La Mirage Mess by Chelsey Boyd

Welcome to the Valhalla Holiday Home blog and website.  

Here you can find images of the house and local countryside, 

links to places to go and activities to do in the surrounding area. 

Please feel free to explore our blog below and the

tabs to other parts of the website.  

In the heart of Helmsdale is the quirky La Mirage Cafe/restaurant where you will find the world's best meringues, scones and size of your head doughnuts. When in the village it's a must visit to experience these (after a long healthy walk of course!)

Inspired by this famous eaterie one of our family members, Chelsey, who loves to bake epic creations, rustled up a Mothers Day tribute based on an Eton Mess pudding.  Chelsey creates the yummiest cakes and puddings for our family to enjoy and this was a treat very worthy of a La Mirage moment. Here she shares this dee-lish recipe ... (and by the way there was no long walk beforehand!)

La Mirage Mess (makes 4 - 5 portions)

Meringue Ingredients

4 egg whites
300 grams caster sugar
pinch of salt 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Other Ingredients

500 ml double cream
100 grams icing sugar
1 punnet of raspberries
Raspberry Ripple ice cream
Raspberry Jam
White Chocolate for decoration 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 140C/gas 1. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.

2. Put the egg whites into a large spotlessly clean bowl with a pinch of salt. Whisk until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time, whisking between each addition, until it has all been added and the meringue is satiny and forms stiff peaks when the whisk is lifted from the mixture. 

3. Scoop into oval shaped meringues onto lined baking trays.

4. For the ripple effect, dip a wooden or metal skewer into your chosen food colouring and swirl it through each meringue.

5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Test one by lifting and gently pressing on the base of a meringue, it should be crisp but give way with a bit of pressure, they will crisp more when cooling.  Turn off the oven, and leave to cool in the oven with oven door slightly ajar for best results.  If possible let them cool completely in the oven.

6.While meringues are cooling make the sweet cream mixture - whisk cream with icing sugar.

7. Make raspberry coulis - simply mash the fresh raspberries with a tablespoon of icing sugar. Reserve a few for the final garnish.

8. To assemble your creation - layer up with broken meringue bits, raspberry coulis, jam and ice cream.  Top with a few fresh raspberries, some grated white chocolate, a sprig of mint and...

ENJOY!

Road to Helmsdale by Jen Gordon

Welcome to the Valhalla Holiday Home blog and website.  

Here you can find images of the house and local countryside, 

links to places to go and activities to do in the surrounding area. 

Please feel free to explore our blog below and the

tabs to other parts of the website.  

Overlooking River Helmsdale from the Strath

Continuing the 70's theme....

Travelling to Helmsdale in my memory banks begins circa 1970.  The epic journey north to Helmsdale from the west coast of Scotland happened at least once a year, normally during school summer holidays.  As a family we looked forward and willingly endured up to 15 hours of a VERY long arduous journey in dad's jalopy of the moment.  

Back then it was normal for cars to be unreliable so there was a sense of adventure about the journey - would we make it to Helmsdale in one go, did we have enough food for the duration, what if there is a breakdown, would there be enough food to sustain us during this misfortune, and most importantly for me - how would we feed the family dog?  In the remotest parts of Scotland there was no easy access to a public phone, and no conveniently located mechanic available to help in our hour of need. In my young world this was the nearest I was going to get to an adventure Enid Blyton style. 

So to be prepared for this epic journey expedition packing was required - this was organised by our dad loading the car to the gunnels with anything and everything we might ever need.  All available space had something squeezed into it .... thus allowing only a minimal spot for any passenger(s) ie normally, me and the dog, and sometimes my sister.  To be honest with the weight of the car and its contents it's a wonder the car even left home.  

Yet despite the weight of the car's expeditionary load we criss-crossed up and over Scotland taking various ferry rides, overtaking endless queues of caravans and tractors, negotiated sheep crowded single track roads, trundled over many cow grids (that bit was fun), endured an out of control yappy Jack Russell barking at absolutely everything, and very importantly kept close to hand a large supply of plastic bags for the inevitable bout of car sickness.

