May at The Rhynd

Jun 30
4 min read

MICE, CHANDELIERS AND NEW LOOS: THE MAKING OF THE CRAW'S NEST

English author Douglas Adams had it right when he said, “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” Whenever you start a project, deadlines always seem to be tight, and that was certainly true with our new setup for the forest feasts this year. Just 33 minutes before our first guests arrived, we were desperately trying to put the finishing touches on the new loos.

The first booking was a retirement party at a law firm and, despite the stretch tent part being up for almost two weeks, it was only two days earlier that I had put up a chandelier between the two main poles. What I hadn’t considered was the fact that, with the wind blowing the canvas, even a tiny force on the poles would move them. During lunch, one of them fell down thankfully just missing everyone. You couldn’t make it up – it came closest to the company’s head of personal injury. So many things go wrong on a daily basis here, but thank God that no one was injured. Even though this all happened some 10 days ago, I dread to think what my resting heart rate is even now. The chandelier has been removed and normality restored.

It has been a couple of years since we started our forest feasts and, to save money if no one enjoyed them, we started with a small, second-hand stretch tent. Thanks to wear and tear, and some hungry mice over the winter, it was time to revamp things.

We have a new stretch tent, that is double the size, and we also now have proper loos, an outdoor kitchen and some oil paintings of ships. The whole thing will be put up each year in May and taken down in September, but we had to try and solve some of the problems we faced during our first two seasons – chef Jack’s charcoal would burn out in about three seconds if there was even a breath of wind, and we also had no wet weather plan. A risky business in Scotland, even if the Met Office has just released figures showing that Leuchars is the sunniest place in Scotland.

The loo was a dusty old Portaloo that needed emptied after each event, which cost a weirdly enormous sum of money, and we also wanted to host weddings up there so we needed more space and more ‘luxury’. Whilst washing the worst of the food off plates in a cold bucket of water before sending them to the café was quite amusing in 2024 and ‘25, it was far from ideal, so we have also added hot water and proper sinks. We’ve built sarking timber walls to keep the draft out, we’ve added uplighters and festoon lights, and we’ve even added a hood to go above the grills. Even this was fraught with problems as you need a minimum 45-degree angle on it to ensure it collects the smoke. However, the size of our grills and the lack of height on the container meant that we were playing with only millimetres to spare. Thanks to the blacksmith Brian Don for listening to my incredibly confusing directions and for trying to decipher my drawing.

The setup has been christened ‘The Craw’s Nest’ (‘craw’ being Scottish for ‘crow’) as not only is it at the top of the farm, but there is also a distinct shipwreck vibe. We considered many names, but none worked quite so well, and it also fits with the forest rooms, which are all named after local wildlife.

It has been a truly herculean effort from the team here to get it ready with many late nights, early mornings and weekends worked. A huge thank you must go to all of them as they’ve built an incredible setup. Indeed, the first feedback at our wine safaris this year have included the phrases: “My wife and I have been all over the world trying some of the best food and experiences, and this is right up there with the best of them” and “this has been one of the best nights of my life!” It makes the ringing in my ears from hammering in nails at 4am the other day worth it. Our wine safaris and forest feasts are nearly sold out for the year, but you can get the last few tickets here.

Also, if you fancy a wild wedding that no one will ever forget, maybe The Craw’s Nest at The Rhynd is a good place to start!

CAFÉ SPECIALS FOR JUNECraigie Estate venison burger with Stornoway black pudding, applewood-smoked cheddar, pickled beetroot and red cabbage(17.95)Eden Valley fresh-prawn linguine with blistered cherry tomatoes, chilli, garlic and gremolata(19.95)

UPCOMING CALENDAR

Café

Open as usual Friday to Sunday

Please book a table

Scottish Clay Shooting Centre

Open as usual Fridays and Saturdays, and by appointment during the week

Please book a slot

Events

June 7th

Bacon and Brakes

June 6th & 26th

Wine safari and forest feast (fully booked)