The Journey to Inverness ~ Kelpies of Falkirk, Lochs and a Swan

Of all the small nations of this earth,

perhaps only the ancient Greeks surpass the Scots in their 

contribution to mankind.

~Winston Churchill

On our 5th day we headed North from Edinburgh. Doune Castle (my last post) was not actually our first stop but a place called Rotho. 

I was bound and determined to find a can of SMIDGE to ward off the midges which are famous for eating people alive in the Scottish summers. Okay, that was a little dramatic but they are like mosquitos but smaller and they can swarm you and make life a bit miserable.

I tried to order some online from the states but couldn't swing it. The best place to find Smidge is at sporting goods places and select pharmacies.

Edinburgh International 

Climbing Arena

Looking on the internet I found a climbing arena that carried it. I had no idea where we were really headed but it turned out to be the largest indoor climbing facility in Europe! It's called the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena. 

It's enormous!!! The climbing area was incredible. On top of that, there were shops, a gym, a pool, a cafe, offices, play areas for kids and a huge sporting goods store with climbing equipment ... and Smidge! 

Smidge is non toxic and doesn't smell like a freshman science class. They also have a midge tracker on their website for those planning on venturing out on a Scottish trail in the warmer months.

I also got some homemade soap at a highland games with an herb that is supposed to protect against midges. They also don't like wind, so if you are going out hiking, a good breeze is also a help. Other than a few bites ,when we weren't wearing the stuff, we were not eaten alive and all was well. 

Here are some quick video clips from my iPhone leaving Edinburgh and on our drive up north! 

It'll preview this post and show you a video clip of this arena.

Can you believe this place? 

A little Scottish Music for you ...

Helix Park

Falkirk, Scotland

Helix Park is beautiful. There are 26 kilometers of paths (some of which sit above ground so you don't sink if it is muddy) and there are all types of native flora and fauna. You can also rent bikes which would be a blast in May or June! Helix North is the greener part of the park.

There is a canal that runs through it with a lock which you see below.

The main reason we were there was to see the Kelpies of Falkirk!!

The Kelpies!
built 2013

My travel journal ...

I was on a mission to see the Kelpies! 

The Kelpies are the largest equine statues in the world and each one weighs 300 tons! These beautiful 30 meter high sculptures were created by Andy Scott. Kelpies are shape shifters who often take the form of horses. These pay homage to the work horses who helped build modern Scotland.

"During the conceptual stages, I visualised the Kelpies as monuments to the horse and a paean to the lost industries of the Falkirk area and of Scotland."

"The original concept of mythical water horses was a valid starting point for the artistic development of the structures, but from the original sketches of 2006 I deliberately styled the sculptures as heavy horses. In early proposal documents I referred to Clydesdales, Shires and Percherons, of the fabled equus magnus of the northern countries.

"I wrote of working horses. Of their role in the progress of modern society, as the powerhouses of the early industrial revolution, the tractors of early agriculture and of course, the first source of locomotion for barges on the Forth & Clyde canal, which The Kelpies now inhabit.

"Falkirk was my father's home town and that inherited association to the town has been one of my driving inspirations. A sense of deep personal legacy has informed my thinking from the outset, with old family connections anchoring me to the project." - Andy Scott

There is a visitors center, a cafe, a coffee kiosk where you can grab a cappuccino and of course a small gift shop.

The Kelpies were definitely worth the trip to Falkirk. With all the things we did that day, my mom said our visit to the Kelpies was her favorite. They really are magnificent! Next time I'd like to go at night when they are all lit up! You can also take a Kelpies tour where you can go inside and they explain how they engineered these incredible sculptures.

This sweet swan was on his own. I was so high on the Kelpies I didn't realize he had a problem. I guess I thought he was molting. Later as I looked at the photos one of his wings looked like it was hanging a bit low. I guess if I'd known I would have been upset not knowing who to call for help!

 

Hope someone helped this sweet laddie!

Falkirk Wheel

Opened in 2002 by Queen Elizabeth

The worlds first and only rotation boat lift.

1,200 tones of steel!

