Thursday 1 August 2013

Coffee, Cake and a Lighthouse- Scotland's Most Southerly Point

I've just got back from south-west Scotland and the beautiful Galloway coast on a bit of a weekend road trip involving three of my favourite things; Whisky, good food and travel. If you love your coastlines and are a seafood addict, the Solway coastline is a fantastic place to visit.
Lone male in the kitchen
A great place for coffee and cake- Gallie Craig coffee house on the Mull of Galloway
The idea for the trip came about as a plan to visit Bladnoch Distillery, which is the southernmost Scotch whisky distillery. From my Nottingham home it's a good 4+ hour drive which is not realistic for a day trip so I started looking at what I could do during the course of the weekend. A chance viewing of the Galloway coastline on BBC's coast led me out to the Mull of Galloway, Scotland's most southerly point and it also happens to be home to the southernmost coffee shop in the country too in the form of the award winning Gallie Crag- double result!

Lone male in the kitchen
The single-track road out from Drummore to the Mull of Galloway- Scotland's most southerly point. 
From Dummore the roads get thin with the occasional passing place. Whilst the Mull of Galloway is quite a tourist attraction it doesn't seem somewhere that has lost it's natural innocence and charm as a result of the tourist droves. Had it been more popular I certainly wouldn't expect to be travelling a single lane road.

Gallie Craig Coffee House

Gallie Craig coffee house at the Mull of Galloway
Gallie Craig is situated on the Rhins of Galloway on a rocky outcrop which extends out to the headland where the impressive Mull of Galloway Lighthouse and RSPB centre are situated. On a clear day it's possible to see England, Ireland and the Isle of Man from the peninsula as well as across Luce Bay towards Glenluce and Port William.

The cafe features a selection of homemade meals, snacks as well as locally made Cream of Galloway Ice Creams. The food looks excellent and the cakes look magical but it just felt let down by the large display of tourist 'tat' which really detracts from the location and the coffee house itself. It's a majestic setting and in an honest review I felt the selection of tourist targeted tartan, shortbread and other paraphernalia simply cheapened the surroundings.

As seen above I plumped for a black coffee (which was filter coffee, not a fresh brew) and a slice of malteasers cake which took my fancy. I don't believe the malteasers cake was homemade either as I've seen the exact same cakes on offer in a number of other coffee shops on my travels around the area.

Would I go back to Ballie Craig and the Mull of Galloway? Yes, but not for the coffee or the cake.

What most people come to see- The Mull of Galloway Lighthouse
The lighthouse at the Mull of Galloway was a nice diversion from Gallie Craig

Find your way to the Mull of Galloway


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