#menstrie

Story

This is a 4th generation recipe. My mother taught me and I have taught my daughter and I am now teaching my grandchildren. I bake them for school fares, work, church events and as gifts, they always prove to be very popular. The recipe has been shared with friends and family worldwide. Easy to make and taste amazing - why not give them a try?

Ingredients

18 Digestive Biscuits

4 Oz Margarine

4 tbsp. desiccated coconut

4 tbsp. drinking chocolate

Tin of condensed milk

Vermicelli/Chocolate strand

Method

In a pot, melt margarine. When melted, add condensed milk.(wait until the mixture is bubbling around the sides). Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Leave for at least an hour and a half - until firm to touch. Using a spoon, scoop out the truffles and roll into a ball using the palms of your hand.

Place vermicelli/chocolate strands in a bowl. Drop the rolled truffles into vermicelli/chocolate strands until fully covered.

We thought that maybe we would ask the hotel for suggestions but, then, I chanced upon an ordinance survey map. I’d been looking for one for our specific area of Scotland, and I’d found it. OS map in hand, we planned our own route. Mother thought we were being ambitious, but I knew it would all be ok.

Kit

Each of us wore:

long puffa coat

woolly hat/gloves/scarf

leggings/top/jumper

woolly socks

proper walking shoes

We took with us:

OS map

water

grapes

bread/ham/cheese (for sandwiches at lunch!)

first aid kit

emergency blankets (those silver ones trauma survivors get)

camera (including my new wide angle lens, for awesome landscape photography)

phones

And now, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present…

Our one-day circular walk in the Ochill Hills

We started at Broomhill Castle and went up the west-side of the Menstrie Glen. We followed the footpath to the Lossburn Reservoir, and beyond to the main road. We then headed back south down the main road, before heading back east at the ‘sheep pens’. After the ford, we went up both hills – to the memorial and then to Castle Law – before going back down to Blairlogie, and along the footpath behind the houses to Menstrie. It took about 6 hours, including around 1 hour of breaks and a teeny weeny bit of getting lost!

We headed out at dawn! Ok, more like 9.45am but still… the fog looked quite heavy up on the hills, but we were sure it was just morning weather.

The first climb was a little steep, but looking back over that first hill was very exciting and satisfying. After that it was much easier, along a nice gravel track.

The fog was still quite heavy, which is why we didn’t notice a herd of highland cattle. They were so still and silent we thought for a moment that they were statutes – some sort of weird art installation in the middle of the Highlands. We were a little scared of them, so we didn’t take any photos until we were well clear. I really like the shot I got though.

After that, more walking, more fog. It was really very beautiful, I promise! Even if the photos make it seem a little bland. After the Lossburn Reservoir we got to the main road and were very concerned about whether we would notice the turn back onto the footpath…

Fortunately, there was something of a carpark! It seems as though the two hills we’d chosen to walk up were a bit of an attraction. It was certainly very lovely to finally rise out of the fog – as we got higher and higher the air got clearer and the colours got brighter and brighter.

At one point we thought we were choosing between the two peaks, and decided to avoid the ramblers and go up the easier hill. Fortunately, we’d made a mistake and actually decided to go up the taller hill and, I mean, well…

…look at this view! It was really incredible and worth all of the sweat and effort. It was only 1pm or so at this point so we sat down to eat our sandwiches. We found a little nook on the side of the hill that was protected from the wind. It meant we were looking down the valley and, as the clouds shifted, we should see sheep on the slopes below.

After lunch we got a little chilly from all of that sitting down, so we decided to take on the second hill. It was very easy (because we were such champion walkers by now) although the path wasn’t so clear. We ended up cutting through a bog, and my feet got a little wet.

In fact, this was the start of quite a lot of getting lost. On reflection we were very tired and weren’t trying so hard on following the map. We wandered around for a little while, and eventually made it back to the main road. After that, we chose to follow the road rather than go back up into the hills to get back to Menstrie. What can I say, we were tired! If you want to take the scenic (i.e. hilly) route back, just follow the signs to the ‘high road to Menstrie’.

