Jen and Dave: Adventuring

Today was an easy day to enjoy the city before heading off to Arran. After a leisurely breakfast, we walked to the waterfront and then along the waters edge for around 4 km, until we reached the Riverside Museum, a brand new facility celebrating transportation and technology.

Alongside the Riverside was the Glenlee steel-hulled tall ship. She’s fully restored and set up to interpret the old sailing days – a really neat museum piece.

After the museum we went a short ways to the Clydeside Distillery. They have a cute cafe with delicious sandwiches and, of course, whisky. Dave did a flight of whiskies from several partnered distilleries, as well as enjoying a wee dram of one of Clydeside’s.

Walking back to the city centre, we were surprised to see how busy things were – then realized it was a sunny Saturday. We did some grocery shopping for our hike, and took the evening off to rest, relax, and pack.

Today we took another bus into the highlands. This time we went with Rabbie’s as they offered the best tour itinerary.

The first stop was at a different spot on Loch Lomond, mostly as a rest stop but also as a photo op. The rain was creating a misty look at the landscape.

Next were a pair of scenic viewpoints of Glencoe, a historic and gorgeous valley.

One more washroom stop and then we hit the longest stop of the tour: Fort Augustus and Loch Ness. We had time for a quick chippy lunch before heading out on a boat cuise of the Loch.

Nessie lore aside, it was fascinating to look at how different the land formations and forests are on either side of the loch – it’s on a fault line and each shore of the long and skinny loch is a different tectonic plate.

After Loch Ness we headed to a lookout with a view of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Great Britain. It’s not very high – not much more gain than Mt Frosty, on a shorter hike!

Another pit stop, then on the road until we reached the picturesque town of Pitlochry. Here we enjoyed local ice cream – Dave’s made with the local single malt whisky! Delicious.

Our final stop was a small farm, to see some more hairy coos and sheep. Super cute!

Arriving back in Glasgow more than eleven hours after we started, we wearily went back to a local pasta restaurant before turning in for the night. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Today started at the train station, where we caught a train going east. Destination: Falkirk High Station.

Over the past several years, we have been watching narrow boating blogs as a way to wind down. Falkirk is famous in the narrowboating community as the place where the Forth & Clyde canal connects to the Union canal with some pretty amazing engineering.

First, however, we had to get there. Falkirk High Station was very close to the Falkirk tunnel. 630 meters long, it is the longest in Scotland. Excavated from solid limestone, there are also shorings and changes to height and width as you walk along the towpath. The stalactites from around two hundred years of seepage.

Tracing our way back through the tunnel, we meandered along the towpath, checking out locks, waving at boaters, and chatting with folks. Then came a much more modern tunnel, with fancy LED coloured lights.

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The Falkirk wheel is a giant, slow version of the classic rainbow PNE ride. A giant pan of water – big enough for two narrow boats – rotates up while a matching bucket rotated down. It’s on a geared system, and since the buckets are balanced, it takes little power to move – the same as boiling a kettle eight times. It’s absolutely ridiculous, but a neat piece of engineering.

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Part of a £84.5 million Millennium Link project to replace a defunct 11-lock system and rejoin the historic Union canal with the Forth & Clyde, the Falkirk wheel stands 35 meters tall and used 1,200 tonnes of steel. Each of the two gondolas hold half a million litres of water, but the vast weights only take 1.5 kWh to turn due to clever gear design and careful balancing. The design itself was inspired by the Celtic axe. Because of the stress reversals, the entire thing is bolted (instead of welded) together, using some 14,000 fasteners.

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After the wheel and some snacks, we continued along the Forth & Clyde canal, walking on the towpath through industrial and residential areas, and stopping for lunch. We considered stopping at the distillery , but it was closed.

We then reached a point where we stopped dead in our tracks – the Kelpies were in sight.

Although they appear as giant horse heads, they were envisioned as kelpies – Scottish spirits that can shift shape but often appear in horse form. There were actually two pairs of heads – the artist vision which was three meters high and made of welded plate, and what Dave calls the “engineers variant” – thirty meter tall structures with substantial inner structure and bolted plates cut to suggest the inspiration.

After the Kelpies we walked through Helix park and made our way to Falkirk Grahamston Station for the ride back to Glasgow. A long day, but a lovely one!

Overnight rain left the city slightly fresher, and after a delicious breakfast in the hotel (where Dave tried tatty scones), we walked to the home of the Scottish National Orchestra, where a bus tour we had booked was meeting. Just 17 passengers and a friendly and knowledgeable guide (John of Skye from Timberbush Tours), it was a good option for exploring where transit doesn’t tread.

