Downright Gabbler

Downright Gabbler Join us for one of our unique food and drink experiences where we share our love of Scotland’s past
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It's Beer Day Britain today - our annual celebration of beer. It's a drink we love here in the UK - 7 out of 10 drinks b...
15/06/2026

It's Beer Day Britain today - our annual celebration of beer. It's a drink we love here in the UK - 7 out of 10 drinks bought over the counter in a pub are beer.

We've been drinking beer for a very, very long time. When we talk about our earliest settlers here, the general view is that we settled down to start farming, but we think it was actually to brew beer - and there is some evidence to support that in various archaeological digs, not just here but all over the world. They were certainly drinking beer at the fabulous Skara Brae in Orkney in Neolithic times.

Why we settled down in the northernmost part of the North of Scotland, as well as the buildings we used to shelter ourselves, is a story we tell at our North Coast 500 in 5 Objects event. And it's a fascinating tale of crannogs and brochs and other amazing structures you'll find evidence of all over this part of the world.

We have a North Coast 500 dinner running tonight, then a Living the Dram on Friday 19th, a Highland Banquet on Saturday 20th and a Super Scots Sunday Lunch on 21st June.

And if you visit you can sample some of our wonderful locally brewed beers. With the Black Isle Brewery just along the road and Cromarty Brewery further along the Black Isle there's a great choice. Not forgetting the amazing Skye Gold and Skye Red from the north of that glorious island. If you ask Garry nicely he might even show you his fabulous collection of beer glasses and tankards!

Historic Environment Scotland .oficial Black Isle Brewery Cromarty Brewing Co Isle of Skye Brewing Company North Coast 500 - NC500

As we mark Scotland Loves Local Week, this is a chance for us to celebrate the village we call home. What makes this pla...
14/06/2026

As we mark Scotland Loves Local Week, this is a chance for us to celebrate the village we call home. What makes this place so special? Well a major factor must be the independently owned shops and hospitality businesses, which bring people to the village from far and wide. Many of them are long standing family owned businesses and we're delighted to support them whenever we can.

And it's not all about food. The much admired plaid coat I wear at my storytelling events - the Tipsy Afternoon Tea and the North Coast 500 - was bought from our next door neighbours, Campbell's of Beauly some years ago for a big birthday. Not cheap, but the quality is superb and that's why it's lasted a very long time.

We also have some amazing cutlery, as well as crystal salt and pepper dishes from the wonderful Iain Marr antiques, just across the road.

When our guests ask us where they can see Highland Cows we're happy to point them in the direction of Robertson's Farm Shop. And where would we be without Morison's Ironmongers next door for all sorts of bits and bobs from light bulbs to cutlery trays.

It's so good having these places on our doorstep and they're still here because local people and visitors alike continue to support them. Here's hoping that continues for many years to come.

Visit Beauly Robertson’s The Larder Beauly Morisons Country & Equine Iain Marr Antiques

Today is the anniversary of the birth in 1831 of one of our favourite Super Scots - James Clerk Maxwell. A hugely impre...
13/06/2026

Today is the anniversary of the birth in 1831 of one of our favourite Super Scots - James Clerk Maxwell.

A hugely impressive scientist, his achievements include the theory of electromagnetism which laid the groundwork for all our electronic communications - everything from radio and TV to mobile phones.

He also created the first durable colour photograph and, before he was thirty, had demonstrated Saturn's rings were made from independent, small solid particles—a theory which was finally proved by the Voyager space probes.

He sadly died at the young age of 48 - who knows what else he might have discovered had he lived longer? We will never know. But we certainly have much to thank him for in our modern world.

His statue, at the St Andrew's Square end of George Street is one of my favourites - the statue itself, with his dog Toby, and the carvings around the plinth are really impressive. Or you can book a visit to his birthplace at 14 India Street in the New Town, now owned by the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation. You can also take a tour of places associated with this man, described as "the Einstein of Scotland".

And you can find out more about him, or some of the other scientific greats from Scotland, by coming along to our Super Scots lunch - the next one's on Sunday 21st June.

Visit Edinburgh

Scotland Loves Local Week starts tomorrow, with the theme encouraging us all to support local businesses. Flying the Fla...
12/06/2026

Scotland Loves Local Week starts tomorrow, with the theme encouraging us all to support local businesses. Flying the Flag for Local Businesses. It's all about encouraging us to to buy from local businesses who support local jobs and create attractive and vibrant places to live, like Beauly.

