Hotels in 2024 – Part Two

Posted on January 28, 2025 by bennetmcinnes

In July we revisited two old favourites, Dunkeld House Hotel and Gleneagles, both of which were excellent, as usual.

We also made our very first visit to a hotel that’s only 3 miles from our house. We’ve driven past it countless times, since it’s just off one of the main roads out of Blairgowrie. From the road, and even on their website, there’s no indication that non-residents are welcome, and we’d got the idea that it was rather an exclusive sort of place.

We had increasingly been thinking that one day we should bite the bullet and drive in to see what was what, and it took our fancy to do so on a warm, sunny Monday in mid-July when we were on our way to Pitlochry for lunch.

On the road below the hotel there’s a brown tourist road sign mentioning the name of the impressive building up the hill: Kinloch House Hotel. There are no other signs or boards indicating that it’s a hotel, which adds to the mystery of the place.

Leaving me in the car, Lorna entered the building to find a very quiet, deserted interior. She had a look around, finding several soft seating areas and interesting wall decorations, and was eventually greeted by a courteous gentleman with a South African accent who asked if he could assist her. She asked him if the hotel served lunch, and he replied regretfully that they only did lunches on Sundays. Did they provide morning or afternoon teas, she enquired? Yes, he said, they could provide tea and coffee at any time, but again rather regretfully stated that the only edible accompaniments available were fruit loaf, lemon drizzle cake and shortbread. Lorna didn’t think that was anything to be sorry about, and she skipped back to the car to tell me the good news.

We continued on our way to Pitlochry, agreeing that one day we would settle ourselves in Kinloch House Hotel for hot drinks and cake. During lunch, at Pitlochry Dam Visitor Centre, we decided to stop at savoury courses and go back to Kinloch House Hotel that same day to sample their cakes by way of pudding. We were met by the same South African gentleman, who welcomed us warmly and invited us to have a good look round the hotel’s communal areas until we found the area we’d like to sit in. We did that, and opted for the conservatory, which was bright and airy, and very warm indeed.

Happily settled in the conservatory at Kinloch House Hotel.

We put in an order for tea and coffee, lemon drizzle cake and fruit loaf, and enjoyed the magnificently peaceful surroundings. While we were waiting, Lorna popped out of the open door and took pictures of the views. The main road lay just below the hotel, but we couldn’t hear any traffic as the hillside between the two seemed to absorb any noise.

The door out of the conservatory at Kinloch House Hotel.

The front of Kinloch House Hotel from outside the conservatory.

Beautiful views from Kinloch House Hotel.

Our South African server appeared with a large tray containing all we’d asked for, nicely presented with thick, white linen napkins. It was getting very hot sitting in the conservatory and we appreciated the large glasses of iced water he brought.

Enjoying a thick white napkin at Kinloch House Hotel.

It was extremely peaceful sitting there, and during the couple of hours or so we spent in the hotel, the South African chap was the only other person we saw. After we’d finished and paid for our repast, he invited us to sit in the conservatory or lounge for as long as we wanted. It was a tempting offer and we appreciated the kind hospitality, but sleep was calling me and my bed was only a few minutes’ drive away. Before we left, however, we enjoyed use of the facilities and had another little look around the hotel.

One of the sitting rooms in Kinloch House Hotel.

A beautiful bathroom at Kinloch House Hotel.

In August we were tempted back to Dunkeld House Hotel and Ballathie House Hotel for familiar pleasures, but we also had lunch at Fonab Castle Hotel and Spa in Pitlochry.

It being the height of summer, the hanging baskets outside the hotel were in full bloom and looking very colourful.

Burgeoning baskets at Fonab Castle Hotel, Pitlochry.

One of Fonab Castle’s greatest assets is its setting, with dining room views out over Loch Faskally.

Loch Faskally, viewed from the dining room at Fonab Castle Hotel.

We were presented with the full menu, but chose to order from the lighter afternoon options.

