A generous present

 
As we drove over the mountains in rain and mist we asked ourselves:  “is it worth this trek for a free Sunday lunch?”
 
A Glasgow friend, unable to use a gift voucher for the Four Seasons hotel in St Fillans, handed it to us. It had to be used within seven days.  Well, the weather forecast for the rest of the week did not look good so it  is today or never.
 
By the time we reached St Fillans, in the central highlands of Scotland, and were ensconced in the restaurant overlooking Loch Earn the rain had stopped.
 
I worried we might be the only guests, and we were for a while.
There is nothing bleaker than sitting alone, or with a companion, in an empty dining room.
 
Eventually some other travellers struggled in, glad of an escape from the inclement Scottish weather.
 
The food turned out to be unexpectedly good and worth the journey. By the time we left the rain had stopped and the assistant manager took this selfie of us to send to our friend in Glasgow- proof that we had used her generous present.


About St Fillans
-this village lies at the eastern end of Loch Earn
 
It  became the scene of controversy in November 2005 when a housing development was halted to avoid killing the fairies, which allegedly lived under a rock on the proposed site.


 After some negotiation the new housing estate was redesigned so that the rock in question was preserved, in a small park in the centre of the estate.