In true Gordon family style, food was a highlight of those journeys; mum ensured a travel tin of boiled sweets and choc limes were available during the journey, with a packed lunch usually consisting of a cup of tomato soup from the flask, egg and tomato sandwiches, a packet of Golden Wonder salted crisps, and chocolate biscuits - all enjoyed by the side of the road with fresh air and amazing views.   

These days that journey is quite different with a recent trip from Auchterarder in Perthshire to Helmsdale taking only 4 hours, and there are many great places to stop for a bite to eat and refuel.  Some of our favourites en route on the A9 is House of Bruar, just outside Pitlochry, or Storehouse of Foulis on the Cromarty Firth, and for additional shopping including a Costa caffeine pit stop try Inverness Shopping Centre.  There are no ferries to enjoy en route now but a few bridges to cross - the Kessock Bridge across the Moray Firth in Inverness, the Cromarty Bridge on the Cromarty Firth and Helmsdale Bridge on reaching your destination.  As a hobby I enjoy taking photographs (see below) and on a recent run north, with Spring not quite sprung the scenery is still awesome and is a reminder of where we might have had some of those picnics. 

Drumochter Summit 

Drumochter Pass, officially the start of the Highlands

Snow capped mountains at the Drumochter Pass

Oil Rigs on the Cromarty Firth

Salmon can be found at the Mound swimming upstream.  

Loch Fleet Nature Reserve is in the distance

The Mound

River Helmsdale from the Bridge near Kildonan Lodge  

River Helmsdale from the Strath 

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Valhalla Adventures

Explore Meandering Forest Trails and Hidden Gorges ... Enjoy a Spectacular Waterfall ... Discover a Fairytale Castle ....  Spot Shy Wildlife ... Enjoy Spring Flowers  ...  Climb a Path ...  Reach the Summit of a Magnificent Hill  ... Muse over an Ancient Statue ... Overlook the Spectacular Sutherland Coastline ... Spot a Stag ... Weave through Woody Forests ... Enjoy Great Views ... Get Wet and Muddy .... Find a Pub .... 

Warm Reflections from the Summer of 1976 on a Cold Winter's Night

1976 was not a normal year. Those of you old enough will recall the standpipes in the streets, the reservoirs empty and the ground cracking. 1976 was one of the driest, sunniest and warmest summers right across the UK since records began.  It was also the perfect summer for our annual summer holiday in Helmsdale.

Our family has a long association with the village of Helmsdale. Our grandparents and many cousins lived in and around the area. So returning there was a welcome break from the pace of life in the South of England. However in those days finding somewhere for the extended family to stay was always a challenge. Over the years we stayed in all sorts of places and it was these experiences that led us as a family to look for somewhere where we could stay and enjoy and make available to friends and relatives. That path took us to Valhalla.

My memories of those few weeks in ’76 include spending so many days on the wonderful beach at Loth (at Crakaig – down through the farm and under the railway bridge minding the gate, sheep  and the pot holes – when rejoining the main road be very careful). It was one of those summers were suncreams were an absolute must. The air is so clear, UV’s so strong and with a gentle cooling breeze off the sea you burn very easily. And even though it was a record breaking year the North Sea is still the North Sea. There are the hardy types and then there are wimps like me. Gentle immersion was a form a torture – a quick run and a dive was the best way to go swimming.  Luckily there is plenty of space for group activity and cricket, rounders and a convoluted form of pitch kept us all busy.

On those days when a change of scenery was required we would go to Loch Brora picnicking at the scout camping ground and swim in the (warm) loch. Then with periodic visits to Bad Bea (to help the kids realise just how lucky they were), panning for gold in the burn at Baile-An-Or (difficult given that most burns up the Strath were very low on water) trips to Berridale and walking the length of the Crask (Loth to Kildonnan).

Trips to Capaldi's in Brora for ice cream (finest in the North) and fish and chips from La Mirage in Helmsdale was a must.

Taking the kids fishing in the harbour, walking up and over the hill at the back of Helmsdale or playing hunt the golf ball at the local 9 hole golf course meant we were never bored. As a break from the sun worship, trips to old friends in Thurso where we lived for a few years, or Wick to see other family with detours to John o’Grouts was a welcome diversion. It was the summer you thought (and hoped) would never end. Certainly my first born seemed to enjoy those moments of contemplation under the blue sky with wellie boots……