I chose the veloute of the day, the details of which neither Lorna nor I can now remember, but I’m sure it tasted good.

Veloute of the day at Fonab Castle Hotel.

Lorna had the garden salad, and was particularly pleased by the inclusion of olives. Since both of our choices were light options we ordered a side of chips to share.

Small, warm and delicious wholemeal rolls were brought to the table, with a little pat of butter.

After our savouries, I chose a chocolate tart for pudding.

Lorna settled for a decaf latte, which was topped with a thick layer of foam and served in a handle-less insulated plastic cup.

September saw us back at Ballathie House Hotel again, where we enjoyed the sight of an old tree stump planted with nasturtiums and other plants. It looked rather like a volcano.

An interestingly planted tree stump at Ballathie House Hotel.

Later the same month we visited a hotel in the village of Meikleour, less than 5 miles from our house. We’d been there earlier in the year for hot drinks, and decided to call in for lunch on a beautiful sunny September day.

It was busy, as I believe it often is, being a popular spot with locals and tourists alike. Lorna and I both opted for the goat’s cheese, pear and walnut quiche, and were very glad we’d done so. It was delicious, and served with a tasty parsnip crisp and a bountiful bowl of salad.

Goat’s cheese, pear and walnut quiche at Meikleour Arms Hotel.

For pudding Lorna settled for a scoop of lemon sorbet and a scoop of raspberry ripple ice cream. She was delighted with the fluffy little madeleine that accompanied it.

Sorbet and ice cream with bonus madeleine.

I plumped for Victoria plum crumble, which came with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream atop the well-filled crumble dish. It was surprisingly large and very tasty.

A well-filled dish of plum crumble with ice cream.

After partaking of coffee, I was glad my bed was in such close proximity to our luncheon spot.

The first day of October saw us visiting a hotel in the nearby village of Alyth that quite astounded us on our initial visit the year before. We had often seen signs for the Lands of Loyal Hotel while driving through Alyth, and for some reason always assumed it was a scruffy and neglected sort of place. The building isn’t visible from the main road, and I don’t know why we both had the impression we did, but for many years we’d avoided even going to investigate what might be there. After our first visit, which as I say astounded us, we felt inclined to go back and remind ourselves of its magnificence.

It was originally built as a private residence, but later took on the persona of a sort of country house hotel. It has a very unique atmosphere, and although we’ve been there a few times now, it continues to surprise us with its colouful and flamboyant decor.

Sitting comfortably by the fire in the lounge at Lands of Loyal Hotel.

There are, I think, four separate dining rooms in the hotel, and we were put in one we hadn’t been to before. It was cosy and lavishly decorated.

One of the lavishly decorated dining rooms at Lands of Loyal Hotel.

The ceiling in this room was particularly striking.

Striking ceiling in a dining room at Lands of Loyal Hotel.

Exotic birds were displayed on a frieze just beneath the intricate gold-painted cornice.

There was plenty to look at, and we enjoyed the peaceful ambience of the room as we waited for our food to arrive (we had perused the menus and made our order from the lounge area, where we were served drinks prior to the meal).

Neither Lorna nor I can now remember exactly what our dishes were, but they were well presented, and highly acceptable. I selected a starter and a dessert, while Lorna had a main course and no dessert. My starter consisted of a pastry tube stuffed with something that may have included mushrooms, served with a rich, creamy sauce.

Lorna’s main course was a vegetarian offering involving courgettes. She recalls the tomato sauce being particularly delicious.

One of the things I particularly like in a restaurant is when they produce a bread roll and butter as part of proceedings. Lorna likes to see a carafe of water provided on the table. Lands of Loyal pleased both of us on these points, as well as ticking the boxes for thick linen tablecloths and napkins

My chosen pudding was a raspberry creme brulee. It was served in a large teacup, sitting on a piece of slate and accompanied by chantilly cream decorated with berries. It took me quite a while to get through it, but I persevered and polished it off.

