There comes a time in every Yorkshire person’s life that they must leave god’s own county and go exploring (AKA go on holiday). Arran is a large island just off the coast of Ayrshire in Scotlan; because it lies on the fault line between the Lowlands and Highlands, it has the landscape of both, which can be accessed in a short car journey. There is not a place on the island that doesn’t have a stunning view. I am currently on the sofa in the living room of the holiday cottage looking out over the sea to Ireland. Arran is a paradise for nature lovers and even my untrained eye spotted a golden eagle a few days ago. We have probably had the best weather the island has ever seen; we are all sunburnt through factor twenty five sun cream (curse our Scottish blood). It is also a good place for archaeologists or those with a passing interest is history as there are a number of prehistoric sites on the island.
Well on to food, you don’t want to spend your free time listening to me witter on about sun burn and archaeology I am positive. The main shop on the Island is a co op in Brodick which has a small number of Quorn and Linda McCartney products, with enough veggie products to give enough variety to last about a week. The large number of veggie meals may be due to a small community of Buddhist monks on Holy Island in the bay off Brodick. Tonight we ate at The Kinloch Hotel in Blackwaterfoot. The food was epic; I had mozzarella, aubergine and tomato towers, with a side salad and garlic bread. The original order in the menu also included pesto sauce but parmesan cheese is not veggie friendly. However, after a quiet word with the waitress with a big smile they left the pesto sauce out. I just goes to show that if you don’t kick up a fuss issues with food can be resolved. The stacks were very tasty and were not dry as I feared they would be, the juice from the tomato oozed out when I cut them. I saved the slice of garlic bread till the end so I could use it to mop up the juices. For pudding I had sticky toffee pudding and local ice cream and it was epic. I have never has such a good pudding in my life. The pub has a very nice dining room and a sea view out of the window. It felt like you were eating on a ship, without the resulting sea sickness. Anyway, good food, good service good price. Would recommend to anyone.
