the hill in Balquhidder, is now an important destination for many tourists in the area.

A splash of colour on a roadside farmhouse.

Back on the main road to Stirling, we take a few minutes to look at yet another part of the Mhor empire. This motel was opened in 2013, as a pitstop at the intersection of the busy A84, Cycle Route 7, and the new Rob Roy Way. 

It is most popular with travellers as coffee and tea and yummy cakes are in full supply, and there is a bar too.

Food is served all day here from 8am to 9pm, great for walkers and travellers.

Time to tick the mental note made the night before, to properly check out the bakery behind that magnificent sourdough. We stop for a few minutes in Callander, before we leave the Trossachs to head for Glasgow.

Better still, there is not just a range of crusty, wholesome loaves, but a few sweet things to munch in the car.

These giant meringues, also available at the motel, aptly sum up the generosity of this lovely part of Scotland.

As we finally hit the road south – pastries from the bakery in our hands – we felt truly privileged to have had a chance to explore the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, to meet its people - and, perhaps, best of all, taste the Trossachs' excellent food.

More information about Scotland.....

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Words and photos: ©Sally Hammond 

Video: ©Gordon Hammond

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(Disclaimer: both Sally and Gordon have Scottish blood and are justly proud of it)

 


(Sally & Gordon Hammond travelled independently to the Trossachs. Their accommodation and dinners at both Roman Camp Hotel Monachyle Mhor Hotel were covered by VisitScotland, but their opinions remain their own.) 

 

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