We do everything we can to use local suppliers and that includes our selection of drinks. We've a terrific selection of gins which we use at our Tipsy Afternoon Tea and we've now developed a drinks flight to pair with our North Coast 500 dinner which takes you on a journey around some of the best suppliers in the North of Scotland.

So here for Four on a Friday are a selection of the best of our locally produced drinks:

* Rock Rose gin from Caithness is not just a lovely gin, its visitor centre at Dunnet Head is a great place to visit on your North Coast 500 journey.

* And as an alternative gin, the equally fantastic Crofters Tears is also from Caithness, just a little further south at Latheron.

* Black Isle Blonde is just one of many fine beers from our neighbours along the road whose business has sustainability at its heart and we're honoured to include it as part of our North Coast drinks flight.

* And at our Highland Banquet the fully inclusive drinks flight finishes with the amazing Benromach, produced along the coast in Forres by the family owned firm of Gordon & MacPhail.

So here's to all these wonderful local firms we love to support. And if you want to support them too, we have a Tipsy Afternoon Tea tomorrow at 2pm, a North Coast 500 event on Monday 15th, Living the Dram on Friday 19th and a Highland Banquet on Saturday 20th.

Rock Rose Gin Ice & Fire Distillery , Scotland Black Isle Brewery Benromach Whisky

James Gillespie Graham, born on this day in 1766, was the architect behind some of our very finest buildings here in Sco...
11/06/2026

James Gillespie Graham, born on this day in 1766, was the architect behind some of our very finest buildings here in Scotland. He liked to design using the Scots baronial style, but also liked the Gothic Revival style, as well as some of the more traditional Georgian architecture we tend to associate with Edinburgh.

He was much more than an architect in our modern use of the term - he was also a town planner and interior designer. His greatest planned townscapes made a real and lasting impact on two of Scotland's cities. The layout of Blythswood Square in Glasgow and the part of the New Town of Edinburgh known as the Moray Feu are both his handiwork and still as impressive today as when they were first built. Moray Place, pictured here, is at the heart of the Moray Feu, hence the street names such as Forres Street and Darnaway Place.

One of his most iconic works is the Glenfinnan Monument - a very different sort of structure and landscape to Moray Place! This iconic memorial to the Jacobites who died in the 45 rebellion has been somewhat overshadowed of late by the nearby Glenfinnan viaduct, made famous by the Harry Potter films, but is still a beautiful monument in a stunning landscape.

Glenfinnan Monument NTS National Trust for Scotland Visit Edinburgh Visit Glasgow

Garry's been beavering away preparing for our storytelling events at Cawdor Castle later in the month.There's certainly ...
10/06/2026

Garry's been beavering away preparing for our storytelling events at Cawdor Castle later in the month.

There's certainly no shortage of material for stories for this special dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the castle being open to the public. Cawdor is a castle particularly abundant in history and the local area has a rich seam of stories for the Downright Gabbler to mine. Combined with Kirsty's fantastic food and the chance to wander round the grounds in the evening, it's sure to be a wonderful evening and you'll get a chance to see this magnificent bird feeder!

It will allow Garry the chance to right a wrong - the traducing of the reputation of one of Scotland's finest Kings by that well known English writer of dramatic entertainment and political propogandist, one William Shakespeare! For it's fair to say the achievements of the Thane of Cawdor have never been truly appreciated as a result of one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. And a version of Macbeth is being performed in the grounds of Cawdor Castle later in the summer, as part of their anniversary celebrations, so what could be a more fitting story to tell?

It's not often the Downright Gabbler gets "on the road" so this is one not to be missed. Firday 26th or Saturday 27th June at 7pm. You can book the Downright Gabbler events and Macbeth on the Cawdor Castle website.

Cawdor Castle Visit Inverness Loch Ness North Coast 500 - NC500

We've won a Travellers' Choice Award from TripAdvisor again this year, putting us in the Top 10% of Things to Do in the ...
09/06/2026

We've won a Travellers' Choice Award from TripAdvisor again this year, putting us in the Top 10% of Things to Do in the world. Not bad for a wee family business in a small village in the Highlands...

And the people we have to thank for it are our lovely visitors who are kind enough to give us a review and point the way for other people to find us.

Like many families we can be a bit competitive, so there's definitely a little bit of point scoring about who gets the most name checks and we do get some lovely ones - here are just a few examples...

"Garry is a marvellous host and raconteur and you practically feel part of the family. Highly, highly recommended."

