Scone Spy: The Coach House Coffee Shop in Luss gives a great taste of Scotland

IT’S not a walk in the park, they say.

It could be a troublesome day at work, a tough new challenge you’re taking on – or even the fact that it really won’t be long before you’ll have to hit the high street for your Christmas shopping.

But this actually has been a walk in the park – Loch Lomond National Park to be precise.

And at 720 square miles that can add up to a lot of walking.

Admittedly, we’ve put in nowhere near that kind of mileage.

More a few baby steps than even a gentle stroll in the grand scheme of things.

But it’s still been enough to work up an appetite.

For the last hour or so of our bracing stretch of the legs, hunger pangs have been gnawing.

So when we hit Luss a cuppa and a scone are top of the agenda.

The place is, of course, more than a little familiar as the village was the setting for STV’s Take The High Road for more than 20 years.

Before River City came along and Shieldinch was the centre of our weekly fix of drama, this was where we caught up with Scottish soapy gossip.

It’s changed a fair bit of course but there’s still plenty to have us muttering: “Oh isn’t that where…?”

The Coach House Coffee Shop is, like the rest of the village, bustling.

There’s obviously no shortage of foreign tourists and if you want a taste of Scotland it looks like we’ve come to the right place.

Everything from the cups and the teapots to the bowls the hearty-looking soup comes in are tartan.

There’s no danger of missing out on the fact they do scones.

Right at the very top of the menu is the proud boast – HUGE home-baked scone, served with butter, jam and freshly-whipped double cream.

Happily, when our plain variety comes, it lives up to the billing.

It’s a real whopper with all the accompaniments in plentiful supply. A little crumbly would be the only gripe.

A nice-looking slice of chocolate cake is on the order, too, along with a coffee and soft drink (about £12 the lot).

And when we say we’re sharing the grub as we can’t quite make up our minds who’s having what, the friendly waitress goes and gets a couple of extra plates, knives and forks without being asked.

Despite being busy, the high wooden ceiling seems to ensure the noise doesn’t bounce around and it’s comfortably quiet.

It’s the sort of place we can see ourselves coming back to.

And we’ve already got our eye on the big couch in front of the fireplace which looks to be THE spot to stretch out on a winter’s day!