Travels: The birthday day for real

Happy Birthday to me!!!

After breakfast, Mum, Patricia and I drove to a multiplex cinema east of Glasgow on the M8 to meet Nicola and Stephen. They parked their car in the cinema parking lot and the five of us drove north towards the Wallace Monument. However not long after leaving the parking lot we saw a signpost for the Falkirk Wheel. Andy had recommended a visit to the Falkirk Wheel as an engineering marvel. So we took his advice.

The Falkirk Wheel is a device for lifting long boats that links the Union Canal from Edinburgh with the Forth & Clyde Canal, which goes from Grangemouth to Glasgow. The wheel consists of two bath shaped tubs at 6 o’clock and 12 o’clock on the wheel. One tub locks on to the Union Canal and the other tub locks on to the Clyde Canal. The ends of the tubs are open and a long boat motors into the water filled tub. The ends of the tub close sealing the long boat and the water inside and the two tubs then rotate 180 degrees changing places. The ends of the tub open once again and the long boats motor out of the tub and continue the journey on the canal. Seeing the boats changing places in this way was indeed impressive.

After marveling at the wall chart that told us each rotation of the wheel took less power than needed to heat six electric kettles we continued on our way to the William Wallace Monument.

For those that have not seen “Brave Heart”, William Wallace was a Scottish hero who attempted to resist King Edward I of England. Edward I was attempting to conquer Scotland and make it part of his domain. Wallace was betrayed and executed in 1305 but it took several hundred years, until 1780, for the monument to be erected on his honor. To reach the monument one must first climb several hundred feet on a path up on a wooded hill side. The monument is a crenellated tower with 246 steps from the ground to the open air viewing platform at the top. Between the ground floor and the viewing platform are three rooms at different levels. The 1st room gives an explanation of Wallace’s significance and achievements including an interesting re-enactment of his trial in London. The 2nd room contains busts of important Scottish writers, scientist and inventors and the 3rd room contains a diorama outlining the construction of the monument.

By now it was 4 pm, too late to visit Stirling Castle so we decided to take the long way home and visit the bridges over the Firth of Forth.
There are two bridges crossing the Firth of Forth, a railway bridge built almost a century ago from steel girders arranged in three diamond shaped structures and a road suspension bridge built over 30 years ago. The road bridge shortened the travelling distance from Edinburgh to Aberdeen by more than an hour, saving either a 30 mile journey downriver to the Kincardine bridge or a wait for the ferry boat crossing.

South Queensferry is a small town on the banks of the Firth of Forth in front of the cliffs and steep embankments that rise more than 500 feet above the river. The town used to be a an important stopping-off point for people waiting for the car ferry across the Forth, but now that the car ferry is no longer in existence the town has remade itself as a quaint tourist town with regular festivals to keep people visiting and taking pictures of the bridges above. There are several interesting buildings including the Hawes Inn where Robert Louis Stevenson lived while writing Kidnapped. We also found a take-away café with the best ice-cream we have tasted on this trip.

From South Queensferry we drove back to Andy and Andrea’s for a delightful dinner of Chicken and Prawn Risotto washed down with Jacob’s Creek Australian Shiraz.
With that, my 60th Birthday celebration concluded. Thanks to all of those that celebrated with me and demonstrated how much they care for me.