Tag Archives: Scone

Perth Museum

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Some years ago it was announced that Perth Museum would be moving into an old building that had been lying empty for a long time, but was in the process of being refurbished. In March 2024, it opened its doors in the city centre, and Lorna and I had been wanting to go and see what it was like. Yesterday, we decided it was time for a bit of museum fun.

Standing outside the south side of Perth Museum.

There is no parking at the museum, even for disabled badge holders. There are parking areas nearby, but the closest parking was closed off because of roadworks. This meant a longer than usual walk for me, which I found quite an effort, but I was glad I was still able to do it.

We were ready for lunch by the time we arrived, and the Stone Cafe was just inside the doorway, with a welcoming sign.

Sign welcoming visitors to the Stone Cafe.

Inside, the cafe was bright and airy, with very high ceilings and magnificent tall windows.

Stone Cafe, Perth Museum.

We did as the sign had instructed, chose a table and put in our order at the counter,

Sitting in Stone Cafe with a cloudy apple juice.

I chose their quiche of the day, which was presented as two small tartlets, containing a Cajun vegetable mixture. It came with coleslaw and chutney.

Cajun vegetable quiche at Stone Cafe, Perth.

Lorna was intrigued to try a ‘sausage’ roll containing vegetarian haggis and sweet potato.

Vegetarian haggis sausage roll with chutney, salad and coleslaw.

She also ordered tea, and was delighted by the size of the pot, which contained three full cups of flavoursome breakfast tea.

Breakfast tea at Stone Cafe, Perth.

Neither of us wanted anything else to eat, and we were keen to see the museum. I was feeling quite tired and wasn’t sure if I had the energy for walking around, but we decided to have a quick look and see what the space was like. At the entrance, Lorna spotted a couple of wheelchairs, and asked if we could borrow one. A helpful member of staff assisted us in unfolding it, and I sat myself down. My rollator was stored safely behind the reception counter while Lorna wheeled me off to look at the exhibits.

Sitting comfortably in a wheelchair in Perth Museum.

It was the first time we had borrowed a wheelchair like this, and it was quite a revelation. Lorna found it quite easy to push, and there was a lift to take us to the upper floor. I enjoyed being able to see everything without getting tired.

Admiring some stuffed animals in Perth Museum.
On the upper floor of Perth Museum.

As always with such places, there was far more to read and take in than we had brain space for, but we enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere and appreciating how nicely the building had been modernised.

When we’d seen enough, we went back down in the lift, collected my rollator, and trudged back to the car. I found the walk back more tiring than the walk in, but I managed it, and was very glad to settle into the car. By this time we felt we had room for a hot drink and a snack, and decided to drive the short distance to the Macmillan cafe at Quarrymill, on the outskirts of Perth.

The Macmillan cafe is a place we’ve been visiting for many years, and it would soon be closing for the season. It was good to be able to call in again and enjoy the excellent service provided by the volunteers who run it so cheerfully.

I was tempted by a meringue with fruit and cream, which proved quite challenging (but well worth the effort) to consume.

Meringue with fruit and cream at the Macmillan Cafe, Quarrymill.

Lorna was delighted to find that there was one scone left, and that it was a variety she’d never had before: prune and honey.

Prune and honey scone at the Macmillan Cafe, Quarrymill.

We both greatly enjoyed our treats, washed down with large decaf Americanos. We wrote a couple of postcards we’d bought in the museum shop, and felt as if we were on our holidays.

Writing postcards at Quarrymill.

Fingal

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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.

Fingal and her flags.

Gleneagles

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On Friday 11 April, Lorna and I felt like having lunch out. The sun was shining and we agreed that a trip to Gleneagles was just the ticket. It would be our first visit there of 2025.

We arrived to find it standing majestically under blue skies, ready to welcome us in.

Gleneagles Hotel.

Lorna had thought it would make a nice change to dine inside the hotel, rather than at our usual eatery, The Dormy, which sits in a separate building next to a golf course.

We made our way through the pleasantly lit, softly carpeted, reception area, greeted with smiles and courteous welcomes by various members of staff. We were heading for the Garden Cafe, reached via an elegant shopping arcade.

According to the hotel’s website, the arcade is ‘inspired by the beautiful and historic arcades of London and Paris’.

The shopping arcade in Gleneagles Hotel.
A boutique window in the arcade at Gleneagles.
A gentleman of advanced years wheeling through the Gleneagles arcade,

When we reached the Garden Cafe we found it was fully occupied and there was a 20 minute waiting time for tables. Lorna suggested we go instead to the Century Bar, also within the hotel, back near the reception desk. The helpful chap in the Garden Cafe checked his computer and found that there were indeed free tables in the bar. We wandered back through the arcade feeling encouraged and ready for a spot of luncheon.

As we’d noted on previous visits, The Century Bar had an Art Deco feel about it, and favoured jazz as its background music.

The Century Bar at Gleneagles Hotel.

We chose comfortable sofa-type seating, with cushions at our backs.

Comfortably settled in the Century Bar.

We both opted for roasted tomato soup, served with croutons, basil oil and mascarpone. The soup portions were surprisingly large, about twice the volume one would normally expect as a starter course, and they came with thick slices of soft, floury granary bread.

Roasted tomato soup in the Century Bar.

The bread was served in an open wooden box, accompanied by a fat butter pat from Netherend Farm. We’ve had this butter before, and always enjoy reading the little rhyme on the packaging: “The richest dairy pastures lie…betwixt the Severn and the Wye.”

Fresh granary bread with Netherend Farm butter.

It took us quite a while to work our way through the soups, but we were in no hurry. We sat comfortably, enjoying the atmosphere and the variety of customers in the bar. As we’ve often noticed at Gleneagles, there were quite a few children around, no doubt enjoying the freedom of the Easter holidays.

As we discovered on a previous visit, one of the attractions of the Century Bar was their menu option of buttermilk scones. The portion consisted of three dainty plain scones with a generous tub of clotted cream and a little jar of strawberry and Champagne jam. Feeling quite full of soup and bread, we ordered one portion between us to share.

Portion of buttermilk scones in the Century Bar.

Lorna ordered a pot of Earl Grey tea, with which to wash her scones down. The solid silvery pot was so heavy I was unable to lift it off the table, even when it was empty of tea

A very heavy teapot.

In the interests of fair representation, we layered up half a scone with cream first and then jam (as they favour in Devon) and the other half with jam first and then cream (as the Cornish prefer). I can’t say I noticed much difference between the two, but Lorna is of the opinion that the Cornish way tastes better, while the Devon way looks better.

Devon and Cornwall represented in scone form.

After lunch, we wandered back through the hotel to visit the accessible toilet located part of the way through the arcade. It was spacious and well kitted out with golden grabrails, a large sink and small, individually folded towels for hand drying.

A spacious accessible toilet at Gleneagles, with golden grabrails and chequered marble floor.

One of the shop windows in the arcade was celebrating the 250th anniversary of English jewellers, Mappin and Webb.

Window display celebrating the 250th anniversary of Mappin & Webb.

Various items of jewellery had been displayed in amongst little models of afternoon tea services. The characters in the scene were curiously non-human.

A giraffe-headed lady in the Mappin & Webb window.
A tiger-headed gent in the Mappin & Webb window.

Lorna popped me back into the car for a snooze, while she had a short walk in the hotel grounds. It had been a most enjoyable day out, and we returned home well satisfied with our day’s adventures.

Fountain in front of Gleneagles Hotel.