Fall Travels to Scotland, Part Three

Pubs and Tearooms

When we began our Scotland adventures in 2000 most of our evening meals were taken in pubs—fish and chips, lasagna, steak-n-ale pie, stoves, cottage pies, mac-n-cheese, soups.  Then we were adopted by our family in Crieff and we ate dinner at home.  We also started using timeshare for self-catering where we’d cook our meals in.  Our meals out tended to be lunches in tearooms—soups, panini, toasties, burgers.  On this fall’s trip we found a couple of interesting tearooms and two great pubs.

While in Ballater (Dee-side west of Aberdeen) we stopped twice at the Riverside Cottage on the main road through the area (A93).  

The Cottage

The “cottage” built into the side of a large older house is relatively new (opened last August) and specializes in sweets and gelato, but also serves interesting sandwiches—

Anne and I split a three cheese toasty and a bacon and brie panini.  It was a great find, as was Scotty’s Cafe in Banff on the Morayshire coast.  

The upstairs tearoom at Scotty's.

We’d actually been in Scotty’s before.  It’s a chemist (pharmacy), gift shop, and postie (post office).  We didn’t know then that there is a pleasant tearoom upstairs—great for after golf tea and sweet.

One of the pubs we visited is one we’d been in for a pre-dinner drink about 14 years ago.  The Three Kings Pub in Cullen on the north coast is now a gastro-pub (drinks and quality food) called The Three Kings Inn.  

The small front bar at Three Kings Inn.

It still retains the small crowded front bar staffed with a lively, friendly bar keep, but now it has a rustic restaurant in the back where we had wonderful Cullen Skink (smoked haddock chowder) and seafood platters with haddock, prawns, salmon, halibut, anchovies, and herring.  

The Three Kings Inn dining room.

Lovely!  The other pub of note is one we’ve driven past for years but had never visited.  

The Tipsy Laird in Kingussie at the edge of the Cairngorm National Park is a local’s bar with a good reputation for food.  

Tipsy Laird's bar.

The drinkers in the front kept the noise level high, but the waitress serving the dining room at the side was a charmer.  The food, too, lived up to its reputation.  Tasty and plentiful, the lasagna was definitely homemade.

     There are plenty of fine dining restaurants in Scotland, but the tearooms and pubs continue to attract us.

A Photo Tour of Scotland

Mountain river in the Cairngorms.

An old croft in the Highlands.

Moss covered roots in the Birks of Aberfeldy.

The Birks.

The Scots call this a buzzard.

Findhorn Bay on the Morayshire coast.

Roof repair on the church in Tarland.

Rail lines pattern.

River Dee.

Heron at the Falls of Feugh (River Dee).

Highland road through Sma'Glen.

Burn and lone tree near Amulree.

Pheasant hen in Amulree.

Stark mountain scenery above Braemar.

Falls at Rumbling Bridge near Dunked.

Glasgow alley.

Sunset in Crieff.

Next: The next post will be from home after we recover from a severe case of jet lag.