Fallkirk: Glasgow and Edinburgh ~ Where are the Jays

The Kelpies in Falkirk Scotland

Those are 3 names of town/cities. I did it that way because we are spending 8 days in Falkirk while visiting there, Glasgow and Edinburgh. If you pull out a map, you will see that Glasgow is on the westside of Scotland and Edinburgh on the east are not really that far apart. The country narrows there and the train runs regularly between the 2 cities with the town of Falkirk conveniently located on the train line between the two. We are staying at Alma Villa a short term serviced rental that is quite nice. We are about 5 minute walk from the train station in a neighborhood in what might could be a mother in law suite - attached to the main house but a full place on its own. We have a full kitchen, living room, full bath downstairs and a bedroom and full bath upstairs. This is one of the best Airbnb type places we have stayed in over the last couple years. Our hosts have been very friendly and helpful. This has been a combination rest, relax, clothes wash and tour spot for us.

Alma Villa was perfect

Falkirk

We chose Falkirk for its location, but truth be told it too has a couple of reasons to visit it. As we learned while in Edinburgh it used to be a huge steel town and that most man whole covers in the world are stamped "Falkirk" because that is where they were made. What I had known was that the Kelpies and the Falkirk wheel are here. What is a Kelpie you ask? A Kelpie according to Scottish folklore is a spirit that takes the form of a horse. One account claims it delights in the drowning of travelers. In Falkirk, a Kelpie is an enormous steel structure of the neck and heads of 2 horses raising up from the waters of the Clyde Forth canal in the Helix park. I do mean enormous too (100 feet). I saw them from the train tracks which are not nearby. There is a visitor center which has a video on the building of the Kelpies and some history of the area. I said they rise up from the waters of the canal which is true but it is water that has been diverted from the main canal way. The towpath along the canal is popular with the locals these days for bike riding and dog walking and we did see a couple of barges that looked like they were meant for leisurely riding the canals in warmer weather. Oh something I have been meaning to mention. Swans are indigenous to Scotland so we have seen them on this canal and up in Orkney building nests, etc. First time I have seen truly wild swans since most in the US have had their wings clipped to keep them in a particular body of water.

Tower at Falkirk High Street was once used to lock up prisoners

Jeff wants to vacation on one of these someday

Glasgow

We packed for this trip in a distracted manner and that combined with the changing seasons meant we had more luggage then we wanted to try and lug around on our train tour of Scotland so we left a suitcase in a locker at a self-storage facility in Glasgow. Thus, we needed to get it and we wanted to explore the city more. We had overnighted there before the tour had begun but had not explored the place. We decided to take a hop on hop off bus tour and had a couple of ideas of where we would hop off before we got into town. We ran out of time the day we spent in Glasgow but did get to see a few places. We went to the Clyde Distillery, Riverside Museum and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. We wanted to go to the Mackintosh House at University of Glasgow but ran out of time.

Glasgow Tower also was used to lock away prisoners

The Clyde Distillery is not well known or fantastic whiskey rather it is in an interesting spot in
Glasgow and it was a distillery where we could schedule a tour. Now that you have low expectations let me lift them some. In its heyday, Glasgow was a huge shipping port. The distillery is built on the former Queen's Dock in the pumphouse. Part of the distillery is the old building and part is a nice new glass structure. It is a young distillery so their whiskey is a blend onto itself in that part is aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels and part in sherry barrels and then blended together. The tour was informative and the tasting was nice. If you are in Glasgow, I would say it is a nice hour.

A Still with a view

From there we went a block down the street to the Riverside Museum which contrary to its name is basically a transportation museum including a tall ship at the junction of the Rivers Kelvin and Clyde. The museum building is impressive and holds a large collection from large ships to small toy trains. We enjoyed seeing the various forms of transportation and I enjoyed the corresponding clothing they had in the exhibits too.

