Scotland’s first ever Ice Cream Trail was launched last week to coincide with the Year of Food and Drink themed month of Delicious Dairy for August.
The trail is designed to celebrate and promote one of the nation’s favourite dairy delicacies and features 12 Ice Cream parlours, shops and cafes in Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire, all of which specialise in locally made, delicious ice cream.
It is estimated that the ice cream market is worth £1billion to the UK economy and ice cream remains an integral part of Scottish culture. While in the past, the seaside treat may have been gone hand in hand with fish and chips, today you are just as likely to find a great scoop of artisanal ice cream in many inland cities and towns.
From creamy vanilla, to tasty Italian gelato, all over the country, parlours, shops and cafes sell homemade ice cream to their own specific recipe - some a well-kept secret handed down through generations, others a completely new venture.
Scotland's Ice Cream Trail will help both locals and visitors map their way round one of Scotland's finest treats. Leaflets highlighting over 100 different ice cream businesses, from Kirkwall to Castle Douglas, will be available at relevant outlets, as well as online at Think Local and VisitScotland websites.
The trail is a part of the Year of Food and Drink, a 12-month celebration of the country’s rich natural larder and unique dining experiences. Recent figures estimated Scotland’s food and drink tourism industry is worth £2.5million per day to the economy, with the food and drink industry as a whole worth almost £14bn a year.
Scotland's Food Secretary Richard Lochhead, said:
“I’m delighted to hear that Scotland’s Ice Cream Trail has been launched– our dairy produce is among the best in the world and it extends to so much more than milk. It’s great that this has been launched during the Year of Food and Drink and couldn’t have been timed better for the start of Delicious Dairy Month in August. I hope it will make people – both visitors and locals – more aware of the fantastic ice cream Scotland has to offer. I would certainly encourage everyone to follow the trail and make a point of tasting some of our delicious Scottish ice cream.”
Mike Cantlay, VisitScotland Chairman, said:
“Whether it’s simple vanilla or something more exotic, ice cream is the ultimate summer treat and what’s so fantastic about this new trail is that visitors will be able to enjoy this frozen delight whenever and wherever they like, at any time of year.
“As we’ve seen from the popularity of our foodie ebook which has now had 32,000 downloads, food trails are a great way for visitors to embark on their own culinary adventures and what better time to do that than during the Year of Food and Drink!”
The 12 local Ice Cream parlours, shops and cafes are evenly spread across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, from Stonehaven in the south to Portsoy in the north and from Ellon and the Fraserburgh area in the east to Huntly in the west.
For more information or to download a copy of the Trail visit: www.visitscotland.com/tastescotland or www.thinklocalscotland.co.uk/Ice-Cream-Leaflet.pdf