The Kelpies to the Falkirk Wheel

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Falkirk Kelpies

Easter Monday: cold, breezy and threatening rain – but we needed to stretch our legs so I suggested walking the stretch of Forth and Clyde Canal between the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel, a return trip of about 8 miles. We’ve visited both before: I haven’t blogged about the wheel, but my previous post about the Kelpies explains what they are and has more pictures, including some taken on a tour inside the heads. I do sound a little grumpy in that post. The Kelpies had only just opened and parking and catering were problems which new visitor facilities have now solved, so this time we enjoyed coffee and a scone before setting out on our walk.

I have to admit the walk was a little disappointing. We really enjoy tramping the canal banks round Glasgow and feel there is a lot to see. This stretch was largely through industrial estates and the like, and I wouldn’t bother with it again. However, there were a few interesting sights including a series of metal sculptures representing local personalities and trades.

First up was the vinegar bottle – in 1854, McAuley’s Vinegar works stood close by. Vinegar was used as a flavouring and preservative – and to mask bad smells at a time of poor sanitation. The smells at this point were good – the building behind John is an Italian restaurant. It was too soon after our scones for lunch, but we had high hopes of visiting on our return. Unfortunately, as we discovered about 4pm, it closed between 2 and 5 😦

The next sculpture is part of a national artwork project called Local Heroes. Not being from Falkirk, I didn’t recognise Dr Harold Lyon, founder of Strathcarron Hospice in 1981, Reginald Adams who trained numerous Scottish swimming champions, and Robert Barr – although I’ve certainly heard of the latter. Barr’s Soft Drinks are a big thing in Scotland, producing our other national drink, Irn-Bru (made from girders, according to one of its advertising campaigns, and originally called Iron Brew in 1904).

Whisky bottles adorn the banks opposite the old Rosebank Distillery which stopped production in 1993. However, new owners have bought the site and trademark and it seems that a new distillery, but with the same name, will soon be rising like a phoenix from the ashes.

At Lock 16 two pubs faced each other across a large basin where the Union Canal from Edinburgh used to join the Forth and Clyde. Still anticipating our Italian meal, we let them pass.

From here, there was quite a long stretch with nothing much to see until the colourful canal boats suggested we were getting close to the Wheel.

And here it is! The Falkirk Wheel opened in 2002 and links the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals replacing the old link of 11 individual locks, which was dismantled in the 1930s. A boat enters one of the wheel’s gondolas, each of which holds 500,000 litres of water, and the turning of the wheel then lifts it up or down to the level of the other canal. You remain in the correct position at all times, this is not a fairground ride! You can just see a boat emerging in the second picture below.

By this time, the threatening rain was a downpour and we set off back towards the Kelpies, discovering the closed restaurant on the way. There was nothing for it but to take our cold, wet selves home and cook our own dinner!

Linked to Jo’s Monday Walk which this week is in my native Northumbria.

Scotland, UK , , , , ,

81 Comments »

  1. Those Falkirk Kelpies are an amazing sculpture, and quite an engineering feat. Interesting story about the history of the loch creatures as well as the horses that pulled the barges along the canals in your previous post…

    Jude

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  2. Pingback: Jo’s Monday walk : An adventure with Gilly | restlessjo

  4. I think the Kelpies are amazing. My mum and I went to visit not long after they were open to the public and suffered the same lack of decent visitor facilities and parking as you did. It’s good to hear that they have improved now. My mum and I also visited the Falkirk Wheel, not too long after it had opened – maybe a year or so. We thought it was pretty amazing too!

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  6. Those Kelpies are magnificent, and, after looking up info on the Falkirk Wheel and watching a youtube video on it’s engineering, the Falkirk Wheel is brilliant.
    Nice post!

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  7. I have a video about the Falkirk Wheel that my aunt brought over from Scotland. I hadn’t bothered to watch it, but now I will.
    Hmm, a video in the comfort of my home, or a cold wet walk to see it for real. This time I’m opting for the video.

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  8. I saw the Kelpies and Falkirk Wheel the last time I was in Scotland, but we just drove between them. We weren’t brave enough to walk in the Scottish weather!
    I kind of hate when restaurants close between lunch and dinner. I can understand why, especially if it’s a small family-run place, but I’m not a big lunch eater so I’m definitely ready for dinner by 4 on days when I’m not at work, and if I’m eating in a restaurant, I’d rather go early and beat the crowds. I think mine is probably a minority opinion though…I’m always kind of shocked when I see restaurants hopping at 8 or 9 at night – I get way too hangry to wait that long to eat!

