#NC500 Day 1 - The Trip To Scotland & Loch Lomond
Published On Thursday 6 Jul 2023 by Sticky Beak
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The Man Bird and I left the ‘Shire bright-n-breezy at the crack of dawn, eager to get our road trip started and we made good time up to Gretna Green, despite encountering roadworks along the way! Although if you don’t come across roadworks, are you even really driving in the British Isles? #drivingnuisance
We’d left behind blue skies and decent temperatures and it miraculously stayed that way until, literally, we hit the ‘Welcome to Scotland’ sign! Nothing was going to dampen our spirits though, and we skipped across the ample car park at The Old Toll Bar Cafe at Gretna Green and walked through its doors, ready to fill our grumbling tums. A lovely young chap greeted us warmly and said to grab a table, look at the menu and he’d be over in a couple of minutes.
Having decided what we wanted – Veggie Fry-up and Meaty Fry-up (£7.65 and £7.99 respectively), we then read the history of the Old Toll Bar. Built in 1830, this fab little venue has seen over 10,000 marriages, and you can still get hitched there. To go with our food we ordered a pot of tea for me and a Cranberry and Raspberry tea for The Man – he’s trying to cut down on caffeine.
For those of you travelling with furry companions, I’ll just say that they’re allowed in the outside seated area, but not indoors; I don’t see why you couldn’t order food to go, though, and sit with them in the car park if it’s raining.
Anyhow, what you need to know is that my 2 fried Eggs, squishily grilled Green Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Potato Scone, Beans and Toast and His Nibs’ Sausage, Haggis, Bacon, fried Egg, Mushrooms, Potato Scone, Beans and Toast were all piping hot, cooked perfectly and were tasty and satisfying. The menu is limited, but there’s something for everyone on it.
The toilets were also very clean; a small, but important point on any journey!
With our bellies filled, we had a little unscheduled detour to the shopping outlet at Gretna (oops, my bad!), before continuing to Balloch Castle and its Country Park. There was plenty of parking, and toilets are located in the Castle which you can still use, although the Castle itself isn’t currently open to the public. As far as country parks go, this one is pretty flipping spectacular! Everywhere was lush and green, well maintained and beautiful to look at.
Every so often, you’d see wood sculptures and I loved the little fairy house – not to say that the animal ones weren’t super, too. The walled garden was a very popular spot with visitors, some of whom were resting on memorial benches that were at regular intervals.
Our next stop was the village of Luss, to board the ‘Lomond Princess’ – which is dog- and child- friendly, by the way - for our cruise along Loch Lomond and some of its 22 islands with Cruise Loch Lomond. Craig was our skipper, ably assisted by the lovely Alex, who got our Hot Chocolate and Shortbread sorted in no time...served with her dazzling smile. Whilst we peered through the lower deck windows (thanks, rain!), Craig gave a great commentary: ready for some facts? Here they come!
Ospreys have been nesting for 10 years on one of the islands, and another island has a farmhouse that stands on the site of a former Monastery. Loch Lomond is the Largest freshwater Loch in Scotland, but not its deepest; that is Loch Ness (well, Nessie needs some space, y’know!!).
The Highland Boundary Fault Line runs along the Loch and is responsible for the breath-taking scenery that we were taking in! Loch Lomond Golf Club is the most exclusive in Scotland, and if you fancy being a member then you’ll have to shell out £165,000 sheckles per annum for the privilege! Take comfort in the fact that your clubhouse was the former residence of the chief of the clan Colquhoun – hope I’ve spelt that right; if not, sorry! Ben Lomond (translation to English is Beacon Mountain) is the most southerly of the Munro’s in Scotland and stands at about 3000ft! So there you go, fact-o-philes.
To get a good view down Loch Lomond we’d got in the jalopy and climbed the Inveruglas Pyramid; it’s not that many steps, and is well worth the detour.
Our accommodation for the night was the Inverardran Guest House, and what an absolute treasure this turned out to be!! The long drive really lets you take in the gorgeous red and white exterior of this house (home to ‘Host with the Most’, John, and his wife Jan who makes the shortbread that’s in each room). I think there’re only 4 rooms available and the cosiness is what lets you enjoy real quality here. When we arrived, John said that he’d done us a cheeky little upgrade from the twin bed room to the double one, and the extra sitting area (with single bed in case families are staying) certainly came in handy for our blogging!
Our room (room 1) was spotlessly clean and beautifully appointed; a particularly nice touch was the vase of fresh cream Roses and pink Carnations on the table – there’s even USB points on each of the bedside lamps. There was a good-sized wardrobe to hang our stuff up in and shampoo, shower gel and handwash are provided too. Our shower was easily big enough for the both of us to go in at once, and the water flows out brilliantly fast! Tea, Coffee and Hot Chocolate – Galaxy, no less! - (as well as milk and sugars) are nestled on a tray with the kettle and those all-important shortbread rounds; we wasted no time in making a brew and scoffing those as we readied ourselves for dinner.
If, like us, you like wildlife, John has a gourmet food station fully stocked with all the avian goodies you can imagine, and a huge variety of birds were availing themselves of his generosity! They weren’t alone; a pair of enthusiastic Red Squirrels were helping themselves to nuts and cavorting about with no cares in the world. What a treat this was!
Our original intention had been to walk the ¾-or-so mile to the Best Western Crianlarich Hotel for dinner, but as the rain continued we thought ‘stuff it’, and got in the car! There was funny smell in the wood panel and wood furniture decked restaurant and it took me a while to figure it out; I think it was ‘proper’ wood polish, the stuff that has Turps and Beeswax in it! Initially there was just The Man and me in the dining room, which felt a bit odd in such a large space, but when more diners joined us, it came alive with chatter.
Our friendly server took our order promptly: Chef’s Steak Pie with Puff Pastry top, Mashed Potato and Root Vegetables for me (£15.95) with a side of Onion Rings (£3.95), and The Crianlarich Burger with Chips and Coleslaw for His Nibs (£14.95).
My pie was delicious; the pieces of steak were nice and tender, but it was the sauce that really stole the show – rich, thick and very moreish! The Puff Pastry was buttery and light and all the vegetables (Mange Tout, Carrot and Broccoli )were cooked perfectly – this was a real belly-busting meal that would satisfy the heartiest appetite. Half a dozen good-sized Onion Rings elicited a resounding crunch when bitten into, but I think they needed to have had more time to drain oil from them –they were a tad too slick for me when I picked them up.
His Nibs’ burger choice was splendid! A dense, 8oz Beef patty had a good ‘chew time’ and its deep flavour was excellent. Chef had toasted the Brioche Bun so it wasn’t soggy in the least, not even when laden with Lettuce, juicy Tomato and sliced Red Onion. A tangy burger relish was housed in a separate pot, allowing you to add as much or as little as you fancied.
I pinched the dinky pot of creamy coleslaw, figuring that I’d shared my Onion Rings, so fair’s fair, no? Well seasoned, chunky, skin-on chips completed this scrummy dish, and we both declined pudding as our bellies were stuffed! Whilst it wasn’t the swankiest place we’ve dined in, the service had been friendly and the food good, so we took that for the win.
All in all, day one of our NC500 roadtrip had been pretty blooming awesome, I reckon.
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