Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

The Scone Hunter 100: New trail dedicated to showcasing Royal Deeside’s food and drink scene launches

The Scone Hunter 100 is a new food and drink trail based in Royal Deeside.
The Scone Hunter 100 is a new food and drink trail based in Royal Deeside.

A new 100-mile food and drink trail has been launched in Royal Deeside that takes people through a handpicked selection of the area’s cafes and ice cream shops.

Created by Jerry Cobb, from Banchory, The Scone Hunter 100 has been in the works for around six months, after Jerry was inspired by the increasing popularity of the North Coast 500 – a 500-mile route of stunning coastal scenery in the far north of Scotland.

There are currently 10 businesses featuring in the scenic trail, all of which were handpicked by the 50-year-old himself.

Jerry Cobb.

These include Daisy Mays Ice Cream Parlour, Cafe and Takeaway, Spider on a Bicycle, Shorty’s, The Highlanders Bakehouse, Goodbrand and Ross, Angie’s Cafe, Treehouse, The Garlogie Inn, Park Shop and The Cowshed.

Bringing food lovers to Deeside

The Scone Hunter – a title that comes from the nickname given to tourists who used to visit Deeside and hunt scones – 100’s main purpose is to promote local businesses in the area and encourage people to visit its shops and cafes.

Jerry lived in Deeside for almost three decades and has previously been involved in community councils, the Banchory District Initiative, Banchory River Festival, and more.

A banoffee dessert available at The Garlogie Inn.

He said: “I’ve had the idea for the trail for around six months or so. There is obviously a huge hype with the North Coast 500, so I thought why not have a wee trail closer to hand but that also takes in small, local businesses who sometimes get overlooked.

“I want to promote small, local businesses and Deeside as a whole.

There is obviously a huge hype with the North Coast 500, so I thought why not have a wee trail closer to hand but that also takes in small, local businesses who sometimes get overlooked.”

Jerry Cobbs, creator of The Scone Hunter 100.

“The businesses included are all ones that my family has visited and enjoyed. They do not pay or endorse The Scone Hunter 100, nor does the Scone Hunter 100 gain or benefit anything from them.”

Delighted to be involved

Three of the 10 venues currently included in the trail are family-owned restaurant The Garlogie Inn, Goodbrand and Ross, and The Highlanders Bakehouse, run by Shona Jamieson and Andrew Daws.

Shona and Andrew opened the doors of their cafe, based in Ballater, two years ago, four years after launching their brand.

From left, Shona Jamieson and Andrew Daws with their daughter, Ellie.

Speaking on their involvement, Shona said: “Andrew and I spotted The Scone Hunter 100 on Facebook and were absolutely delighted to be included in it.

“We think it’s great and want to say thanks so much to Jerry for featuring us. Anything that can help boost not only our profile but local cafes in the area is welcomed.

“We all had a hard time in 2020, so any publicity is going to help us have a good year in 2021.

The Highlanders Bakehouse produces a range of coffees and fresh bakes.

“Andrew and I don’t often go out our way to shout too much about ourselves, so it is always nice to be recognised as somewhere people should stop by.”

Nick Quinn, co-owner of The Garlogie Inn, added: “We had never seen or heard of The Scone Hunter 100 before we read their social media post a few days ago. It’s an excellent idea to showcase local destinations.

Nick Quinn.

“Hopefully, it will be a great way of letting people know about eateries in our area.”

Terry and Alistair Ross, owners of Goodbrand and Ross in Strathdon, agree that the route will attract people to Royal Deeside.

“We think it’s a great idea,” Terry said.

“It’s good to have a planned route when heading out and about – and knowing where you can stop for a tea or coffee and a fine piece is a bonus.

There is the North Coast 500, North East 250 and now The Scone Hunter 100 – it’s brilliant.”

Terry Ross, co-owner of Goodbrand and Ross.

“The trail will definitely be beneficial to the area. Strathdon has beautiful scenery and some lovely walks and anything that encourages people to visit here is great.

“There is the North Coast 500, North East 250 and now The Scone Hunter 100 – it’s brilliant.”

The route will grow

Jerry hopes to add more to the line-up of businesses featured in the trail in the future. He said: “There are 10 businesses at the moment but more may be added once we visit them,” he added. “I’ll never say never to adding more.

The route is just over 100 miles in length.

“For people considering going round The Scone Hunter 100, I’d say get out there and enjoy the fantastic scenery and the warm welcomes from amazing local businesses and people.”


For more on food and drink in Royal Deeside…

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.