Day Trip: Logie Steading

As usual, our day off on Friday took us in the direction that we hoped would have the most sun… after a chilly week we had a nice walk in the sunshine at Logie Steading, which is near Forres. It’s on the Speyside Whisky trail and there’s enough at the centre to keep any visitor occupied for at least a few hours. Back to that later….!

We started off with this walk which darted alongside the steep drop to the river Findhorn. It was roughly 2.5 miles including one short steep section.  The route was generally quiet, though I imagine that on a weekend it would be busier.

There’s lots to do and see at Logie Steading. There are free open gardens (we didn’t visit but may do when we bring in-laws here in the summer!), a collection of small shops (amongst others – selling coffee, books, gifts and homeware, whisky and wine, food and plants) a heritage centre and a cafe  -which was our first port of call.

The cafe is a nice space and I can well imagine it can get busy at the weekends/holidays. The upstairs area can only be used for customers having coffee and cakes, so we sat downstairs and enjoyed the view onto the courtyard as well as having a good view of the rest of the restaurant.

It was a late lunch, so we both went for the venison burgers which were served with salad, coleslaw and crisps. It was nice not having the usual chips/fries served with the burger, which made it seem a lighter lunch, despite the venison burger being a generous size and served with a couple of wedges of brie and redcurrant jelly, all within a nice seeded wholemeal roll. All of the main course lunches looked to have a twist on a classic, and it was also easier to have a soup/sandwich combo with soups that change on a daily basis.

As a treat to finish we shared (sharing in a very loose sense as Mr B only wanted a taster!) a Viennese lemon sandwich biscuit which was smooth in taste and crumbly in texture, and contained generous layers of lemon curd and lemon buttercream inside. Delicious!

Feeling very full, we then had a peruse in the bookshop which was extensive – I found a nice book containing some stories from Scottish Islands which I’ll be saving for our roadtrip around the Outer Hebrides in the summer. We also took a short wander in the whisky and wine shop. A special mention goes to the owner who was very friendly and even provided me with a tasting of The Botanist Gin. 

Logie Steading is a great place to bring all the family to (containing a small playground for children) and is apparently dog-friendly as canine companions are welcome to be brought onto the site for walks and around the gardens. Amongst the plentiful parking was a few spaces for dog owners which had a light canopy which takes the edge off a hot day for leaving your dog in a car (not that I would advocate doing that for very long at all – responsible dog owner speaking here!).

Did you see my post yesterday detailing my first Giveaway? Pop on over, have a read and enter!