At the end of October we revisited Ballathie House Hotel, where we had a bit of exercise in their beautiful grounds, to work up an appetite for our lunch. My rollator, as well as being a very useful walking aid, provides a seat when I need a little rest.

Resting in front of the River Tay at Ballathie House Hotel, after a walk in the grounds.

Settled into the very quiet drawing room, we opted for sandwiches (egg mayonnaise for Lorna; tuna mayonnaise for me) and tea to drink. I usually prefer a cold drink with lunch, but it was a chilly day and the hot tea was very welcome.

Tea and sandwiches at Ballathie House Hotel.

The dessert of the day was choux au craquelin with banana jam and salted caramel ice cream. Not being a big fan of bananas, I opted for a cream tea, but Lorna was quite excited to try the craquelin, and was delighted by the look of it.

The cream tea came, as usual at Ballathie, with shortbread as well as a scone. It was up to the usual excellent standards.

In November, we revisited both Gleneagles and Ballathie.

One of my favourite dishes in The Dormy restaurant at Gleneagles has been their vegetarian haggis with neeps and tatties in a whisky cream sauce. They used to have it on their menu as a starter and a main course, but these days only advertise it as a main course. However, if you ask for a small portion they serve you the starter size, which is quite big enough a meal for me.

Haggis starter at The Dormy, Gleneagles.

Lorna had a dish she’s had a number of times, a curry consisting of paneer cheese and spinach. Sometimes it’s extremely spicy, other times very mild. This time it was rather over-salted, but I’m told the rice was excellent, as always.

One of the Dormy’s best desserts is usually their creme brulee. Since it’s rather large and we both only had a little space left, we ordered one to share. It wasn’t up to the usual standards, and I wonder if there had been a change of chef. We managed to polish it off all right, mind you.

On our visit to Ballathie later that month, again we started with a little exercise in the grounds…

…before settling ourselves into the drawing room, which I like to think of as my second home.

Settled into the drawing room at Ballathie.

We both had carrot soup, followed by cream teas, all of which was exactly as expected and highly satisfactory.

Carrot soup at Ballathie, with their excellent homemade bread.

We had several good meals out in December, but the only hotel we visited was the Atholl Palace Hotel in Pitlochry, where we met my other daughter, Flora, for lunch one day.

The hotel had been decked out for Christmas, and had a cosy, festive feel.

Huge Christmas tree at the Atholl Palace Hotel, Pitlochry.

There are two dining options at the Atholl Palace, their main restaurant and the Stag Bar. We chose the bar, which was festively decorated and had a welcoming log fire.

Stag Bar at Atholl Palace Hotel, Pitlochry.

Lorna forgot to take photographs of the food we had, but I’m told we had soups and sandwiches. We enjoyed our time there, and the pleasure of an extra dining companion.

Flora and me in the Stag Bar, next to a warming fire.

It’s approaching the end of January 2025 as this is being written. The only hotel we’ve visited so far this year is Dunkeld House Hotel, but we’re planning to visit a new one to us at the end of this month, the Pine Trees in Pitlochry. We’ll be celebrating Lorna’s birthday, so I hope it will be a very pleasant and memorable occasion. If it turns out to be both, it might well appear on this blog in due course.

Hotels in 2024 – Part One

Posted on December 13, 2024 by bennetmcinnes

Despite not having been away on holiday this year, Lorna and I have enjoyed lunching at a number of inviting hotels throughout 2024.

While she was looking through her photographs of the year, Lorna discovered we had visited more than a dozen hotels at time of writing, several of them more than once. Including all of them in one blog post would make for rather a long article, so they’re being described in two parts. This post, Part One, features hotels visited between January and June 2024. Part Two will cover July to December.

Our first hotel of the year (and our second most visited) was Dunkeld House Hotel.

Looking up at Dunkeld House Hotel from the River Tay.

It was a cold and frosty day in early January, and the River Tay was mistily atmospheric.

I was glad to get indoors and warm up before removing my outer garments.

