Falkirk Friday

It rained most of yesterday, so we didn’t do much sight seeing. We took long detours and spent most of the day driving – as the crow flies, it would have taken us under 3 hours to get to Falkirk, but by the time we detoured, stopped for coffee and visited an op shop to buy a cushion for Gill’s back it took us most of the day. Unless we wrote about rain, there was nothing to report, so no post yesterday.

Today we visited the Falkirk Wheel, something that has been on Rick’s list for many years. The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift and connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It opened in 2002, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1930s as part of the Millennium Link project. The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft) and is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Anderton boat lift which we saw 4 years ago. Had a very good coffee in the cafe, while watching the wheel move boats up and down. After a walk around and up to the towpath, we realised we had spent hours there. A great place for kids too, with heaps of activities.

We then went on to look at “The Kelpies”. Chosen by Scottish Canals and built next to a new extension to the Forth and Clyde Canal, at the inception of the project, The Kelpies name reflected the mythological transforming beasts possessing the strength and endurance of 100 horses so are a monument to horse powered heritage across Scotland. Each of The Kelpies stands up to 30 metres tall and each one weighs over 300 tonnes. The sculptures were opened to the public in April 2014. The Forth and Clyde Canal passes between them.