What’s a Spurtle?

You would think a person with 50% Scottish blood would know.

I first came across the word when scrolling through the current Netflix documentary selection.

The Golden Spurtle is a film about the World Championship porridge making championship in Carrbridge in the Scottish highlands.

And a Spurtle is what you traditionally stir porridge with. 

It dates back to the 15th century.

It’s a long, slender wooden rod, often decorated with a stylised thistle on the end, designed to be stirred in a continuous circular motion. The smaller surface area prevents oats from congealing into lumps better than a standard spoon.

They are typically made from beech, cherry wood or maple and come in a range of sizes.

Apparently you only stir clockwise with the right hand.

Anticlockwise stirring invites the Devil to your breakfast.

Have beaten porridge for the last 75 years that may answer a few of life’s questions.

My Scottish father, an aficionado of the boiled oaten breakfast, never passed on this information to me.

Spurtles are locally made in Australia and readily available.

But I think at this stage I’ll stick with the spoon but try to remember the stirring rule.

Now to the competition.

People from all over the world come to compete.

How a mix of just oats, water and a little salt can each be so different, I have no idea.
I just use traditional commercial oats and some water, no salt, and cook it in the microwave.
Sacrilege!

But this is serious stuff and the rivalry for the prize, The Golden Spurtle, is intense.

Here’s a YouTube preview of the documentary.
Carrbridge’s other claim to fame is the Carr Packhorse Bridge.
The word "Carr" has nothing to do with motorised transport but is derived from the old Norse word for boggy area.
The bridge, built in 1717, is the oldest stone bridge in the Highlands.
It was severely damaged in the "Muckle Spate" (the great flood in August 1829) which left it in the condition seen today. 

It is now unstable and is recommended only to be viewed from afar.
Jumping off the bridge into the River Dulnain below had long been a popular pastime for younger locals and the more adventurous tourists.
We passed through there after leaving Inverness on our 2006 trip around Scotland but unfortunately, not being aware of any of this, didn’t stop.

Addendum 1:

Inspired by the 2025 documentary about the Golden Spurtle, an annual Scottish porridge-making competition, the Central Coast town of Pearl Beach, NSW, is preparing for its own oat-fest on August 8th 2026

Addendum 2:

The Pearl Beach competition is now completed.