A happy Bennet warming up in Dunkeld House Hotel.

In February we visited a hotel we’d never been to before: Rufflets, near St Andrews.

Here I am, eagerly awaiting delivery of some delicious soup at Rufflets.

I think it was mushroom soup I had. It came with bread and a little pat of cultured butter from the Edinburgh Butter Company, ready to be spread with a delightful wooden knife.

Soup and butter with a pleasing wooden, paddle-like, butter knife at Rufflets.

The vegetarian main course was mushroom risotto, an offering Lorna is not especially fond of, but she was intrigued to try it since it contained sweetcorn as well as mushrooms. Happily, she declared it tasty, and the sweetcorn an excellent addition.

Sweetcorn and mushroom risotto at Rufflets.

After the risotto Lorna felt too full for dessert, but I opted for a chocolate sponge with salted caramel sauce and ice cream. It was served with a long and very thin stick of spun sugar.

After our meal, we moved to more comfortable seats in a lounge area to enjoy hot beverages.

Enjoying a hot beverage in the lounge at Rufflets.

There was a welcoming fire in the hearth. We sat there for a while, relaxing happily.

February also saw us visiting Ballathie House Hotel, near where we live in Blairgowrie (more on that one later) and the Dakota Hotel at South Queensferry.

It wasn’t our first visit to the Dakota Hotel, although it’s not somewhere we’ve been to very often.

Waiting for food at the Dakota Hotel, South Queensferry.

Lorna’s outstanding memory of the Dakota is that it once served up the best gnocchi she’s ever had. It wasn’t on the menu on this occasion, and she opted for two vegetarian starters instead of a main course.

Crispy goat’s cheese with butternut squash, raisins and pine nuts at the Dakota Hotel.

Hummus with a cheese straw at the Dakota Hotel

I had the French onion soup, which was so large and filling I had no room for pudding. It was delicious but quite a challenge to eat, being entirely covered with a thick slab of melted cheese.

Generously cheese-topped French onion soup at the Dakota Hotel.

For Christmas 2023, Lorna and I gave each other luncheon vouchers for the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. In late March we drove south to our home town to spend them.

Brasserie Prince in the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh.

Happy to have been given a large napkin at Brasserie Prince.

The lunch was a 3 course set menu, and the starters were sizeable. Lorna’s starter was, in fact, larger than her main course.

Lorna’s starter: sourdough toast with wild mushrooms in a cheese sauce topped with pickled radishes.

My starter: another French onion soup, this time not quite so thickly covered with cheese.

We both very much enjoyed our starters, and were also delighted by the main courses.

Lorna’s main: butternut squash and ricotta ravioli in a sage butter sauce with crispy sage leaves.

My main: chicken with heritage carrots, spinach, crispy chicken skin and potato fondant.

We were quite full by the time it came to puddings, but in for a penny in for a pound.

Lorna’s pudding: ice cream profiteroles with a bitter dark chocolate sauce.

After finishing our three courses, we rolled ourselves into the bar for tea and coffee, which was served with excellent shortbread we barely had room for.

Lorna came back from a visit to the facilities joyfully reporting that the flamboyant sinks she remembered from visiting the Balmoral many years ago were still in evidence.

At the end of April we made one of several visits to our most frequented hotel of the year, Ballathie House Hotel, near Blairgowrie.

Outside the front door at Ballathie House Hotel.

We like Ballathie for many reasons, including its proximity to where we live (a 15 minute drive away), its beautiful grounds and magnificent riverside setting with long, tree-lined drive, the splendid peacefulness of the drawing room where they serve weekday lunches, the delicious soup and sandwich offering they provide from Monday to Friday, the very pleasant ambience and the excellent, welcoming staff. In short, we’re always happy to pay it a visit.

Lunching in the very quiet drawing room at Ballathie. Carrot and ginger soup with home-made fennel and black pepper cob, and a large egg mayonnaise sandwich to share, with root vegetable crisps.

