gatehouse of fleet & the ship inn

We decided that a walk was in order - mainly so that we could indulge in a Sunday roast provide by the recommended Ship Inn in Gatehouse of Fleet. The Fleet has a lovely area of ancient forest with well signed walks and amazing scenery. The Ship Inn also has a literary connection - Dorothy L. Sayers famed novel Five Red Herrings was written while she stayed at this hotel, then known as the Anwoth Hotel. She referred to the then landlord, Joe Dignam, as "the kindliest of landlords" and had a true affinity with Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbright and the surrounding area in which the novel is based.


Walks through forests are always good for windy, rainy days - sheltered, you can enjoy a good long walk without getting soaked. We took a flask of tea with us to keep us going and enjoyed looking out for red squirrels. We saw this ancient tree - and took turns keeking out from it.



After our walk we nipped home to change then headed back out to have dinner at the Ship Inn. The Inn has been recently renovated and it has been done tastefully. Lots of warm wood, sturdy tables and chairs and a good atmosphere. We both had the roast beef with yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings and for pudding Andy had lemon cheesecake while I had profiteroles.


The beef was great - lots of it and very tender. The puds were good too. My only slight criticism were the roasties - they could have been a wee bit crispier but then I imagine churning out dozens of roast dinners on sunday takes its toll.

The profiteroles were excellent with a strong chocolate sauce. The sauce was evidently made from a good chocolate - no cloying sickliness or grainy texture. Andy thought the cheesecake spot on and from my taste it was clear it was a homemade not out-of-the-freezer job not just from the smooth creamy, cheesiness of the filling but particularly from the base which was buttery, crumbly and with the right amount of crunch. There is a difference to having crunch and just being brittle. I mention the cheese tang detected in the filling because often cheesecake filling can taste like a bland and tough cream - it is good to taste a filling that stands up to the name cheesecake