Apathy and awe from a roadside cafe at Trump's Turnberry during US president visit

At the next table, a family was tucking into an all day breakfast, washing it down with cans of Irn Bru.

The Balkenna Tea Room is an ordinary roadside eatery, with some added character from a wall covered in an array of porcelain teapots of different designs.

But that changed over the weekend when the spot, popular with locals and motorists travelling up and down the A77, became a pitstop for members of the world’s media and Mr Trump’s entourage during the US president’s private visit to Scotland.

The trip has, so far, involved a few rounds of golf at Turnberry’s Ailsa course, where Mr Trump was spotted wearing a white USA cap surrounded by family, including his son Donald Trump Jr, waving to journalists and a handful of supporters on Sunday morning. This was followed by an afternoon meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the hotel to discuss trade deals.

The president is expected to meet prime minister Sir Keir Starmer at the hotel on Monday before meeting First Minister John Swinney in Aberdeen, where he is set to open a second 18-hole golf course at his Menie estate.

Mr Trump’s politics and play in the country that was home to his late mother, Mary Anne Trump, from the Isle of Lewis, has drawn an unprecedented level of security to the small south Ayrshire village.

With several sniper points, helicopters and drones overhead and bus-loads of police driving in and out of the site as officers swap shifts guarding the site 24/7, the operation is said to be the largest security operation in Scotland since the death of the Queen.

Yet the furore at the Turnberry resort under lockdown with a 10ft fence and multiple checkpoints was a far cry from the apathy felt among locals a mile down the road.

Apart from the revolving door of reporters and suspected security officers with radios coming in for a bite to eat throughout the day, staff at the roadside cafe said it was just another normal weekend shift.

When asked if the last 48 hours was any different with Turnberry resembling a military training ground rather than a golf course, one of the waitresses shrugged, saying: “We’re always busy. It’s just always a busy spot here with or without Trump.”

Conversations mostly revolved around complaints on road blockages “going on for days” and increased police presence in the area.

The busy cafe, however, did attract the occasional fan of the US president, usually popping in for break from waiting around in the village in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Donald.

The giveaway was usually someone wearing a 'Make England Great Again' cap modelled on the MAGA design or something printed with stars and stripes.

Sitting at a table looking out the window at the distant Ailsa Craig, an island off Ayrshire’s coast where curling stones used in Olympic competitions come from, businessman and Ayrshire local Kenny Weir spoke about his support for the US president.

“I support Trump and I think John Swinney having been a finance minister should welcome Donald Trump with open arms,” he said.

“I know Trump has his faults but, at the end of the day, he spends a lot of money in Scotland.”

Mr Weir, who claimed to have met Mr Trump while on a visit to America and who has built hotels all over the world, said he had eyes on buying Turnberry, but couldn’t afford the renovation costs at the time it was up for sale about a decade ago.

“Trump spent hundreds of millions on that place,” he said.

“He has done a lot employing people in the area with the work he’s done here.

“And now we have what has to be the best golf course worldwide.”

While flicking through pictures of himself with Trump memorabilia on his phone, he said: “I think about 60 per cent of Scotland are in favour of him, but most are just too scared to show their support. I always say I have the best house in Ayrshire because it’s just up the road from Turnberry.”

Mr Weir then started to pull a flag with a picture of Mr Trump’s face against stars and stripes from his bag before adding: “I had better not in here actually.”

Despite the heavy media and security presence, the village pavements lay mostly bare when it came to either supporters or protesters over the weekend. There were no signs of pro or anti Trump messages in home windows.

One lone member of a group called “The People’s Peace Core” stood at a checkpoint on a road leading to the Turnberry Hotel in the hope of handing a certificate to the president saying “to acknowledge your integrity and honourable dealings in promoting the cause of peace, harmony and love around the world.”

A handful of demonstrators showed their support for the president on arrival and during a round of golf on Sunday, but, apart from a small protest on Friday, were no signs of the anti-Trump brigade all weekend.

One photographer joked the only danger spotted all weekend was seeing four snipers duck to the sound of “fore” shouted across the golf course.