The weekday lunch menu is quite limited, with one soup on offer, several sandwich options, a dessert of the day, and a cream tea available. We often settle for soup followed by a cream tea, which we find fills us up nicely. The cream tea comes with tea or coffee, superb home-made fruit scones, a plentiful supply of jam and cream, and two shortbread biscuits.

April is my birthday month, and in 2024 I celebrated the achievement of reaching 95 years old. This visit to Ballathie took place on the day itself, but we also celebrated the milestone in early May with other family members.

On 5 May we met up with my son Donald and his partner Gail, and their two children, James and Sam, at Gleneagles, near Auchterarder. Lorna forgot to take photographs during this occasion, but after our lunch and before we parted, Gail remembered to get a selfie shot using her phone camera. Unfortunately, my daughter Flora was unable to join us due to feeling unwell that day.

At Gleneagles to celebrate turning 95.
Left to right: my two grandchildren Sam and James, Gail, me, Lorna, Donald.

June was a very good month for hotels. We visited six different ones, four for meals, including our old favourites, Dunkeld, Ballathie and Gleneagles, and two more for coffee.

The grounds at Gleneagles are beautiful year-round, but perhaps particularly attractive in the summer when its many trees are in full leaf.

The grounds at Gleneagles with the hotel in the background.

It wasn’t a particularly warm day when we lunched at The Dormy restaurant in Gleneagles. For some reason (perhaps because she’s done it so many times before in the same place) Lorna didn’t take any photographs of our meal, but she did take a few when we’d moved over to the fireside for hot drinks. It was nice to have the fire on in June.

We occupied a sofa in front of the fire; a good place to sit on a cold afternoon.

Underneath the glass top of the coffee table there were several board games. We took out the draughts board and I tried hard to remember how to play the game. Some of the pieces were missing, but there were other small objects in the box that did the turn.

At the end of June we had lunch at Dalmunzie Castle Hotel, a place we only discovered last year. The hotel sits in a secluded glen near Spittal of Glenshee, roughly halfway between Blairgowrie and Braemar. It’s reached by a long private drive.

Standing outside Dalmunzie Castle Hotel in a proprietorial manner.

Similar to Ballathie House Hotel, Dalmunzie serves lunches throughout the week in the lounge areas rather than the dining room.

The main reception room contains a number of sofas and armchairs.

The main reception room at Dalmunzie Castle Hotel.

Just round the corner from this main room there’s a quiet little area containing one sofa and two armchairs, and that was where we chose to sit for lunch.

In the quiet little lounge area off the main reception room at Dalmunzie.

The sandwiches were generously filled, made with thick soft bread, and accompanied by a bowl of salted crisps.

Delicious sandwiches at Dalmunzie Castle Hotel.

After lunch, we took a short walk up past the hotel to admire the glen beyond. It looked quite forbidding, but majestic.

Wild but majestic, the scenery surrounding Dalmunzie Castle Hotel.

If you’ve enjoyed these hotels, watch out for Part Two, coming soon….

Kelpies

Posted on January 25, 2024 by bennetmcinnes

Just over ten years ago, in 2013, something new and curious appeared in the central belt of Scotland. Two enormous stainless steel horse heads reared up out of parkland near Falkirk and became known as ‘The Kelpies‘.

According to Wikipedia, in Scottish mythology, a kelpie is a shape-changing spirit that inhabits bodies of water and often takes the form of a horse.

The Kelpies, rising out of the ground near Falkirk.

These giant works of art, and impressive feats of engineering, were designed and created by Scottish sculptor, Andy Scott. His website contains some excellent photographs of them.

One bright and windy October day, ten years after their installation, Lorna and I decided it was high time we went to see these magnificent beasts for ourselves.

They look pretty big from a distance, but their size is even better appreciated up close as they loom overhead at a height of around 30 metres (100ft) tall.

Large kelpie with Bennet underneath, giving scale to the picture.

