Tim and Fran James both have their roots in the
West Coast of Scotland.

Tim James was brought up on the Skipness Estate, on the eastern side of the Mull of Kintyre, where his family have lived since 1936. Skipness point is a rugged and beautiful stretch of coastline overlooking the entrance to Loch Fyne on one side and the  Kilbrannan Sound on the other with the undulations and peaks of Arran a few miles across the water.

It was here, in school holidays, that Tim started fishing. From a rod and line, he graduated to working on trawlers, latterly operating his own fishing and creel boat, the Margaret Eliza, named after their daughter.  (A creel is a wickerwork cage used for laying down on the seabed to catch lobster, crab and langoustine, hence the name Creelers for the restaurants.)

Fran James was brought up a little north of Oban.  After their marriage, she and Tim moved back to the estate at Skipness and whilst Tim fished as far afield as the Sound of Harris, Barra Head and other Hebridean islands, Fran brought up their two children in the idyllic surrounds of Kintyre.  In 1987 Tim moved his fishing operations closer to home and started to fish out of Tarbert, Loch Fyne, the waters of Arran and the Kilbrannan sound. 

In 1988 Fran opened the Skipness Seafood Cabin to provide delicious local seafood , home made scones and cakes for walkers in the area and visitors to the historic remains of Skipness Castle nearby.  In 1990 they moved to Arran and Fran opened the restaurant there, leaving the Seafood Cabin to be run by Tim’s sister Sophie, who still operates it throughout the summer months.

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