The Horn possesses some key ingredients to make it a Tayside icon – and the world has also been taking notice.
First, the restaurant, located off the A90 between Dundee and Perth, has the gimmick of a plastic cow that was designed by owner John Farquharson when it was rebuilt in 1973.
The landmark has featured on many television programmes, including ITV’s Good Morning Britain and Channel 4’s Taskmaster.
Second, its 1970s-style wooden decor attracts retro-lovers as well as an increasing number of international film crews. The diner hosted four movie sets in 2021 alone.
Third, The Horn, also known as The Horn Milk Bar, has the x-factor of impossibly large bacon rolls that entice customers to visit in their droves.
Since opening in 1960, staff at the diner have fed numerous celebrities, politicians, athletes and travellers who find it an irresistible stop-off point between Aberdeen and Edinburgh or Glasgow.
Behind The Horn’s success are some quirky back stories. Its owner is one of the world’s eminent exporters of model cows, and it previously hosted dinner-and-dance events for revellers who drank from a licensed bar.
This feature reveals how The Horn rose from humble beginnings to become one of the area’s most in-demand restaurants.
It is split into the following sections:
- Born in the 1960s
- The iconic cow
- Star of film and television
- The humble bacon roll
- Future moo-ve?
Born in the 1960s
In 1960 land owners Jim and Norma Farquharson built a milk bar on the site of The Horn Farm, north of Errol.
Back then it was a tram shed selling goods from the couple’s 250-acre dairy farm.
A year later the adjoining A90 became a dual carriageway to create a bigger market for their goods.
“We began with a tartan shed,” says current owner Kenny, son of Jim and Norma, “We kept changing the tartan over the years.”
In 1973 the owners decided to fully exploit the enviable location. They knocked down the shed and replaced it with the white building facade and wooden interior that still exist today.
Two years later they added a shop containing newspapers, snacks and gifts.
‘We had four-piece bands here’
When motorway service stations began in the 1960s they were considered an exciting break from the norm.
As car use increased, so did the allure of out-of-town entertainment and service stations became a go-to destination rather than exclusively a stop-off point.
The Milk Bar was on the intimate side but its location next to a then-quiet dual carriageway still had the ingredients for a novel night out.
“We used to get guys with mopeds congregating in the car park,” recalls Kenny, who as a young man used to work at the bar.
“We used to have a licence for drink that allowed us to run dinner and dance, and functions here.
“We used to have a band at one end and the floor was wooden to allow people to dance in it. All the tables and chairs were taken away.
“That was in the 1970s and 1980s. We had four-piece bands here.
“I often have people telling me that their mum and gran or granny came here for a number of years.”
The iconic cow
The iconic cow on the roof came after Kenny took over from his parents in the 1970s.
“I used to do video production,” he says. “I used to video cows for a living and would be out in California, Holland and Germany and various other companies filming cattle for a genetics company.
“We would film them, take the footage back and produce video footage that genetics companies would show farmers in this country – these are the daughters you would get if you used the semen from these bulls.
“From there, we were on our travels and saw these model cows and that is where the idea came from.
“When I came to run this business the first thing I wanted to do was put a cow on top of the roof.”
‘I get a herd made, maybe 50 cows’
Kenny couldn’t find a suitable model cow in this country so designed it himself and got it shipped in.
Not only did it spawn an icon but a new sideline business of selling life-size model cows that is still in great demand.
He says: “You would think, ‘who is going to buy a plastic cow?’ You would be surprised.”
Kenny designs cows for Horn Imports and has them built in eastern Europe. They can be converted internally to contain a 50-litre tank to enable physical milking.
“I get a herd made, maybe 50 cows, ship them in from Europe and dispense them from here,” he says.
“We have a store up the road and then a courier company who takes them around the UK and into other countries as well.”
Clients include the Royal Highland Education Trust, which uses the model cows to educate young people on dairy farming.
The group has nine of Kenny’s cows and demonstrates to school pupils all over Scotland how milk is produced.
“Kids get a pint of milk from Tesco and Asda but they don’t know where it comes from so this gives them a story of milk,” he says.