Each of the two kelpies is constructed from approximately 18,000 different pieces, features 464 steel plates, contains over 1.5 miles of steel, and weighs over 300 tonnes.

One of the kelpies, showing detail of steel plates.

This sculptural marvel, said to be the largest equine structure in the world, is situated in a pleasant spot called The Helix, a park containing plenty of parking, and a visitor centre with cafe, shop and toilets. There is wheelchair access throughout.

The Kelpies sit next to the Forth and Clyde canal, which inspired the choice of sculpture. In times gone by, draught horses walked along the canal towpaths pulling boats along the water. The canal is still well-used by boats, and there are some nice flat walks alongside it.

Canal boats on the Forth and Clyde canal near The Kelpies.

We walked as far as a little bridge over the canal, which gave us a feel for the surrounding area.

With sufficient time and energy one could easily spend several hours at Helix Park, walking or cycling, or perhaps even cruising down the canal on a narrowboat.

The Forth and Clyde canal with kelpies in the distance.

Up, up and away

Posted on January 11, 2024 by bennetmcinnes

One of the most unexpected things that happened to me last year occurred on a sunny September day, when Lorna and I had a day out.

We headed north from our home in Blairgowrie, not sure where we would end up, but interested to see where the car might take us. We drove up the A93 towards Braemar in search of morning coffee and saw a sign advertising Dalmunzie Castle Hotel. Rather unusually, in addition to offering lunches and dinners to non-residents, the sign specifically mentioned morning coffees. We pulled off the road and drove slowly up a long, private driveway to the castle.

The building sat in a quiet and sheltered glen, and the sun was shining magnificently from a blue sky. We parked the car and entered the castle through a heavy wooden door. Inside, we found a comfortable lounge area, settled ourselves in and ordered coffee and tea, which came with delicious home-made shortbread biscuits.

Bennet lounging about in Dalmunzie Castle Hotel.

Happily refreshed, we continued our journey north. As we climbed up into the mountains, we passed the Glenshee ski centre, and noticed that although there was no snow at that time of year, the chairlift was operating. Lorna suggested it would be fun to get on the chairlift and go up the mountain, but I quickly reminded her that at my great age of 94, such an escapade held no attraction for me. I said I would wait if she wanted to go up on her own, but she wasn’t interested in that and we drove on. After a minute or two it occurred to me that if I had headgear that wouldn’t blow off, I could be persuaded to go up on the chairlift, and I said so to Lorna. The floppy-brimmed sunhats we had in the car didn’t seem suitable, but we had the idea of looking for a new hat in Braemar.

When we reached Braemar we went into a gift shop that also happened to have an impressive array of hats. I was drawn to several hats with brims of various sizes, but none of them seemed quite right. After much trying on, we found a hat of a different sort that looked as if it might be just the job. It went well with the outfit I had on and seemed to be the perfect purchase, so we bought it.

Thus suitably attired, I felt ready to head back down to Glenshee and hop on the chairlift. It was a first for both of us to go on a chairlift, and it wasn’t until she was several metres above the ground that Lorna remembered she had a fear of heights. She gripped the handrail tightly and I did my best to assure her that all was well. As we rose up the mountainside, the wind increased considerably. I held on to my hat to prevent it from flying off. Fortunately, it was a nice tight fit.

After being helped off the moving chairs by an assistant, we staggered to a viewpoint where I was glad to sit down and take in the magnificent views.

At the viewpoint, admiring the surrounding scenery.

We stayed up there until our hands became numb in the cold wind. We were glad to get back on the chairlift and enjoy the shelter of the mountainside as we came down. The views were wonderful.

Coming down: a pleasant experience in the shelter of the mountainside.

Having overcome her initial terrors, Lorna declared she’d happily do it all again, but we agreed to keep that for another occasion. We spent the rest of the day feeling surprised and delighted by our unexpected mountain adventure, and it has provided happy memories for us both ever since.

