Tuesday, 12. May 2026
Menstrie, Clackmannanshire
Tomorrow there is a conference / awareness day all about Essential Tremor in Stirling. Therefore, today I drove all the way up to Scotland in order to attend.
It was a full day of driving – with almost 400 miles to cover. I broke the journey up with several stops – This was really good as it made the day really enjoyable. Somehow, the worst traffic I had all day was at Birdlip on the A417, before I’d even left Gloucestershire!
My first stop was Essington Farm, just outside Wolverhampton (just over the border in to Staffordshire). They have a farm shop there, plus a butchery, deli counter, cafรฉ and restaurant. In the restaurant I had a warm chocolate cookie served with Staffordshire ice cream (vanilla); I also had the Essington Farm Milkshake of the Day – today’s flavour – strawberry. That was very good.
Back on the road, and the longest single stretch of driving was from Essington to Lancaster – taking 2 hours and covering 185km (114 miles) in one go. In Lancaster I parked right next to Lancaster Castle in the centre of town and booked myself on to the next available tour.
When I stopped in Lancaster last year, the castle was shut so I could only see it from the outside. It was good to be able to go on the tour today! The castle used to be a Category C prison until 2011, and it still houses Lancaster Crown Court. For that reason, it is illegal to take photos in most of the buildings I visited on the tour. The penalty for that is up to 2 years in prison. In reality – the court has not sat in Lancaster since 2019. Legally though, it is still a working court building. I did not take any photos when the tour took us to that part of the site.
There were some rooms we were allowed to take photos in though. Namely two of the prison wings which date back to the 1700s / 1800s, and the wing which now holds the Lancashire Police Museum (the Police Museum is only open on Thursdays & Fridays so I couldn’t see that part today).
I found the tour very interesting – lots of information about the history of the prison, of capital punishment in the UK, and of the UK’s criminal justice system (and how that has evolved over the years).
Just a 45 minute up the road and I stopped at Tebay Services for a bite to eat, before pushing on to the border. Having left home at 07:55 this morning, I finally crossed in to Scotland at 16:30. Coming off the motorway briefly, I went in to the small town of Moffat to fill up with petrol (going in to town = non motorway prices – It was cheaper than Cirencester). Moffat looks worth a proper visit some time though, I reckon. It is on a route marketed as a ‘Scenic route to Edinburgh’.
My next proper stop was the market town of Strathaven, in South Lanarkshire. Pronounced Stray-ven (not, as my Sat Nav said, currently set to Dutch language; “Straat Hafen” in a Dutch accent). In the sunshine the town looked lovely. I found a lovely ice cream parlour – Poppi’s Ices – which opened its doors for the first time only 3 days ago! Italian inspired, but made in Scotland, they have 2 versions of vanilla ice cream on offer – just the way Poppi (Grandpa) used to make them back in Italy! I had the ‘classic’ vanilla flavour with biscoff crumb sprinkled on top. It was very good! Give them a go!
Just a 1 hour drive from there on to my final desination today. Just 5 minutes out of Stirling – and over the border in to Clackmannanshire – I am staying this evening at the Broomhall Castle Hotel in Menstrie.
Slight mix up when I arrived; They couldn’t find the key to my room – so instead of being in a single room, I appear to have ended up in a double room which also has a large 3-seater sofa, a 1-seater sofa, coffee table and TV all in the middle of the room, with great views of the Clackmannanshire countryside.
There are so many nooks and crannies to explore in my room… I’ve got 2 of the castle’s turretts. The countryside round here looks good, wish I was staying for longer! The area is part of the foothills of the Ochil Hills, a range of hills North of the Forth Valley. It’s so comfortable sitting on the sofa writing this blog today!
For dinner I had Balmoral chicken – chicken, stuffed with haggis, wrapped in bacon, in a creamy sauce, and served with mashed potatoes.
Conference tomorrow, then on to Edinburgh.
Good night,
Oรญche mhaith (in Gaelic),
Guid nicht (in Scots – 37% of the local population speak or read Scots – making Clackmannanshire the county with the 9th highest proficiency in Scots).
FH.
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On the Car Stereo Today…
Jon Smith – BBC Radio Gloucestershire
Tammy Gooding – BBC Hereford & Worcester
Ed James – BBC Radio WM
Paula White – BBC Radio Stoke
Mike Sweeney – BBC Radio Manchester
Pete Otway – BBC Radio Lancashire / BBC Radio Cumbria
Drivetime with Fiona Stalker – BBC Radio Scotland
Get It On with Bryan Burnett – BBC Radio Scotland
Simon Mayo – Greatest Hits Radio (Cumbria & South West Scotland)
Jackie Brambles – Greatest Hits Radio (Glasgow & the West)
