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Ahead of the storm
Jul. 23rd, 2013 10:37 pmSo far, so good: we are in Tain.
The forecast for the last couple of days has been that the hot weather would give way imminently to thunderous storms. Our weather had already cooled to tolerable, but the thunderstorms were reportedly travelling up the country. Meanwhile the staff of Orkney Island Ferries are in dispute with the employer, and are working to rule.
Never mind. It's a long drive up from Durham - we set off at eleven this morning, and were here just before seven. We took the A68 up through Northumberland, between verges frothing with cow parsley and meadowsweet, and crossed the border at Carter Bar, under darkening skies. A break for lunch at Earlsdon, a petrol stop at Edinburgh, and as we drove on through the highlands the showers stopped and the mists closed in, veiling the firths and hanging low above the forested hills. Very atmospheric, especially accompanied by Stewart Hardy's fiddle playing on the car CD (still a novelty, a CD player in the car).
We ate at the St Duthus Hotel, described by our host as "good pub food". The alternatives were the more upmarket Royal Hotel, and the Indian restaurant, also recommended, but it's been a long day, and good pub food sounded about right.
We shared a starter of haggis-stuffed mushrooms, battered and deep-fried (of course) and served with a really peppery pepper sauce - crisp on the outside, moist and tasty inside, if you're going to do this, here's how you do it right. The smoked haddock fishcakes were OK but didn't live up to the starter (I'm always optimistic about fishcakes, and almost always disappointed). The chocolate fudge cake was evil, but then it always is. There was a choice of three wines, pinot grigio, chardonnay or cabernet merlot (I think). I asked for a dry white, so that's chardonnay in that glass; it's surprisingly disconcerting drinking white wine from a red glass.
It's a two hour drive to the north coast, and we're booked on a lunchtime ferry, so it should be an easier drive. The storms seem to be fading; well, so long as we don't meet them in the Pentland Firth...
The forecast for the last couple of days has been that the hot weather would give way imminently to thunderous storms. Our weather had already cooled to tolerable, but the thunderstorms were reportedly travelling up the country. Meanwhile the staff of Orkney Island Ferries are in dispute with the employer, and are working to rule.
Never mind. It's a long drive up from Durham - we set off at eleven this morning, and were here just before seven. We took the A68 up through Northumberland, between verges frothing with cow parsley and meadowsweet, and crossed the border at Carter Bar, under darkening skies. A break for lunch at Earlsdon, a petrol stop at Edinburgh, and as we drove on through the highlands the showers stopped and the mists closed in, veiling the firths and hanging low above the forested hills. Very atmospheric, especially accompanied by Stewart Hardy's fiddle playing on the car CD (still a novelty, a CD player in the car).
We ate at the St Duthus Hotel, described by our host as "good pub food". The alternatives were the more upmarket Royal Hotel, and the Indian restaurant, also recommended, but it's been a long day, and good pub food sounded about right.We shared a starter of haggis-stuffed mushrooms, battered and deep-fried (of course) and served with a really peppery pepper sauce - crisp on the outside, moist and tasty inside, if you're going to do this, here's how you do it right. The smoked haddock fishcakes were OK but didn't live up to the starter (I'm always optimistic about fishcakes, and almost always disappointed). The chocolate fudge cake was evil, but then it always is. There was a choice of three wines, pinot grigio, chardonnay or cabernet merlot (I think). I asked for a dry white, so that's chardonnay in that glass; it's surprisingly disconcerting drinking white wine from a red glass.
It's a two hour drive to the north coast, and we're booked on a lunchtime ferry, so it should be an easier drive. The storms seem to be fading; well, so long as we don't meet them in the Pentland Firth...
