“There’s a lovely lady up in the Trossachs who makes goat cream ice cream,” a friend tells me.
“It’s better than anything I’ve ever had – I’m not even kidding.”
Is that an intentional pun? I don’t know.
All I know is I’m desperate to find out more about Achray Farm – a smallholding near Brig o’Turk run by Nicola Hornsby, and home to this elusive dessert.
It’s a drizzly Tuesday, and the mist hovering over Loch Venachar makes for a scenic drive before myself and photographer Eve park at the cosy Byre Inn.
Located on the Great Trossachs Path and the Three Lochs Drive, Achray is an ideal spot for walkers and cyclists to have a refreshing treat before continuing their journey.
But it is also pretty remote, and we’ll have to do the final stretch to the farm on foot.
We don our wet-weather gear and hiking boots, braced for rain.
But within 10 minutes, we’re rewarded with the bleats of happy goats.
Nicola didn’t set out to become Scotland’s only producer of goat milk ice cream.
She moved away from Lincolnshire at 23, and worked as a clinical psychologist for the NHS in Tayside and Fife.
She’d always dreamed of growing her own crops and living a different life, but it was only when she began reading books about sustainable agriculture and food production that she realised the idea could become a reality.
Now 57, she has spent the last eight years running Achray Farm. For half of that time, she has been milking her goats to produce ice cream.
What does goat ice cream taste like?
The flavours of the ice cream are seasonal, often coming from fruit trees and plants Nicola grows herself, though occasionally from other local sources.
Elderflower, mint with chocolate straws, lavender stracciatella, blackcurrant ripple, raspberry ripple, lemon verbena, mix fruit sorbet, rhubarb and meadowsweet are just some of the options she serves up.
“It’s been a rubbish summer production wise, so I’ve had to buy in some fresh fruit,” she admits.
She also makes a vegan sorbet with homegrown flavours.
When it comes to the all-important taste test, I choose lemon verbena, scooped into a sturdy waffle cone that adds some satisfying crunch.
The ice cream is outstanding – easily the creamiest I’ve ever tasted.
It’s not as sweet as the more traditional cow’s milk version, and that allows the bright citrus flavour to shine through. It’s refreshing and velvety.
It’s no wonder Nicola’s product has proved popular with passers-by, and no surprise that some fans go out of their way for a scoop.
Sustainable farming started with diversification
When Nicola first moved to Achray Farm, her first port of call was to renovate the properties there – named the Old Farmouse and the Cake House – into holiday lets.
“We had to diversify our offering to survive,” she explains.
“We needed an income to start with – the goats came later.”
As well as holiday accommodation, Nicola offers ice cream workshops, play sessions with the goats, and sells produce from her market garden – all feeding into her goal of operating sustainably.
The goats might be the stars of the show, but they aren’t the only animal residents on Achray Farm.
Nine Shetland cows graze 5.5 acres around Loch Achray and the farm to maintain the land.
While it has halved her goat herd – made up of the Toggenburger and Anglo-Nubian breeds – to 11, she says it was an essential move to improve the biodiversity of the marshes, and to boost the sequestration of carbon.
Kept going by a supportive community
The eco-friendly approach continues in Achray Farm’s market garden, where it took time to improve the soil.
A mushroom grower with leftover substrate and lambing shed bedding from a local farmer were used as compost in the beginning.
Now, the manure from Nicola’s goats keeps her soil in prime condition for growing crops.
As we walk through the newly-installed polytunnel, Nicola hands me a vibrant yellow tomato to try. It’s fresh, juicy, sweet and slightly earthy.
Those local to Brig O Turk, Callander and the surrounding areas are big fans of Achray’s fresh produce.
Nicola personally delivers boxes packed with seasonal vegetables – not just tomatoes, but celery, leeks, cabbage, onions, peppers and more.
And buying produce is not the only way the local community have rallied around Nicola since she arrived.
She has taught hen dos how to make ice cream, welcomed volunteers equipped with shovels and wheelbarrows to transport compost, and enjoyed a ceilidh with more than 100 supporters.
“I know, without these people, I wouldn’t be here,” she says.
“Lots of people are really supportive. It’s amazing, it’s really nice.”
For Scotland’s only goat ice cream-maker, it’s a seven-days-a-week operation – but she loves every single moment.
“You get out of bed every day knowing it’ll be a day full of variety,” Nicola says.
“Work life balance isn’t something I’ve mastered yet, but I know I’m building to a sustainable, long-term goal.
“Even when times are tough, there are always goat cuddles to look forward to.”
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