I bought this tea towel at the Torrylinn Creamery on the Isle of Arran. Torrylinn Creamery was originally a small independent creamery but is now one of three cheesemakers that make up the Scottish Highlands and Islands Creamery Company; the other two are Campeltown Creamery on the Mull of Kintyre (never been, but must go) and Rothesay Creamery on the Isle of Bute (never been to Bute but is on my list of ‘must go to’ places). The tea towel has a map of the west coast of Scotland from the isle of Mull in the north to the Mull of Kintyre in the south, pinpointing the creameries. I love a tea towel with a map to orient yourself.
We went to Torrylinn Creamery on my first visit to Arran. It is a cute creamery with a viewing deck so you can watch the cheesemaking process; there might be a lot of machinery but it is a very physical job for the cheesemakers, back-breaking is a good phrase. All the Torrylinn cheeses are made from the milk of Friesan cows (those black and white ones) from the three dairy farms on Arran that supply the creamery. The milk is suitable for a Dunlop-like cheese. The Torrylinn Creamery actually makes a cheese in the shape of the Isle of Arran, which is certainly a novelty and something I have never seen the like of before. It also does a Burns Truckle which is half-moon shaped as well as some speciality cheeses. There is, of course, a shop where you can taste the cheeses before buying any. The Torrylinn cheeses are really good, flavoursome cheeses that are wax-packed so keep a goodly while. They also have an online shop so you can still get the cheeses once you have returned home.
As I use this tea towel I remember this great creamery; it reminds me that I would like to visit the other two and compare their cheeses. But I also remember that just down the road, in Kilmory, was the Farmers market that we went to which sold local produce including fruit and veg but also jams, pork pies, pickled onions and home made knit wear and crafts. It had a great little cafe serving home made cakes. It was certainly the place that locals met up. Arran is a truly lovely island, always worth revisiting and this tea towel reminds me of that.
Click below to return to the Virtual Tea Towel Museum
https://virtualteatowelmuseum.com/2017/05/12/the-scottish-collection/
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