My first five years

Posted on October 14, 2015 by bennetmcinnes

The following photograph, taken in September 2015, shows 15 Cathcart Place, a residential tenement in Edinburgh. It has eleven small flats (apartments) and I was born in flat 8 (on the floor below the top floor). That was my home from 1929 to 1934. The three windows on the left side of this shot belong to flat 8, including the one with a white blind. (I’m standing in the street level entrance door that leads to the internal stair.)

The flat has two rooms looking out over the street. The two narrow windows on the left of the photograph are in what we called the parlour, a room used mainly when we had visitors. The wider window with a white blind is in what was Granny’s bedroom. The other windows of the flat are on the far side of the building.

The next photograph shows the internal stair. The property now has mains electricity but when I lived in it there was none. At night, especially in winter, the stair was dark and a battery-operated torch was often in use. A grassy communal area at the back of the building was formerly used for hanging out the washing but there was none there when I visited.

There are twenty or more steps between floors. The next photograph shows me two flights up, outside the door of flat 8.

The busiest room in the house was the kitchen. It has a wide window that faces northeast, looking out over the city of Edinburgh towards the Firth of Forth. When I lived in this flat the kitchen had a cast iron range with at least one built-in oven heated by a central coal fire. An iron kettle could be hung over the fire to boil water. Heavy iron pans could be balanced above the fire.

The kitchen had a large central table where meals were prepared and eaten. In the window recess there was a large kitchen sink with one cold water tap. When hot water was needed it was transferred in a kettle from the range. In a corner of the room away from the window there was a bed recess, an area large enough to take a double bed, and it may have had a curtain that could be drawn across to make the area into a little bedroom. That was where my parents slept.

Coal fires were the only form of heating in the house when I lived there. The fire in the range was kept burning most of the time, and there were fireplaces in Granny’s bedroom and in the parlour. The house had no mains electricity. It did have mains gas but that was used only for gas lamps, suspended from the ceiling in each of the three main rooms. A fanlight over the flat door did allow some daylight into the hall.

There was no bathroom in the flat – only a small toilet opening off the hall. This small room had no window, but it did have an electric battery torch fixed to the wall. When I was small I was probably bathed in the kitchen sink or in a large zinc tub placed near the range in the kitchen. When I was older I remember my father taking me on a short walk to the nearby public baths where he paid for a bathroom that had a very large bath with lots of hot water available. I think we had the choice of taking our own towels or of hiring towels there.

I left 15 Cathcart Place after this brief visit to my childhood home still struggling to remember how life had been for me all those years ago.

After the war

Posted on September 30, 2015 by bennetmcinnes

In the previous post I quoted from an account given by my father, Robert McInnes, of his departure from civilian life in Edinburgh in 1914 when he was called up for military service in France. In 1918 (or it may have been in 1919) he returned to Edinburgh to live with his parents and to resume his work in the wholesale fruit and vegetable market.

On a recent visit to Edinburgh I was able to go to Cathcart Place, the street where both my father and I were born (in different houses). The road is paved with ‘causies’ (causeway stones) and it looks much the same as it did when I was a child, except that now there are painted lines – white lines showing where cars may be parked, and yellow ones where parking is forbidden or at least discouraged. There were very few cars in this part of Edinburgh in the 1930s. I and the other local children were able to play in the street, unaffected by traffic.

On either side there are ‘tenements’, the local name for apartment blocks. These ones were built well over a hundred years ago. About half way down on the left is number 20 and one of the flats in that tenement is where my father lived with his parents and his three siblings till after the war had ended.

My father’s workplace in Market Street was about a mile and a half from his home and he made that journey routinely four times a day. There was a frequent tram service down Dalry Road to Haymarket and then along Princes Street past Edinburgh Castle to Waverley Station, where the Fruit Market was, but he usually made the journey on foot, often walking through Princes Street Gardens rather than along the street itself.