Once we got back to the hotel, we took a well deserved bath (each, not together!) and ate an exceptionally large amount of food. In short, a perfect day.

We’d rented a car from Glasgow Airport and driven down in M8 through the growing twilight. By the time we reached Stirling it was pitch black and foggy. We’d passed through un-countable roundabouts, been honked at by an angry Scotsman, and were starting to think we wouldn’t last the night.

Then we turned the corner of yet another roundabout, and through a gap in the trees we could see a vast array of lights. At last! Proof of civilisation. We surveyed the vista, and asked, “I wonder what that is over there.” We soon found out… it’s our new home! For the next three days at least…

Broomhall Castle

The main, absolute, fundamental selling point of this hotel is simple: it’s a castle. Admittedly, not a *real* castle: it was built in the late 19th century, not the 15th; and it hasn’t even a moat or turrets. But it’s still a castle, with towers, on a hill, that backs onto an awesome moor, in Scotland. It was perfect (and relatively reasonably priced).

I also really liked the decor: simple, pleasant, not too swishy. All the other hotels in the area seemed very modern, with glass things and silky purple walls. That isn’t my aesthetic at all! Everything at Broomhall Castle was wooden and homely and traditional. It also had one of the biggest baths I’ve ever seen in a hotel, which was amazing after a long day walking up a Scottish hill.

Location

We were in the area for two reasons: to walk up a hill; and to visit Stirling Castle. Broomhall Castle was very well positioned for our walk – it’s in a village called Menstrie, which had a perfectly located footpath running up into the hills behind. Unfortunately, being in a little village, it wasn’t so well located for Stirling. If we hadn’t had a car, we would have had to get a taxi or the bus. This probably wouldn’t have been a huge problem, but it certainly wasn’t as convenient as being in Stirling itself.

To be honest, even having a car wasn’t ideal. There was so many roundabouts, it felt like it took twice as long to get everywhere, especially driving a manual! Also, it meant that we couldn’t drink at dinner when we ate out. This, and the fact at it got so dark so quickly, meant we were very tempted just to eat in the hotel all the time.

Food

Breakfast was included, and that was awesome. I had a full cooked breakfast every day: sausage, bacon, beans, tomato, toast, mushroom, and a strange potato bread thing. I also could have had haggis and black pudding, which is very Scottish. It was delicious – perhaps not very good for my arteries but hey, we did a lot of walking!

I also could have had ‘traditional Scottish porridge’. However, we suspected that it would be made with water and be salty – unlike our usual English porridge, which is made with milk and sugar. I wanted to ask how ‘traditional’ the porridge was, but I was so nervous that they would think I was a wet, soft Englishperson when I inevitably declined their tough, hardened Scottish porridge that I never got up the courage.

Dinner was delicious, if a bit odd. The starters were awesome: I had sweet potato soup on the first night and seafood chowder on the second. They both came with huge chunks of this soft, seeded, herby bread which I really enjoyed.

For mains, on the first night I had venison in a raspberry sauce. It was a strange combination, but quite pleasant by the end. I’ve never had venison before, but it seemed well cooked and tender. On the second night I had a lovely steak, perfectly cooked, which came with ‘haggis bon bons’ – i.e., deep fried breaded haggis balls. Very strange, not entirely necessary, but fine.

I also had a white chocolate cheesecake, which was huge and a little heavy – but then again, I still ate every crumb!

Staff

The people who work at Broomhall Castle were easily the stand-out part of the trip. Very friendly and welcoming, but also professional – the perfect balance. A special shout out is needed for Scott, who carried out suitcases up the stairs as if they were filled with feathers, not heavy boots. I also very much appreciated the hot chocolate Gary heroically made for me: it may have taken several tries but in the end it was delicious and silky smooth.

Overall, I’m so glad that we chose to stay at Broomhall Castle. It suited us perfectly, and made our trip to Stirling so easy and special.