“By taking in a fully functioning model cow they get an idea of the scale, what it looks like and how to milk a cow.”
‘Brenda’ the Brechin mainstay
The model cows have been exported far and wide for a variety of purposes.
Veterinary students at Glasgow University use them for exams; a food store at Sutton Coldfield has one to publicise cheese; and Kenny spent the run-up to Christmas arranging for life-size cows to be sent to Hong Kong for a museum marking the life of Aberdeenshire scientist Patrick Manson, who exported the first herd of dairy cattle to the country.
The only other model cow in the local area is at Brechin Castle Centre, where ‘Brenda’ has lived for more than 15 years.
In August 2018 the cow featured on ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain, which saw hosts Jeremy Kyle and Charlotte Hawkins give it a milk in the London studio.
A cow also features in Channel 4 game show Taskmaster, presented by Alex Horne and Greg Davies.
Star of film and television
An impressive number of television and film crews have also made the effort to visit the area.
In March 2012 The One Show host Phil Tufnell did a bit of cow-milking at Longforgan Primary School.
Four years later model Edie Campbell, skateboarder Blondey McCoy and a crew of around 20 spent the day at the restaurant for a Vogue magazine shoot by Alasdair McLellan.
In 2021 The Horn’s star rose even higher, with the restaurant used for four films on five occasions.
- In January The Horn was transported back to the 1990s for the BFI-backed production of Pram Snatcher. A crew returned for more filming in December.
- In February the popular diner was featured in the short film, A90, which had been written around The Horn and its prominent place on the A90 carriageway.
- In September scenes were filmed in The Horn for a limited Disney+ series called The Wedding Season.
- In October sisters Moyo Akandé and Morayo Akandé – best known for their role in the short film 1745 – came to The Horn for scenes from IMDb-backed film AV Van.
“People like the retro vibe, which is probably why we attract so much media attention.” explains Kenny, who also spoke of his pride at daughter Gabi, 14, making cameo appearances in Pramsnatcher and A90.
“It’s given her an opportunity to see what the industry is like, having seen how it works behind the scenes.
“She has the drive and patience to be an actor and she has been enjoying it.”
The humble bacon roll
Away from the glamour of the big and little screens is the humble Horn bacon roll.
There is no opaqueness to its attraction – it just happens to be very large.
Charles Cross, 27, of Peterhead, says: “The bacon rolls are just so big”.
“We always stop off whenever we drive to Edinburgh or Glasgow.”
Invergowrie resident Gillian Bruce, 54, has worked at The Horn for 34 years.
She says customers are attracted by the ambience as well as food.
“The decor hasn’t changed in all the time I have been here and a lot of people like that,” she says.
“They come here for the bacon rolls as well as the old decor.”
‘It’s been the same for many, many years’
One of those who appreciates The Horn is Edzell Woods resident Deborah McPherson, 48.
“Every time we go this way we come here,” she says. “When I was a child we used to stop here when travelling to Edinburgh or Glasgow so the habit has been passed down from my family.”
“It’s been the same for many, many years but a lot of people like that aspect,” says Hazel Main, 66, of Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire.
“It’s like time has stood still.”
The Horn has hosted playwright John Byrne, singer Meatloaf, pop group One Direction and a host of footballers and managers, including Craig Brown and Archie Knox.
High-profile lawyer Donald Findlay QC, who is also the chairman of Cowdenbeath FC, is one of the regulars.
Future moo-ve?
Despite its popularity, Kenny has been eyeing improvements to The Horn.
Plans to build an upgraded restaurant nearby were put on hold by lockdown restrictions in 2020 and the idea is still a live one.
“We started doing that but we need to get back on our feet first before we decide what to do moving forward,” he says.
“People say it’s an old place that could do with a bit of tidying up but it is an old building that needs to be treated with a bit of respect.
“People may be look for baby-changing facilities but you can’t put them in because there is not enough room.
“You get somebody who might make a complaint but people have to bear in mind that it was built in the 1970s, when you didn’t have to concern yourself with these things at the time.
“The Horn is very unique and quirky. You don’t get many of these buildings around.
“It’s very unusual. The challenge is keeping on top of it and maintaining it.”
