BUTTER BE GOOD
Scone Spy visits the Cluanie Inn in Skye and Lochalsh.
ON this outing we’re tucking into our scones with five breathtakingly beautiful sisters for company.
The Cluanie Inn in Skye & Lochalsh is just a short drive from Scotland’s most iconic castle, Eilean Donan, and is in a spectacular location.
So jaw-dropping is the panorama we take a seat outside so that we can drink it in along with a snack lunch followed by scones. And there, right before us, are the mighty Five Sisters of Kintail and the Glen Shiel ridge.
“Wowzer!” was the response from a hairy leather-clad Harley Davidson rider who with his equally hirsute and tattooed companions chose an adjacent table. We could not have agreed more.
The Cluanie offers easy access to its surrounding mountains with 21 Munros including Aonach air Chrith and it’s just a short drive to the Isle of Skye.
Hardly surprising then that the place is packed. Families arrive in cars and motorhomes.
Others come hauling luggage to check into the inn’s comfortable rooms and Club House, while hillwalkers and backpackers show up on foot.
We’re having fun trying to match countries to the plethora of languages we hear around the tables when a distinct Aberdeenshire twang catches our ear.
It comes from a family opposite. The grandparents
are chatting to their son and daughter-in-law, despite persistent interruptions from their young grandson.
“Grandda? Grandda!” “Fit?” “Can you croak?” “Croak? Fit d’ye mean? Like a frog?” “I dinna ken, but mam says when you croak it we can all go to Florida on holiday!”
Stifling chuckles, we are saved from witnessing the ensuing kerfuffle with the arrival of our super-busy waitress delivering our order promptly and with a broad smile.
Our choices for lunch are a simple chilli jacket potato and two rounds of cheese and onion toasties, which all come with fries and a little salad.
They are tasty and certainly hit the spot; just enough to take the edge of our hunger but not too much to detract from the main deal – the scones.
And there’s no “umm-ing” and “ahh-ing” over the choice. The only scones left are fruit and they come with butter and jam.
Although not the best I’ve ever sampled, they are certainly tasty, light and crumbly on the tongue. Our plates are cleared and we decide to try the shortbread with tea and coffee – which was equally as good.
The Cluanie appears to have something of a captive audience. There’s not another hostelry – or anything else for that matter – in sight.
However, it doesn’t appear to take advantage of the fact.
The food, and the scones, are simple but good and the service extremely friendly. Our bill with drinks came to just over £37 and we left with a smile, refreshed and ready to take in the spectacular views again.