Friday 22 June 2007

Falkirk to Kirkintilloch: It woudnae work oan MA bike!!!








Early in the morning Carl got the power card, and after several minutes of panic wondering if we had the right sort of card, we had light! And hot water! We set off via train back to Falkirk. Dissapointingly, Keith was not home. Just as well, because we had along day ahead of us... no time to hang about discussing Sponge Bob and William Wallace!




Left: Firth and Clyde Canal Right: Keith's not home!

18 miles along the canal was perhaps a bit too much... the sun was out nearly all day (two sunny days in a row.. a Scottish record?) The highlight of the day was around mile 2 - the Falkirk wheel, where the Union canal meets the Firth and Clyde Canal. The canals are about 50 meters apart in terms of height above sea level - so a giant ferris-wheel like contraption has been built to join the two, lifting boats out of the water and moving them from one canal to the other and back again.... The engineering marvel of the British Ilses spawned a inormation center, a gift shop, 3 cafes and children's play center. Not bad for a loch! Enthusiasts and Junior Wheelies should check out: http://www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk/index.asp


As far as canals in Scotland go, Firth and Clyde wasn't too bad... it was wider, seemingly older, and a bit more developed in terms of wildlife than the Union. Unfortunatley, it was also straighter, creating a very boring walk staring directly into the sun. 18 miles and a bus ride later we were back in Glasgow. (With power).

1 comment:

Marilyn Hawkey said...

Hi Carol
I have been following your walk with utter amazement. You stayed at my B&B (Tregolls Farm, Cornwall), and used my computer to see this justgiving site for the first time - you were delighted with the amount that had been raised at that time. A few minutes later you clicked on the site again to show your sister and her husband, and the amount had increased again. I am a firm believer that something good comes from something bad - you have just endorsed that. Well done KBO.
From Marilyn Hawkey