Tuesday - Banff

On Tuesday we drove to Banff. Our planned coffee stop wasn't open on at the beginning of the week so we found a nearby Dobbies' Garden Centre.

Instead of walking straight in we had to queue as they were limiting the number of people inside their café and there we discovered that the NHS Track & Trace app didn't recognise Scottish QR Codes. Later I was able to download the Scottish Track & Trace app. Covid restrictions had, unlike England, not been lifted and were rigorously enforced.

Our lunch stop had been booked but a Harvester was mistaken for it.

The in-car sat-nav didn't have the new Edinburgh by pass, so we used Google Earth on a 'phone till the battery expired, and  we got to a café in a garden centre at 4.05pm but they wouldn't sell us coffee because last orders were at 4pm. But I did buy a bottle of DeWaal Pinotage 2018 at £9.99 which is a good price.

Finally we arrived in Banff at the Banff Springs Hotel - our accommodation for the next three nights. Despite its pretentions, the rooms were TravelLodge standard  and the restaurant was overstaffed with waiters who circulated the room refusing to see diners' signals.

After an hour of enduring whiny pop-music on a loop our food was eventually delivered, and it wasn't bad. 

The wine list was large but trying to get anyone to take our order was fraught and we got it shortly before the food arrived. The meal wasn't relaxing and we left without a dessert or coffee unable to bear the whiny music or any more delays.