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I make no secret of
the fact that Scotland, in particular the Outer Hebrides, is my favourite place
in the world. It’s one heck of a trek when you are based in Kent, but gradually
my time North of the Border increases every year.
There is only one
thing that riles me about Scotland. OK, to be more accurate, about Scottish
proprietors of food and drink establishments. That one
major bugbear is ignorance, or hiding behind fake ignorance, of the correct law
regarding dogs in a place where food and drink is served.
Where food and drink
are SERVED, dogs ARE permitted by law.
Dogs are only NOT permitted by law in a place where food is being
PREPARED, and quite right too. If you want to check that out, it is Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 Annex II Chapter IX Section 4.
Don’t get me wrong, I
am a staunch believer in choice. I firmly believe that no proprietor should be
forced into adopting any policy when it comes to dogs. In fact, when I used to
rent out my house as a holiday let, I myself had a ‘no dogs’ policy. Enough of
my neighbours allowed dogs into their holiday homes, and I wanted to give the
allergy-sufferers an alternative, as well as not trusting the minority of
irresponsible dog owners.
Responsible dog owners
are as numerous as responsible parents. One or two let the side down by letting
their dogs run riot, just as the one or two ‘pathetic’ parents have no control
over their screaming kids. Bad behaviour is bad behaviour, and a proprietor has
the right to ask people to leave.
Not one single café
proprietor in Scotland outside of the Central Belt has welcomed Dougal into their
premises. Every single one makes the same excuse: ‘It is against Health and
Safety Regulations’.
As you can see if you
do a search on the above regulation, it is not. I have argued this with many a
proprietor until I am weary, but to no avail.
There is only one
exception to this, and that is the proprietor of my favourite café in the world
ever, in the Outer Hebrides. Here there is a lot of very gorgeous, very
expensive art hanging on the walls. Dogs are barred here because if a wet and
dirty dog comes in and shakes, that’s thousands of pounds worth of art written
off. Who can blame a dog ban here?
I get so mad at
ignorance of the law, or the spineless act of hiding behind fake ignorance to
try and hide the fact that they would simply rather their café or pub be
dog-free. I would have NO problem being told: ‘It’s simply our policy’. It’s
then my choice to stay, or to eat elsewhere.
I guess this is where
the problem lies. More often that not, there is no ‘elsewhere’ in rural
Scotland. Take it or leave it. In the Central Belt, encompassing Glasgow and
Edinburgh, the situation is very different and you can quite easily find a
dog-friendly pub or bar serving food.
The ‘take it or leave
it’ attitude was made so obviously apparent one Sunday on the Isle of Harris,
when Dougal and I were out on a motorcycle ride. For those who don’t know,
Harris staunchly observes the Sabbath and very, very few places are open.
As we cruised into
Tarbert, the heavens opened. With Dougal still in his rucksack in his biker
gear we parked up and dashed into the only place open, the Hebrides Hotel.
Naturally, we aimed for the public bar, not the posh restaurant.
I asked the barman if
we’d be OK to sit and have lunch, and he looked at Dougal in the rucksack and
said we would have to sit in the garden outside.
Remember, folks, it
was teeming with rain.
Even the ferry waiting
room was locked up. We ended up sheltering from the rain in a doorway.
I took up the issue
with Visit Scotland. Their response? ‘There is a feature on our website that
allows you to search for dog-friendly accommodation.’ My rant had nothing to do
with finding somewhere to stay; we were in the Airstream after all. It would
appear that the organisation is only interested in increasing the number of
bums in beds, not educating its members that are providing tourist services by
means of its newsletter.
Go somewhere far, far
more populous and tourist-frequented like the Lake District in England, and you
are tripping over signs everywhere that say ‘Dogs Welcome!’ In the Lakes, you’d
be hard pushed to find a pub or café that did NOT welcome pooches.
And this is where
Scotland needs to watch its back. In the short-term, there may be no
alternative for the dog owner other than to leave the dog in the car if it’s
not too sunny, or grab a takeaway and eat it outside. Or, in our case, sit on the
ground in a doorway in the pouring rain hugging each other as we miserably sat
cold, wet, and hungry. But longer term? It makes dog-friendly places like the
Lake District, the Cotswolds, and Cornwall look far, far more attractive.
Scotland, I love you.
But for goodness sake sort yourself out, get educated or at least be up front
about your policies if you want to remain in the game longer term.