The Kelvingrove Museum is famous for its Dali which is of Jesus on the cross. There are placards around the painting which is in a small vestibule by itself. The placards talk about how he used a human model to be certain how a body would hang in addition to his knowledge of mathematics. The placards also say how people tend to react to the painting. Not sure if it was in my mind, but I did feel goosebumps on my back when I first looked at it. Somehow it is kind of spellbinding. We wandered around the museum a little more and saw some interesting things, but my goal was to find the Impressionists and Monet I had heard they had. A guide sent us in the correct direction and off we went. After enjoying them and enjoying the building itself soon we were on our way. to get our luggage and our train. Funny thing along the way though. We had spent a night before our tour begun in Glasgow and had not thought much of the area the hotel was in. Well it seems that we were close to their Royal Concert Hall, and several theaters but with Covid they were closed up and the area seemed dead. So if you like orchestras or ballet then check the schedule and head to Glasgow.

interior of Kelvingrove Museum

Edinburgh

We went into Edinburgh on 3 separate days. We bought a hop on hop off ticket with a company that had 3 versions of their route and used it the first 2 days. The third day we did a food tour of Edinburgh and wandered on our own some. Our first day had the worst weather - it was extremely windy like it was practically pushing both of us at times and a light off and on rain. We decided to go after our indoor sites that day which meant we went to the Edinburgh Castle and Palace of Holyrood which are the 2 ends of the Royal Mile. We also visited St Giles Cathedral kind of in the middle of the two ends.

On the bus tour they told us to go inside The Bank of Scotland as the interior was magical. The bank was very welcoming with information boards to both share the history of the building and as a memorial to the bank employees who died in the world wars. The interior was stellar with star shaped windows in the domed ceiling.

Edinburg Castle towers over the city on a large volcanic rock. Centuries ago glaciers eroded away the land on either side leaving a defensible position that people have fortified over the centuries. Besides a tourist attraction it is manned by the Royal Marines. It is also the backdrop for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo each August. We had tickets for it in 2020, but the dates didn’t work for us this year. The brief video below promotes this spectacular event each August.

Edinburgh Castle

Main gate to Edinburgh Castle

Courtyard view

Palace of Holyrood has two roles. It’s where the Royal Family resides when visiting the capital of Scotland to this day. It is also preserved for all to enjoy. We toured the Palace and took in the grandeur and history. There is a room with absolutely gorgeous tapestries and further up the bedroom where Mary Queen of Scots assistant was murdered by her husband's men out of misguided jealously. We also saw a dining room and a gallery room that the Queen still uses today in official functions.

Front view

Courtyard view

Kings bedchamber

Stairway lined with paintings and tapestries

Stairway ceiling is amazingly intricate

Privy Chamber

Saint Giles Cathedral isn’t really a cathedral I’m told as the Church of Scotland doesn’t have a hierarchy that would give a church the title of Cathedral. It’s grandness is the reason for it baring the name.

Our second day we used a different route from the bus company and went to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Royal Yacht Britannia and wandered around Leith a little. The garden’s reputation for incredible Rhododendrons was the draw and we were not disappointed. They came in a rainbow of colors and some were as tall as trees.

Yes that is a very large Rhododendron

Note the tiny people in the distance next to the giant privet hedge, that’s how tall it is

The Royal Yacht Britannia was crewed by the Royal Navy from 1954 until she was decommissioned in 1997. Many Presidents and Prime Ministers have joined the Royal Family aboard. It also served as a set for the new Downton Abbey A New Era movie which is soon to be released in the States. We enjoyed watching it in Falkirk on a rainy day.

The Royal Yacht Britannia

Our last day should have been our first! We went to several restaurants and food stops with our guide and 4 other tourists. Our favorite dish was the Cullen Skink. It’s a broth based soup made from smoked haddock, potatoes and onions with cream and/or milk. The Haggis at the next stop (MUMS) was very good, but filling with the mashed potatoes and parsnip. The vanilla ice cream at the next stop was incredible. There was even an Indian restaurant where they had dished that included both Haggis and oddly Plant based Haggis. At another stop we enjoyed a wee dram of Whiskey.