T’was a March weekend tainted with unpredictable weather – the sun would wrestle with rain and sleet several times a day and so I decided to play it safe and ditch the hills for a flat walk for my step count challenge. But not any walk!

Inspired as ever by the wonderful Walkhighlands, I chose a circuit in the heart of the Whisky Country: from Dufftown, past Craigallachie, to Aberlour and back.

The walk started from the clock tower and took me past Glenfiddich – a place I’m particularly fond of as it was the first distillery I visited, on the request of my cousin who had been briefly passing Scotland on his world travels.

Just outside the majestic complex, along the main road towards more malt pleasures, you’ll find a turn off to a much less glamorous establishment: an old railway station with a few shacks and a train converted into a diner.

I have to say, making my way alongside the platform and onto the carriage tickled my excitement of being transported to another period and place. And indeed, I couldn’t have timed it better, as the moment I stepped inside, hail descended (but only for some 5 minutes before the sun shone again).

Upon entering the middle carriage, I was greeted by a member of staff asking if I was there for lunch; since I was only stopping for a hot beverage, I followed her to the right-hand wagon, hosting the bakes and pastry cases, the cash register and the kitchen at the back.

Tempted by the wares (and, yes, somewhat dreading the long walk ahead), I started my order with a Bakewell tart, proceeding to ask for a mocha – and being met with a blank face followed by realisation that was not an option on the automatic coffee machine…

The magic was going to end somewhere, anyway.

Disheartened, I opted for a flat white, feeling ready to leave with my cake or without it, but reason took over – it was still very wet outside.

I paid and moved to the carriage on the left from the entrance, with the sliding doors keeping the cosy warmth inside – and with it, the period decor which completed the quirky experience. A few tables were taken by parties of 2 and 4, so I chose a smaller table overlooking the tracks, halfway down the carriage.

My order was delivered on a tray soon after; I won’t spend much time describing the mug of coffee that was most certainly not a flat white and would be difficult to get through, was it not accompanied by a sweet tart – as a package, they were actually a nice treat to power me for my walk.

Despite this most certainly not being a coffee destination, I actually really enjoyed the whole experience – brief as it may have been – and I am sure I will remember it fondly. It is such an immersive use of a piece of history, and I felt the love for this place from the staff who were running it on the day. The wagon was filling up when I was there and it’s easy to imagine it buzzing with all the weekend lunchtime crowd.

Maybe not the Orient Express, but an experience worth shunning the nearby whisky rooms for, if you’re on the lookout for a more rural taste of Morayshire.

To find out more about Sidings Café, visit this website.