It was a gloriously sunny day in Perthshire yesterday, and we fancied a trip out somewhere. We settled on the coastal village of North Queensferry, about an hour’s drive south.
The sky was an almost cloudless blue all the way down to about Inverkeithing, but as we neared the Firth of Forth the cloud became much thicker. When we climbed out of the car, a cold wind blasted us with surprising force, and we hurried indoors as quickly as we could.
We’d decided to have lunch at The Shore restaurant, within the Double Tree Hotel, in North Queensferry. We’d been there once before, many years ago, and remembered that it had a good view of two of the Forth Bridges.
The sun was shining through the large windows of the restaurant, and the cold wind was soon forgotten.
The Shore restaurant in the Double Tree Hotel, North Queensferry.
We were seated by a window, with a fine view of the newest of the three bridges that span the Firth of Forth at this point. As we sat looking out at the Queensferry Crossing, we remembered the occasion, in 2017, when we walked across this bridge after it had just been opened. It was designed exclusively for vehicles, and pedestrians are not normally permitted to cross it. However, an opportunity was granted, through a public ballot, to celebrate the opening. The fortunate 50,000 of us who obtained tickets traipsed across it over a weekend in September. The walk was 1.7 miles (2.7km) long.
The Queensferry Crossing.
After perusing the menu, Lorna and I both opted for the Tuscan vegetable soup, which was served with sourdough toast.
Tuscan vegetable soup with sourdough toast.
The soup was packed with vegetables, including a lot of peas and different types of bean. We both enjoyed it, and found it hearty and filling.
Hearty Tuscan vegetable soup at The Shore, Double Tree Hotel, North Queensferry.
It was a very slow meal, and before we ordered pudding I needed to visit the facilities. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sign with this wording on an accessible toilet.
Accessible toilet at the Double Tree Hotel, North Queensferry.
Inside, it was roomy, and very well equipped with grabrails.
Inside the accessible toilet at the Double Tree Hotel, North Queensferry.
Back at the table, we both chose the same pudding: tiramisu. It looked unlike any tiramisu I’ve had before, and wasn’t particularly appealing on first inspection, but in fact the taste far exceeded our expectations. It was light, creamy, and quite delicious.
Surprisingly tasty tiramisu at The Shore restaurant.
Although we didn’t have a view of the old Forth Road Bridge from our dining table, it was clearly visible from outside the building.
Forth Road Bridge.
This was the bridge that carried all traffic across the Firth of Forth here, prior to the construction of the Queensferry Crossing. It’s still operational, but open only to buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians.
Before leaving this neck of the woods, we felt it only right to admire the third and oldest bridge in this area, the Forth Rail Bridge. It took 8 years to build, and was opened in 1890. It’s a majestic structure, and one of the country’s great landmarks.
The Forth Rail Bridge, seen from North Queensferry.
One bright and sunny Sunday morning in May, when Lorna and I both felt unusually alert and ready for adventure, we decided on a last minute trip to Edinburgh to fulfil an ambition.
Our destination was Alexandra Dock in Leith, permanent home to Fingal, a ship that once serviced lighthouses but now sits quietly awaiting visitors to its 5-star hotel rooms and restaurant.
An old chap standing in front of a considerably younger lady.
Fingal, looking resplendent at just over 60 years of age.
Earlier that morning, while wondering how we might fill our day, Lorna had the bright idea of going to Fingal for lunch. She had recently found out about the ship/hotel and we had both developed an interest in visiting it. We had been imagining an overnight stay, but perhaps lunch was an alternative way to experience its atmosphere.
When she looked on the website, Lorna discovered that they didn’t serve lunches, but they did offer afternoon teas. She phoned up to ask if there was any chance of a vegetarian afternoon tea for two that day, despite the website stating that they required 48 hours’ notice for special dietary requirements. The helpful lady she spoke to popped off to chat with the chefs, and then rang back to say that they had enough ingredients to prepare two such afternoon teas, and would be delighted to reserve a table for us.
The ship was accessible by wheelchair, or rollator, although with quite a steep gangway to get into it.
Toiling up the gangway.
The doors into the ship, at the top of the red-carpeted gangway.
Having successfully made it onboard, we were shown to a circular glass lift that took us up to the top deck housing the Lighthouse Restaurant.
The lift on Fingal, with me outside it.
The Lighthouse Restaurant, onboard Fingal.
A courteous receptionist in the restaurant showed us to our table. It was a little tricky for me to negotiate, but she pulled it out so that I could shuffle into a padded bench seat. Throughout our time on Fingal, the service from all staff was exemplary. We were brought glasses of tap water and an extensive menu of teas and a few coffees.
Seated on a comfortable padded bench seat.
The tea menu listed more than 20 different teas, and we were invited to try as many as we wished throughout the meal. Not being much of a tea drinker these days, I opted for a decaffeinated Americano, while Lorna started off with a Japanese Kukicha tea.
The vegetarian afternoon tea consisted of 5 hot savouries, 4 sandwiches, 2 scones and 4 cakes for each of us. It seemed to be rather a lot when we read the menu, but the portions were small and delicate, and surprisingly easy to consume. We started off with one of the tastiest dishes of the day, the amuse-bouche, a smoky tomato and red pepper soup.
Delicious mugs of smoky tomato and red pepper soup.
When our soups were finished a waitress took the dishes away and soon brought the next course, a three-tiered stand filled with hot savouries on the top two levels and sandwiches ‘downstairs’.
A stand of savouries onboard Fingal.
In Lorna’s opinion, the hot savouries were the star of the show. They consisted of an asparagus and ricotta tart, vegetable pakora in a spicy chilli dressing, feta cheese cube with tomato chutney, and pumpkin arancini.
Hot savouries.
Beneath the hot savouries sat the sandwiches, which I enjoyed but Lorna wasn’t so keen on, although she did appreciate the Coronation celeriac option.
Coronation celeriac sandwich.
When we had first arrived in the restaurant, at about 13:15, it was a little less than half full, but during our time there it filled up considerably. The staff were kept busy with so many afternoon teas, but were very good at appearing at our table at the right moments. After draining her pot of Kukicha, Lorna ordered a Black Forest Gateau tea, which was a blend of black teas with fruit pieces and chocolate. She thought it might be a good pairing for the dessert course. I stuck to my decaf Americanos.
The dessert course came on another three-tiered stand, with the top two levels containing our cakes, and the bottom level the scones with their accompaniments.
The dessert course of afternoon tea onboard Fingal.
There was one plain scone and one fruit scone each, and we both opted to start our sweets with the fruit scones. We used up all the cream on these two scones, but I’m sure the staff would have brought us more if we’d asked for it. We decided to take the plain scones home with us, so we were pretty generous in creaming up our fruit scones.
Fruit scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream.
The cakes consisted of a lemon mousse dome, raspberry mouse covered in dark chocolate, banana and toasted coconut cake, and an apple mousse dome.
Sweet treats in Fingal’s afternoon tea.
To finish off our meal, Lorna ordered a peppermint tea, which came rather strangely in a cafetiere rather than a teapot. We were told we could take away any of the food items we didn’t want to eat during the meal, and we opted to take home the two plain scones, and two apple domes. They were put into a branded box tied with a black ribbon.
Takeaway box from Fingal.
It had been sunny and windy on our arrival, and remained so on our departure some three hours later. We walked back to the car (which had conveniently been parked in Fingal’s own private car park) across a stretch of cobbled stones that were an interesting challenge for me and my wheels. We looked up at the ship’s flags as we passed, and felt pleased with ourselves for having spent an afternoon onboard such a splendid vessel.
Bennet McInnes 