Brodies of Moffat

The handsome market town of Moffat gathers around its broad high street. It was once a spa destination and centre of the wool trade. The quirkily decorated Brodies is tucked behind the town museum just south of the square. A much-loved family-run spot, it's now a restaurant, gin and coffee lounge with two equally appealing guises: café by day, relaxed candlelit restaurant by night.

Russell heads up the kitchen and his rosette-rich food is a tourist attraction in its own right. Lunches are light and delicious; fancier dishes grace the evening menu. Their garden bursts with fresh produce and flowers and the scrumptious in-house cakes, bakes and afternoon teas are really worth sampling. Non-drivers might like to try the enviable gin selection, temptingly displayed in a drinks cabinet. If you have time, head just out of town to explore the evocatively named Devil’s Beef Tub, a valley once used by the Moffat Clan to hoard cattle stolen in raids.