A few months ago, my husband Drew and I decided to extend a visit with family in England to include a trip to Scotland. We read guidebooks, watched YouTube videos, and spent a lot of time with Google Maps to think about the places where we might want to go. I took a first crack at an itinerary and made a list of non-negotiables (Inverness and Glen Coe). My husband took that, added his own must-see's, and we arrived at a final itinerary. Once we both agreed on the plan, he began working on the logistics of hotels, rental car, etc. We logged the details into a Google sheet that included the links to hotels, driving times between destinations and things that we might want to see along the way.
We watch a few YouTuber's who live on narrow boats in the UK and had seen their videos of the Falkirk Wheel; the world's only rotating boat lift. None of those videos had prepared us for the circus-like atmosphere of it! We arrived around 2:30 p.m., managed to find a parking spot in the nearly-full lots, and walked down the hill to the visitor's center. Buses were dropping off tourists by the dozens, one bus included American tourists. Please note that I did not verbally harass the lady wearing the Tennessee Volunteer's t-shirt. I totally yelled insults in my head though.
We grabbed a quick bite of lunch in the cafe and were able to see the wheel at work, taking boats from the Union Canal at the top to the Forth & Clyde canal below. The wheel replaced a series of 11 locks that once were required to move between the two canals. The wheel is crazy close to the sidewalk and tables next to the canal and, honestly, it was difficult not to stand in awe and the engineering involved in its design. For about 23 USD, you can board a boat at the bottom, get information about the wheel, and then go to the top canal and back down. We opted out of this adventure and, instead, walked around the grounds.
There are numerous activities for kids including bumper boats, splash pools, and archery. There are also lots of food trucks that cater to just about any craving you might have. You can also watch the boats leave the lock and head out into the Forth & Clyde canal.
Next, it was on to The Kelpies. The Kelpies are two gigantic horse heads that stand in a lovely park on the side of the M-9. You can park about half a mile away and walk to the park or you can pay for parking at a lot next to the park. Whenever this option presents itself, we always pay for the parking because it's faster and allows us to cover more ground.
Kelpies are the shape-shifting water horses that feature prominently in Scottish folklore. While the kelpies of old were the starting point for the design, they are intended to convey the might of Scottish industrialism. Again, we encountered tour buses, lots of tourists and food trucks. Plenty of folks had brought picnic lunches and lounged on the grass as their children giggled and played in the late-afternoon sun.
For about 140 USD, you can tour the inside of the statues and learn about their creation. Again, we opted out and chose, instead, to admire the magnificent beasts from the outside. We spent about 45 minutes here and then headed north to Pitlochry. As we returned to the motorway, we were treated with an excellent view of The Kelpies.
We arrived in Pitlochry around 5:00 p.m. After checking in, we headed to the beer garden with a couple of...well...beers to decompress from the day's drive and talk about the next day. We eventually headed inside for dinner where we enjoyed a terrific steak pie (Drew) and fish and chips (me).
We ended the night with a couple of whiskies in our room. I sipped mine while enjoying the perfect little reading nook. As with most evenings, we turned in relatively early to rest up for the next day.
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