15,000 bolts hand tightened 

In the 1930s there were 11 "staircases" of locks that linked The Forth & Clyde and Union Canals. This took almost a day to get through so they were dismantled in 1933. In 1994 a new concept was presented. A giant wheel as a boat lift! Work started in 1998 for the 84.5 million pound project to link the canals.

"The final design is claimed to have been inspired by a Celtic double headed spear, a vast turning propeller of a Clydebank built ship, the ribcage of a whale and the spine of a fish."

My dad, being an engineer, loved seeing how this thing worked! It's true that this place is pretty incredible but in truth I was ready for lunch.

Fortunately, it has a great visitors center with a cafe. I must admit I was skeptical. Art museums in the States generally have good food and bathrooms but other tourist attractions can be a bit on the crappy side. Scotland? Nice CLEAN bathrooms everywhere we went and great food at the tourist sites! Over and over I was impressed. Remember, we were on a road trip and I was never grossed out with the facilities. Anyway, the food here was great.

Back to the wheel. As my dad pointed out, the engineering is pretty incredible. He read that to run a full cycle of the wheel it only takes the energy you would use to brew a pot of coffee.

Here's how it works

There are many different canal trips you can take on various routes in Scotland. How fun would that be?! 

Here is an arial film by the "Hovering Scotsman" of the Kelpies and the the Wheel. Don't get confused by the mini version of the Kelpies next to the wheel. They are probably less than the height of an L.A. Laker.

Links

The Helix

Kelpies Tour

Edinburgh International Climbing Arena

Falkirk Wheel

Canal Trips

Smidge

Fun stops! After Falkirk, we stopped at Doune Castle. Then we headed up the hill to Stirling Castle and had dinner in the lovely town of Pitlochery. That will be my next post.

Blessings and light!

Rosslyn Chapel and a Good Scottish Breakfast

The stone both of the roof and walls is sculptured with leaves and flowers,

so delicately wrought that I could have admired them for hours. 

~Dorothy Wordsworth, 1803

OK, first things first.  Before I get to the incredible Rosslyn Chapel, I need to say a word or two about Scottish breakfasts. Oh! And, apologies for the absence! I'm in a long distance relationship and that means I have run out of town here and there. I am, however, committing to posting at least once a week when I have access to my computer! 

My most vivid memory of our brief Edinburgh trip decades ago, was waking up in a bed and breakfast to a spectacularly delicious plate of Scottish goodness. The eggs were beyond fresh and while I'm not normally an eater of ham there was the most delectable slab of bacon I'd ever seen in my life. Everything was hot and delicious. The tea was steamy, fresh and flavorful in a way that I don't ever remember tea having been, before or since.

Having said that, we had just come from traveling in Government sanctioned hotels in the then Soviet Union. I'm not knocking all Russian cuisine but 95 percent of what we experienced in Moscow and Leningrad back then (It was so long ago that it was not yet back to being called Saint Petersburgh) I can only really describe the food as boiled and beige. So, you can imagine waking up to the smell bacon and eggs that were not hard boiled to petrified!

Anyway, on the first two mornings of our recent trip I absolutely pigged out on large Scottish breakfasts. On top of the eggs and bacon, I even had vegetarian haggis, beans and bread to soak up every last morsel. I can only do that so much and still button my pants.

So, on day 3 and 4 of Edinburgh I had my breakfast at Hula, at the bottom of Victoria Street in Grassmarket. Yum! Above was my Matcha Tea which resembled something on the wall of the Museum of Modern Art, but what I really loved was their Açai Bowl and their granola topped with yogurt and fresh fruit.

Yummy, healthy and filling! They also had had delicious looking smoothies and avocado toasts. I decided to write this in case anyone is wondering if there are any healthy options in Edinburgh. There are!

There was another place around the corner with great healthy looking faire but they didn't open early enough and we had places to be ...

... like Rosslyn Chapel! My parents had this on their "to do" list, since they'd read about it in the De Vinci Code, and I got on board after watching a BBC Documentary. (Surprise, surprise!) Conveniently, it's only a few miles or so outside of the city of Edinburgh.

Rosslyn Chapel

The Collegiate Church of Saint Matthew

1446

Above, a page from my travel journal, including a feather I found down at a church in the Scottish Borders.