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    • Yes, I’d skip the walk next time. I don’t mind going out for dinner at 7:30 or 8pm if that’s the point of the evening, but if we’re out walking we usually want to eat as soon as we’re finished. When kitchens shut at 2 we’re usually miles away. I don’t think it’s good for tourism.

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  9. What amazing sculptures. I just love the Kelpies. You are a great PR agent for your area, you’ve filled me full of enthusiasm to get up there and see the sights you’ve blogged about. Not sure if I’m so keen on walking in rain and cold though, I’m very much a fair weather walker – and I do need constant coffees, scones if they are available too.

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    • Yes, I would definitely give the walk a miss but the kelpies and the wheel are easy to drive between, and both have cafes. I’m glad you feel inspired to visit! Give me a shout if you do.

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  12. The sculptures are quite neat to see. The last picture of the closed restaurant is actually quite spectacular I think. It looks like a lovely walk although it would be nicer without the downpour

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  15. That’s one walk I haven’t done as I was on a bike and decided to follow the numerous loops of the River Carron from The Kelpies up to Larbert, also because it was new and unknown to me. One plus of cycling is that you can do any boring parts faster then slow down for the good stuff. It’s a strange area out that way though and surprisingly swampy in places. Shame about the meal.

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  18. I’m sorry you didn’t get your Italian dinner. It’s too bad the walk wasn’t what you hoped it would be, but you did see a lot of interesting things along the way. Nice that a new distillery is rising from the ashes! That Falkirk Wheel is certainly interesting. I love watching the wonders of man. 🙂

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  20. I can understand why a scone with coffee would put you in a better mood to start with. If only you’d known the Italian restaurant would be closed, you could have drowned your sorrows at all those establishments along the way. I am intrigued by the wheel. It’ such a clever invention.

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  21. Hi Anabel … I need a husband obviously to hand my posts on to = to put them into some format for people to read … this is relative to Fran’s comment above and your reply …

    What amazing creations … gosh I’d love to visit them … must be wonderful to see … and the Falkirk wheel … sometime – cheers Hilary

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  25. Nice post. The Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel are both quite beguiling in their way. I think the Wheel looks like a seagull side-on. Agree that it isn’t the most exciting walk along the canal there. Callander House, the nearby museum, is worth going to, though. Sat in its grounds yesterday to eat lunch!

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  26. I’d just switched the laptop off when I saw your post come up on my phone, Anabel. It’s not good viewing on there so I waited till I had more time. Why have i never been to the Kelpies? And why have I asked myself that so many times? For a small island there does seem a lot to see on ours. 🙂 🙂 I think you might have good Bank Holiday weather, unlike this coast today, so maybe you got back to the Italian. No walks over at mine for the next 2 weeks but I’ll log this one up. Thanks!

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  29. Arrgh! Don’t you hate it when that happens! You look forward to a meal at a particular restaurant and then when you arrive you find it is closed! Love the Kelpies, we drove by when we visited Scotland in 2016, but it was raining so I didn’t bother to stop. I had also considered doing the walk between the two sites, now I am glad we didn’t.

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  31. Friends in church recently back from a six week holiday in Scotland and they brought me back postcards and photographs of the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel. Still, I never tire of seeing the Kelpies and the Sculptor has a piece right here in our out of the way little town. He was commissioned – when he was in Australia – to do a sculpture for the front of the Vet. Clinic.

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  32. A very interesting post Anabel, though I don’t think I’d go canal walking in the cold and rain 😦 The Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel are two things I really really must see sometime – no matter how many times I see the wheel on various tv programmes I still can’t figure out how it works and which way it goes as no-one ever shows it doing a complete cycle 😦 I didn’t know you can go inside the Kelpies, I’ll have to check out your previous post later. A shame you had to go home and cook your own dinner, a good meal out after a walk in that weather would have been great.

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  33. Honestly Anabel, you ought to collect all your blog entries and to publish a book on your walks around Scotland. I always enjoy them and want to put them on my list of things to do should I ever get back to Scotland.

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