Scotland Day 1 - Kelpies, Falkirk Wheel, Edinburgh hotel

The Kelpies and the Forth & Clyde Canal

We arrived in Glasgow right on time, through baggage and security and on to the bus by 8am. A bit groggy, but not bad considering the long night.

Approaching Glasgow

We back-half passengers got to exit to the rear of the plane, rain and all

The "upper class" front got to exit via the covered walkway :))

 

The official tour was to head right from Glasgow to our Edinburgh hotel. As a sign of things to come though, our driver made a couple of interesting stops along the way.

"The Kelpies are two giant steel horse heads that are easily visible from a distance while driving the M9 motorway. Standing nearly 100 feet (30 metres) high over the Forth & Clyde Canal, these are actually the largest pair of equine sculptures in the world. In Scottish folklore, kelpies are shape-shifting, horse-like water spirits said to have the strength and endurance of 100 horses. Scottish artist Andy Scott designed these sculptures as a tribute to Scotland’s engineering progress and the Falkirk area’s industrial heritage."

The Forth & Clyde canal runs near the Kelpies exhibit. We follow several Youtube nomads that travel the British canal system via narrowboats, so it was interesting for us to see some of these canals live:

A canal lock, for elevation changes

A more local tour bus

 

Not far away from the Kelpies is the Falkirk Wheel. This is a very creative type of canal lock, making a major elevation change of 79 feet in one step.  <Wiki link click here>

These statues were made of wires, formed and wrapped

View over the canal to the nearby areas

Our tour bus, and Cathie in awe

The Wheel visitor centre also had a very nice cafe where we had tea and a bite to eat.

Carrying on, we made our way into Edinburgh to the Best Western Kings Manor Hotel:

Gord and Art chatting in front of the hotel

Enjoying a beverage at the buffet Welcome dinner in the hotel