While the Chapel gained fame in the 1990s after the Di Vinci Code, the history of Rosslyn is long with its origins dating back to the 15th century. It was founded by the Sinclair family and the Prince of Orkney and it is still a working church today. There is a Sunday service as well as shorter prayer services during the week. 

It would be an amazing place to go to church! Of course, the romantic in me is envisioning it candlelit with a fabulous choir! Apparently, on occasion the later does happen! Let's go!

‘It came into his mind to build a house for God’s service, of most curious work, the which that it might be done with greater glory and splendour, he caused artificers to be brought from other regions and foreign kingdoms and caused daily to be abundance of all kinds of workmen present as masons, carpenters, smiths, barrowmen and quarriers…..’

~Father Hay, author of A Genealogie of the Saintclaires of Rosslyn, describes the start of Sir William St Clair’s plan.

The detail on the inside of this small, unfinished, gothic cathedral is much more incredible than the exterior but alas there was no photography aloud! There are all of these intricate symbolic and mysterious carvings on what seems to be every inch of the interior.  You wonder as you walk around if the artisans were all in there trying to out do each other!

Here's a great little documentary that includes shots of the interior and its many carvings, large and small, as well as its history.  Once again, it is a BBC Doc. It gets into the restoration work and the behind the scenes on saving the building as well as explaining the work of the stonemasons.  We watched this before our trip.

Here's a little Scottish Harp music to listen to for the rest of the post! It's played on a replica of the "Mary Harp" that I wrote about in my post on the Scottish National Museum.

Many artists and writers have visited Rosslyn over the centuries including J.M.W. Turner, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth and on and on. I can see why they were all so inspired! After Queen Victoria made her visit to the chapel in 1842 she gave her metaphorical thumbs up on conserving the place.

Below, can you see the hand?

Apparently, Sir William paid his masons well and the town of Rosslyn was filled with workers who would build this work of art.  Remains of the Sinclair Castle are nearby but we didn't make it there. We had a long day ahead in the Scottish Borders. There is so much to see and do, everywhere in Scotland, that it's endless!

My parents were inside, listening to the very knowledgeable guide talk about the history of Rosslyn, while I went outside to snap more photos.

One of the things that is so interesting is the mixture of Christian and pagan imagery inside the chapel, including more than 100 little green men! The motif is used in many cultures including druidic and Celtic pre-Christian religions. I did this particular sketch later after our visit.

Seem’d all on fire that chapel proud,

Where Roslin’s chiefs uncoffin’d lie, 

Each Baron, for a sable shroud, 

Sheathed in his iron panoply….

Blazed battlement and pinnet high,

Blazed every rose-carved buttress fair–

So still they blaze, when fate is nigh

The lordly line of high Saint Clair.

~Sir Walter Scott

Rosabelle

Happily the chapel survived the Scottish Reformation and was not demolished, like so many cathedrals in Scotland. (It's now an episcopalian church.) It has survived a lot, including being used as a horse stable by Oliver Cromwell and his men, in 1650! Thank goodness for conservationist and art historians who preserve this type of artistic heritage, that helps us to see history in a vivid, tangible way.

As I said, after Rosslyn we headed for the Scottish Borders to see where some of our ancestors lived and the tiny churches in which they were baptized. That deserves a whole post (or book!) so I'll finish this post with some views of our Air BnB.

Our Apartment in Grassmarket

The window below is the one that looks out onto Grassmarket and up to the Castle. Sorry, it's a repeat  photo from my first Scotland post! 

We could even see the fireworks for the nightly Military Tattoo that was going on! The Sofa was a fold out, so that was my bed.

If you spin around from that spot you see the kitchenette and on the left is the hall that leads to the bathroom, front door, and bedroom.

Here's the cute little bed where my parents slept. I took this the following morning right before we left (hus, the unmade bed). The window goes to the back of the building.

And here is the back of the building with all our luggage. It was waiting for our rental car the morning we left.

To explore the Rosslyn Chapel website, click here

Hula Juice Cafe and Gallery, click here

Next up, the beautiful countryside of the Scottish Borders! Hopefully my typos were at a minimum!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Many blessings and much light!