City couple take a gamble on Trainspotting location

Highland Correspondent

Monday 16 July 2012

A young couple are about to launch a brave new culinary venture at Corrour Station, the highest and most remote in the land.

CHALLENGE: Lizzie MacKenzie and Ollie Bennett are the new tenants.

Custom byline text:

David Ross Highland Correspondent

Most will know it from the film Trainspotting as the place where the lead characters arrive in the great outdoors for Renton to deliver his "It's s**** being Scottish" speech.

But Corrour Station, the highest and most remote in the land, is where one young couple will launch a brave new business venture next month.

Lizzie MacKenzie and Ollie Bennett, both 22, are the new tenants of the Station House Restaurant on windswept Rannoch Moor, where the MacGregors once herded stolen cattle. Located between Rannoch and Tulloch stations on the Glasgow to Fort William line, Corrour is only accessible by train, on foot or by a rough track, with the nearest public road 17 miles away. However, the pair are convinced that with hard work they can make their project in the middle of nowhere a success, and are looking forward to their grand opening on August 1 with a buffet, bar and musicians. They had been working in Edinburgh when Ms MacKenzie's aunt saw an advert in The Herald from Corrour Estate looking for new tenants. At the time, Ms MacKenzie had jobs in a hostel and a bar, but had also worked in an "agriturismo" (rural hotel) in Tuscany that catered for horse-riding holidays. Mr Bennett was a chef in a George Street restaurant. Ms MacKenzie, who is from the Isle of Seil, south of Oban, said: "We have always wanted to do something like this. We were thinking for a while about trying to run a restaurant in Edinburgh, but the costs were pretty high. So this is a great opportunity." The restaurant is owned by the 57,000-acre Corrour Estate, which is run by the Corrour Trust as a conserved wilderness on behalf of Tetra Pak millionaire heiress Lisbet Rausing. Lisbet Rausing is the sister of Hans Rausing, whose wife Eva's death in controversial circumstances was reported last week. The restaurant was previously operated by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association. "A few different models have been tried to make it work. We just want to offer hearty, healthy fare with locally-sourced food, a lot of venison, something for everyone beside a roaring fire, interesting beers and whiskies," Ms MacKenzie said. Where once the wealthy tourists came for sport, today they mostly come to walk, according to Mr Bennett, who is originally from Portsmouth but moved to Fife when he was 10. "There are eight daily trains including the Caledonian Sleeper from London. There are a lot of hillwalkers get off and on the train. There is an estimate that about 12,000 people visit the station every year. "There is a hostel about a mile down the road and there are holiday cottages on the estate." The couple plan to open at 8am for breakfast and stay open until about 10pm, in case walkers or people from the estate are after a drink. "We will serve food until eight or nine. We are also thinking of some kind of offer for people from Fort William and the surrounding area, if they get the 5.30pm train up to Corrour, have a meal, go for a walk and catch the 9.30pm train back," said Ms MacKenzie. "It would be a good night out." "There is a five-bedroom house attached to the restaurant and next year we are going to run it as a B&B, but this year we want to concentrate on the restaurant. So we have our work cut out for us." she added. It is changed days since 1891, when the Tory politician and philanthropist Sir John Stirling-Maxwell of Pollok bought the Corrour Estate as a hunting destination where he entertained guests from the south. He allowed the railway company access to his land on condition it built a station at Corrour. His guests would be met by a horse-drawn carriage that would take them to the head of Loch Ossian, where a small steamer transported them to his shooting lodge at the other end of the loch.

Contextual targeting label:

Block list

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

City couple take a gamble on Trainspotting location

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED