Nardini's, Largs

It was a beautiful sunny almost summer's day in Cambuslang so we decided that because it was a special day we would head down to the west coast to enjoy seaside delights at Largs.

Unfortunately by the time we reached Lochwinnoch the weather had turned quite autumnal and by the time we got to Largs it had turned back to winter.

We had another reason for visiting.  We wanted to see the graffiti on Kelburn Castle before it is removed.  I have to warn you the entrance fee to see the castle is a bit inflated but the graffiti is spectacular and we were both glad that we had gone and hope that they put our money to good use by maintaining the place.  The colourful murals certainly brighten up a dull day and I am sure have been a good earner for them to raise the funds to replace the cement render which is damaging the castle structure.

Anyway after Kelburn we arrived in Largs where the wind was blowing and the drizzly rain was threatening to dampen our spirits.  We had a quick browse around the town before arriving at Nardini's.

I had the haddock and chips while Martin chose the soup and sandwich combo.  My haddock was delicious and came with chips, coleslaw, tartar sauce and salad.  I know this sounds like an odd combination especially up here where people appear to be allergic to anything remotely healthy but it was delicious!

Martin enjoyed his minestrone soup which had huge chunks of vegetables but was less impressed with his ham and cheese baguette not least because the grated cheese managed to get everywhere except his mouth and disconcertingly his sandwich did not come with a salad garnish.

Once we were through with the mains, it was time to choose our ice cream desserts.  We did consider a Clyde Coast Extravaganza but with 12 scoops of ice cream (between two) we thought this rather excessive.  After a lot of deliberation (the waitress tried to take our order on no fewer than three occasions before we made our minds up) we plumped for the old favourites: a Knickerbocker Glory for me and a Banana Split for Martin.

I tried both and they were delicious.  My Knickerbocker glory contained the obligatory vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream with fresh (I repeat FRESH) fruit and all the trimmings and I polished off the lot! Martin struggled with his dessert but enjoyed it none the less.

Scratch Wizgonies off the List

We are clearing some unwanted plants in our garden and needed to use a garden chipper to get rid of the evidence and to cut a long story short we had arranged to pick up an unwanted one from a friend of a friend in Erskine.

As this is on the way to Loch Lomond we thought we would combine it with a day out and an opportunity to try out the ice cream at Wizgonies in Balloch.

After soup and a sandwich at the Waterhouse Inn we walked next door to Wizgonies which rather unusually has teamed up with a hairdressers.  But just as we got there we discovered to our horror that they have sourced their ice cream from Porelli's.

Don't get me wrong Porelli's ice cream is very good but we were expecting freshly made ice cream made on the premises.  So another one bites the dust.