Our first stop was Loch Lomond. Some folks opted for a boat cruise, but we chose to walk in the park and enjoy the waterfront, including a steam wheeler they are working to restore.

Next was a small town, where we had a bite to eat, checked out a number of sheep from different breeds, and watched a sheepdog demonstration… herding ducks! They can’t demonstrate with the sheep as they are too smart and would get used to the dog. 😂

After the hilarity, we would our way through some spectacular scenery, including Duke’s Pass, where we saw hectares of wild heather just starting to come to colour.

Just past the park we came to a small farm to see the highland cattle. Adorable bovine, we got to feed them carrots and potatoes. They are known locally as hairy coo.

The next sight was a pretty spectacular one – Stirling Castle. Sitting atop a crag and in a key strategic position, a lot of fighting happened near here. There were military stationed here until 1964. It was also a royal court, and Mary, Queen of Scots (among others) were crowned here.

Stirling Castle is one of the largest, most historically important and most architecturally important castles in the UK, and its years of changing hands, additions of fortifications, and other changes made for a fascinating visit.

After Stirling we returned to Glasgow for a quick supper, bag repack, and sleep. More adventures await tomorrow!

We woke up suddenly today to the fire alarm. Blearily getting dressed and going downstairs, we realized they take these very seriously. We were among the last out of the building. Shortly thereafter, six fire trucks arrived, departing as they declared all clear. Certainly an exciting introduction to Glasgow.

Today was mostly about goals, and we took care of most quite quickly. First up were UK sims with the provider with better rural coverage (Vodafone). Next, we checked out the walking route to where our day tours would leave from. Finally, we found the local Mountain Warehouse to pick up some hiking poles (as they aren’t carry-on-only compatible).

After errands were mostly run, we found a chippy for some lunch then walked across town to the Kelvingrove Museum.

The city museum is in a massive and impressive building, and has a huge variety of collections, making it a great way to spend half a day.

We walked back via the riverfront, which was reminiscent of the days of industry, mixed with showstopping buildings and bridges.

Dinner was on a patio beside the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art, for pasta, homemade focaccia, and a cold beverage.

The last stop of the night was a Tesco Express for some fruit, bars, and other snacks for our next day’s travels. Returning to the hotel, we had barely made it to our room when the heavens opened. Wide. It was incredible, overflowing infrastructure and flooding the streets. Perfect timing.

After a quick breakfast of in-room coffee and some fresh bread, we checked out, stowed our bags, and headed to Trinity College. The oldest college in Ireland, it was founded in 1592.

Admission is limited to those on tour (plus their actual students and staff), so we joined a delightful recent grad in learning about the old portion of campus, some history, and good gossip.

The tour came with admission to see the Book of Kells (an early and elaborate example of calligraphic illumination), which was interesting. More moving, however, was the long library, which they are just starting to restore. Gorgeous!

In the long library was the Brian Boru Harp. “The Brian Boru harp is the oldest surviving Irish harp and is the model for the insignia of Ireland,” states the display.

After the formal tour, we took a quick walk around the more modern buildings before heading to St. George’s Arcade for a quick lunch.

After lunch was a bus trip back to the airport. On to Glasgow!

Tired and bleary-eyed, we landed from our red eye in Dublin at 9:00 am local. We grabbed some coffee and scrambled eggs on toast at the airport, then bussed to the city centre for a short walk to our hotel, where we checked our bags before exploring the city on foot.

We walked through bustling pedestrian zones, filled with a mixture of locals and tourists, went by Trinity college, then St. Stephen’s Green.

Temple bar district was filled with interesting places to eat and drink, and we grabbed a table at The Oliver St. John Gogarty’s Bar. Dave had fish and chips with a couple pints of Guinness, and Jen the local preparation of mussels with Guinness bread. A live duet played traditional Irish music, on guitar and flute, and they were absolutely delightful.

After lunch we walked along the River Liffey until the Grand Canal locks. We wandered along the canal a bit before returning to the hotel for showers and well-deserved sleep!

We started the day with a big group breakfast, and a bit of origami to keep the kids occupied. Next was a trip to Lightning Lake day use to see the ground squirrels, followed by a walk around the lake.

In the afternoon we napped, played games, and made tons of origami and crafts. A great day with great friends.

How best to prepare for a hike? A weekend at Manning Park, glamping style.

We walked around the back half of Lightning Lake before dinner at the Lodge and settling into our cabin, awaiting the friends who would join us!