"The food was outstanding, Kirsty the chef even came out to introduce herself and check everyone had enjoyed their meal. Kirsty it was perfect! What an amazing chef you are!"

"The most unique eating establishment I have ever been in! Garry, the Downright Gabbler’s erudite entertainer/ owner regaled us with historic tales of various “Super Scots”."

"A wonderful historical and gastronomical adventure with Jane and her amazing family. With a warm welcome we enjoyed a brilliant and most enjoyable afternoon tea discovering the Scottish history involving tea, chocolate and gin!"

Sometimes we all get a mention in the one review which is incredibly impressive...

"When they described their business as a "small family business", they certainly meant it: from Gary, who kept us entertained the whole evening with his very entertaining story telling, to Jane, who managed our booking and made sure we made the most of our experience, not to mention Isla, whose friendly presence was very much appreciated, we were made to feel comfortable and welcome at every contact made.
Special mention to Kirsty, who's also a member of the family, and her fantastic food."

A huge big thank you to all those people who take the time to do reviews and help others find us. I know it can be a bit of a chore, but we really do appreciate it.

We've got a couple of our North Coast 500 in 5 Objects events on this week. I can't tell you what the objects are, becau...
08/06/2026

We've got a couple of our North Coast 500 in 5 Objects events on this week. I can't tell you what the objects are, because that would spoil the surprise on the night, but I can give you a bit of a hint about what we talk about...

We go back in the mists of time to explain why our land is amongst the oldest on the planet and how our early ancestors survived in this harsh environment. And we talk a lot about conflict - battles between clans, arguments about religion and debates about how to improve things. And at the centre of it all are the people - how they lived, what they believed and how they survived.

It's an eclectic mix of stories which dot around this beautiful land to the North of here in a pretty random order. So we decided to give people a handy map on the back of the menu to highlight some of the places we talk about. It's definitely not a guide to the North Coast 500, there are plenty of excellent guide books that do just that.

You don't have to be "doing the North Coast 500" to enjoy the stories. We've visited these places over time since we moved here 30 years ago, and indeed for a few decades before that on holidays - long before it became the North Coast 500.

And along with the stories is some fantastic food showcasing the best of local produce - and a paired drinks flight which does the same.

North Coast 500 - NC500 .north.photo Visit Inverness Loch Ness

We had a real Mother and Daughter vibe going on at yesterday's Tipsy Afternoon Tea with some friends old and new having ...
07/06/2026

We had a real Mother and Daughter vibe going on at yesterday's Tipsy Afternoon Tea with some friends old and new having a great afternoon - it didn't feel like working at all! My lovely god-daughter, who survived her head bouncing off the wall due to my poor baby handling skills at the christening, brought her Mum, her partner and her Mum-in law. And she was joined by our middle daughter too.

Add me and Kirsty into the mix (not forgetting Betty the border terrier) and we couldn't resist the opportunity of a Mother and Daughter photoshoot.

We had a lot of catching up to do, which largely seemed to consist of tales of their childhood accidents, involving radiators and hammers, so clearly the head bouncing off the wall was just the first of many mishaps! Those were the days...

We've got another Tipsy Afternoon Tea running this coming Saturday 13th June if you fancy a fun afternoon sipping gin, eating lots of food, and reminiscing about your childhood (the latter is not compulsory). We also have a North Coast 500 in 5 Objects on Monday 8th and a Highland Banquet on Thursday 11th June. Our other events this week are already full I'm afraid.

❤️ North Coast 500 - NC500 Visit Inverness Loch Ness Millport Breaks

Thomas Blake-Glover was born on this day in 1838. He was born in Fraserburgh and when we were visiting last year, on the...
06/06/2026

Thomas Blake-Glover was born on this day in 1838. He was born in Fraserburgh and when we were visiting last year, on the hunt for some fish and chips, we came across this charming memorial garden at his birthplace.

Known as the Scottish Samurai, he is barely known in Scotland yet revered in Japan as a major figure in the industrialisation of the country and the modernisation of its business practices. He founded a shipbuilding company which would eventually become Mitsubishi.

But he's remembered in his home town of Fraserburgh, not only through his memorial garden, but an excellent fish and chip shop just down the street which was named in his honour. Where better to enjoy some fresh fish than one of Scotland's most prominent fishing ports. And it's also a great opportunity to visit the fascinating Museum of Scottish Lighthouses - a great place for a day out.

And you can hear more about Thomas Blake Glover at our Super Scots Sunday Lunch - the next one is on Sunday 21st June.

Glover & Co. Museum of Scottish Lighthouses

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