falkirk - wheels and kelpies

Travelling up to the top of Scotland (somewhere that's seems to have become our standard these days for our Summer holidays) is a long journey from home, so we like to start early and tag a few overnights on. We opted to stay in or around Falkirk on the way up this year mainly because we had seen the spectacular Kelpie sculptures on a previous journey and wanted to visit them.

Before then however we arrived at the Falkirk Wheel, which had been recommended by Dad via a Fred Dibnah TV show! We’d done a small amount of research into it and knew all about the reason it had been built and its purpose as a rotating boat lift, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. Surprisingly modern, it only opened in 2002, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. I didn’t realise we undertook such building these days and had thought it was Victorian! Personally, I thought we would be there for ten minutes take some photos and then move on. How wrong was I?! It is the sort of structure you stand underneath, next to, across from and just stare at open mouthed. What an incredible thing (not sure what to call it!) to look at and to watch - we arrived as it began a rotation and we all went camera crazy. We ended up seeing it operate a further two times as well as taking a walk around the park which has lots to see and do particularly for children. Scottish Canals have done a great job it is an interesting and exciting thing to visit and even more importantly you only pay to park (lots to spend in the shop and cafes though).

Having stayed much longer than anticipated at the wheel we arrived at the Kelpies quite late in the day as the rain decided to start. We viewed the horses through torrential rain showers and other people’s umbrellas - another breath-taking sight (The Kelpies not the umbrellas!) and photographers dream although it’s very hard to find a shot that hasn’t been featured on Instagram a million times. We were lucky to see them with a definite lack of people there (due to the very heavy rain!) but it didn’t make standing taking photos a particularly fun thing to do! Lighting was poor and hard to get a good shot but once again great place to stop they are well worth the visit.

The unexpected highlight of our day was arrival at the little stopover hotel Chris has chosen, Arden House in Linlithgow. What an absolute hidden treasure of a hotel with lovely owners who can’t do enough for you and the best breakfast we have ever had. I hadn’t expected much of the Falkirk area but I was very pleasantly surprised. Lovely countryside, some very special features and halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow. A great place to stay.
​
Arden House has just 3 rooms and the night we stayed we were the only guests in 2 of them. Greeted by the owner with a tray full of freshly baked cakes as she took us to our rooms, we felt like we were staying in our own country house. After a good night’s sleep nothing could prepare us for the home cooked feast that awaited us at breakfast. All cooked to order with a story behind every addition we were fed and fed again with freshly cooked pancakes, the best haggis I have ever tasted and my personal favourite cinnamon poached pears. We all overate and spent the rest of the day feeling very full but very satisfied as we hit the road to travel further north onwards to Aviemore and eventually Ullapool - but that's another story.

​Viv