Deliveries of fruit and vegetables arrived overnight in closed wagons at a railway siding that ran along Market Street below street level. The wholesale fruit and vegetable companies owned properties that lined that siding and their staff arrived early in the morning, before 07:00, I think, to unload the wagons into the warehouses. Retailers came during the day to purchase what they needed for their shops in the city and in neighbouring towns and villages.

Wood Ormerod, the company for which my father worked, supplied a cooked breakfast for their staff at around 09:00 and then allowed them a long meal break in the middle of the day. My father used to walk home for that meal (called dinner rather than lunch) and then back to work again for three or more hours before returning home for the evening meal (called tea, although it usually included a substantial cooked dish). I realize that he led a disciplined life, with good meals and healthy exercise, often walking around six miles a day.

His mother died in 1924, aged 66, and at about that time the family moved from their flat in Cathcart Place to a top floor flat at 52 Dalry Road, a short walk away.

Here is a photograph of that flat. It has two windows looking out to Dalry Road below, three windows looking west, and another four windows (not visible in this shot) looking north.

Also in Dalry Road, not far from number 52, there was a shop that sold umbrellas, leather handbags, and a variety of items that were described as fancy goods, which is where my mother comes into the story.

Marjory Duff Watt was the youngest of the four children of Andrew Watt and Anne Morrison. She was born on 14 February 1896 and lived at 2 St David’s Terrace, near Morrison Street in Edinburgh. Madge (as she was usually called) went to Torphichen Street School and left in 1910 when she reached the age of 14. Her mother had been looking out for a career opportunity for her, although that sounds rather too grand: basically she wanted to help her to earn a living. One day in 1910 my grandmother walked down Morrison Street to Haymarket and then up Dalry Road. There she noticed an advertisement in the umbrella shop window inviting job applications for work as a sales assistant. I don’t know if Madge had expressed any interest in such work but her mother took her to the shop and she got the job, which she continued to do for the next sixteen years. The shop was about half a mile from her home.

The owner of the shop, Tom Chambers, happened to be a member of the Glanton Brethren Assembly in George Street which was attended by the McInnes family. Young Madge was invited to join a Bible Class that was led by a member of the Chambers family. She did so and eventually decided to leave the Church of Scotland to which her family belonged and join the Brethren. The Church of Scotland minister tried to persuade her that she was just the type of sincere Christian that he needed in his congregation but she remained convinced that she ought to leave. She remained a member of the Glanton Brethren for the rest of her life.

Madge’s father died in 1919 and when her three older siblings married and left home she became her mother’s main support and I expect that eventually her earnings provided most of the family income. My grandmother may well have wondered what would happen to her if her daughter got married.

I do not know when Madge Watt became friendly with Robert McInnes but I do know that they would often meet each other at the Sunday services and other meetings of the Brethren. He would sometimes go into the umbrella shop as he passed by on his way to or from his dinner. When I was a child my mother told me that on one occasion he demonstrated the filling effect of his meal. Like most men at that time he wore a three piece suit. The sleeveless waistcoat had a small belt at the back which could be adjusted. One day Robert loosened his waistcoat when he left work for the dinner break and called in at the umbrella shop to say hello. He pointed out that his waistcoat was very loose and remarked that he was feeling hun gry. After dinner he called in again and demonstrated that his dinner had made a noticeable difference: the waistcoat was now very tight! I wasn’t sure that I believed my mother when she said that she was fooled by this demonstration.

The friendship flourished and on 2 June 1926, when he was 33, Robert McInnes married Madge Watt. I think that his parents’ flats in Cathcart Place and Dalry Road had been rented properties. Robert was not highly paid, but he had been saving up to buy a home for himself, and before the wedding he had bought a flat in 15 Cathcart Place, across the street from his boyhood home. That tenement is on the right of the Cathcart Place photograph above (beyond the red car) and the photograph below shows me walking towards the street level entrance door.

In the next post I hope to write more about the house where I was born.

Bennet McInnes

Musings of a nonagenarian

Category Archives: Scotland