A Grand Day Out

As this has been just a brief getaway we planned to visit a few places on the journey home to make it more enjoyable.  It was a bit of a whistle stop tour of places of interest (and photo opportunities!), it was our own Magical Mystery Tour!

Firstly we visited the Kelpies a few miles along the road from Linlithgow.  Last year we visited at night and it was magical.  Not quite so exciting this time around but always a joy to see these hugely impressive sculptures.  I found somewhere different to photograph them from, putting the focus on Duke (my favoured one!) with Baron in the background. The small reflection on the canal was an added bonus. Best viewed large.

Onwards then to see The Falkirk Wheel a few miles away.  It is the world’s only rotating boat lift. This marvel of engineering connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal thus enabling barges to travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

We had a coffee break here as we watched the wheel in action.  It takes only five minutes to lift a barge up or down through a 180° turn.  In that time we had walked up the hill to see the barge arrive at the upper level where it could sail onwards all the way to Edinburgh or stop off along the way at the Kelpies!  Fascinating!  I hope the pictures posted in the extras help you visualise the process.

Next stop was for lunch at the upmarket Gloagburn Farm Shop at Tibbermore in Perthshire.  We joined the great and good of the county there and spoiled ourselves with a very tasty lunch in their restaurant.  

The last place on our wish list was the very attractive Perthshire village of Dunkeld on the River Tay, which is best seen in autumn.  Unfortunately its historic cathedral was closed for renovations (like much of Scotland is!) but it was the forests I wanted to see.  As it was overcast the colours were a little muted but still a delight to see them (images in the extras.)

It was a long run from there across the country back home to the north-east but we had thoroughly  enjoyed ourselves.  We had travelled from West Lothian to Aberdeenshire via Stirlingshire, Perthshire and Angus, all beautiful and historic Scottish counties.

If you are interested you can find out more about the places we visited by clicking these links …

The Kelpies
https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/the-helix-home-of-the-kelpies-p889261

The Falkirk Wheel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel

The Canals
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_and_Clyde_Canal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Canal_(Scotland)

Dunkeld
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkeld