Doing the tourist thing — An Elegant Sufficiency

We’ve been incredibly lucky with the weather so far but as we looked out of the window as we were having breakfast, we could see some pretty torrential rain outside. By the time we left, that shower had passed through and the golfers were there outside the clubhouse ready to play come rain or shine.

As of course are we. By the time we were on the road to Stirling there was blue sky and bright sunshine. It was going to be one of those changeable days, weatherwise.

Stirling Castle was there, high on a hill in front of us and we noticed that the colour is still much as it was when we were there, some years ago.

We remembered seeing the Wallace Monument back then too, on the opposite hillside.

Today we were planning to visit the third of that little triangle of tourist sites, the site of the Battle of Bannockburn.

We knew that all the tickets for guided tours were sold out today, but read there was a visitor centre and of course, the open air battle site would surely be accessible without a tour booking. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that the rain holds off for now.

Actually, there wasnt really a visitor centre, but more of a shop and cafe. We decided to just go ahead and work it out as we went along, then, especially since one of us had more than enough knowledge of history to get us through.

We began with a timeline along the side of the path, reading of notable events leading up to the battle.

There was a well kept path up to the battle monument, reminding us very much of the memorial at Bosworth Field, where we visited last year.

Around the upper ring of wood was inscribed a few lines of poetry, again in much the same way as we’d seen in Leicestershire.

Here lies our land: every airt :: Beneath swift clouds, glad glints of sun :: We are mere transients who sing :: It’s westlin winds and fernie braes :: Northern lights and siller tides :: small folk playing our part :: come all ye the country says :: you win me who take me most to hearts

As I stood reading (and writing) I could hear some kind of soundtrack playing; a voice speaking, though I couldn’t hear the words distinctly enough to know what was being said because of the wind. Then, as we were leaving, we came across this…

I felt sorry that I’d not been able to hear more clearly!

We made our way up to the monument to Robert the Bruce, reading of the battle as we did.

So far so good as far as staying dry goes, too!

Not only that, the sun was shining on the castle! Perhaps we’d be lucky?

With a quick nod to the stone marking the site where Robert the Bruce planted his flag after the battle, we made our way back to the car and felt we’d done pretty well, all things considered!

I especially liked the way the Bannockburn logo had been created and took a photo for my sketchbook. time to move on to our next stop on the list.

We caught sight of a Kelpie long before we arrived. Interesting!

The pandemic has brought about many creative solutions and perhaps this was one of them - at least, I very much doubt that before the CV struck, the car park attendant had fixed his payment device to a selfie stick so he could put it through an open window and ask the driver to tap his credit card. With his phone in his other hand, he showed the transaction had gone through before waving the car on through the barrier.

It was a wild and woolly walk from the car park to the Kelpies, but the spectacle rewarded the effort. Situated by the side of the Forth and Clyde canal, the huge structure commemorates the heavy horses that once pulled the barges through. It was another of those places where we hadn’t booked a tour, so we didn’t get to go inside - but actually, once again, we were perfectly happy to sit and eat an ice cream, doing a bit of people watching for a while.

Looking at the map, it wasn’t so far to walk along the canal towpath to our next destination, but bearing in mind that we’d have to walk back as well (!) we thought it better to stick to the original plan and take the car. We were heading for #7 on the map next, the Falkirk Wheel.

Intermediate car park technology here though - take a ticket and pay at a machine before you leave!

More bright and breezy infrastructure and branding here too - probably all part of the same group of attractions in the Falkirk area. This was a popular place on a Friday afternoon though and we were lucky to snag a good parking spot and, more importantly, to arrive just in time.

Just in time to see a small holiday boat gingerly make its way into the water-filled caisson alongside the tour boat which was already there. We’d thought about getting tickets for a short trip on the canal, just to experience the lift and the journey over the aquaduct, but standing watching as the pretty full boat sitting there doing nothing for quite some time, with all the windows closed, we both agreed that we felt happy that we hadn’t gone ahead with that idea.

Eventually, it began to move and the caisson right there in front of us, holding the tour boat and the small holiday boat began to rise up in front of us.

Once it began to move it gained a bit of momentum and we decided to move along the viewing point a little so we could watch the whole structure turn.

The whole 180° turn takes no more than five minutes. How lucky had we been to arrive just as it was about to go - for there were no further boats waiting, it seemed.

So, watching the tour boat disappear from view as it sailed off onto the aquaduct connecting the Forth and Clyde canal with the Union canal a couple of locks further along, we thought it was time to go.