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And another couple of grand days out
Whew! Busy or what? This tourist lark is sooo tiring ;-)
Having a grand time with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
feather_autant, and doing all the stuff that I never find time to do while I'm just living here *g*. The Man has had a couple of days off too, and he's been chauffeuring us all over the Central Belt (bless him *g*). And of course, there are lots and lots of photos *g*
Tuesday, we went to Roslin Chapel (a la Da Vinci Code). No photos, alas, since they've banned photos inside the chapel - possibly because it's a working church still, but more likely, I think, because they want you to spend loads of money on postcards and stuff in the gift shop. But it was gorgeous, as ever: it really is like being inside a wedding cake, all frothy and pale and intricate. I love it there, and I'd recommend anyone to go (all the airy-fairy, ley line/tree hugger/templar stuff aside *g*). Beautiful place.
After that we went to New Lanark. Potted history: new model weaving village, set up on philanthropic lines, by Robert Owen's father in law in the 1780s or so. Robert Owen is famous for the improvements he made in welfare and education while he was in charge of the cotton weaving mills there. To the casual observer, it looks just like Toy Town:
But there's no doubt that the improvements made in working conditions were astounding for their time. And it's in a very picturesque setting. There are the Falls of Clyde (complete with some kind of industrial pumping house or something - which gives the clue as to why exactly this spot was chosen for a social experiment in industrialisation *g*)
Yesterday was a Big Day. Lots of travelling about, but it was worth it! First up, the Falkirk Wheel:
Brilliant, brilliant, piece of engineering! Each of the gondolas within the wheels on each side of the central arm contains a barge. and the water needed to keep it floating. The object of the exercise is to raise one barge to the level of the Forth/Clyde canal while lowering the other to the level of the Union Canal. The difference in height is about about 75 feet. Once the gondola is occupied and the ends have been sealed, the wheel turns, bringing the top barge down and the bottom part up.
So far, so good. Here comes the brilliant part. This feat, thanks to the judicious use of the principles of physics (yay Archimedes, balanced weight and a clever cog system!) is achieved using power equivalent to boiling eight electric kettles and amounts to less than £10 worth of electricity a DAY. ::is proud of Scottish egineering::
The canal boats on the Union Canal were so pretty too:
After that, the Wallace Monument (think Braveheart). A huge chunk of Scottish history, and Wallace's sword to boot:
This thing is *huge* - 66 inches from hilt tip to sword point. He must have been one hefty guy, as well as a national hero :-)
And to cap it all, the views from the top were pretty spectacular. This is the River Forth, winding its way across the Carse of Stirling to the sea.
Finally, Loch Lomond. Which is utterly captivating. It was a glorious evening, so we really saw it at its best.
But the light kept changing as the weather moved in and some of the photos turned out really moody and atmospheric:
And just as a bonus, I snapped Stirling Castle on the way past (out of the car window!)
So. We had another grand day out today, but I'm knackered so that one'll have to wait until tomorrow.
Having a grand time with
feather_autant, and doing all the stuff that I never find time to do while I'm just living here *g*. The Man has had a couple of days off too, and he's been chauffeuring us all over the Central Belt (bless him *g*). And of course, there are lots and lots of photos *g*Tuesday, we went to Roslin Chapel (a la Da Vinci Code). No photos, alas, since they've banned photos inside the chapel - possibly because it's a working church still, but more likely, I think, because they want you to spend loads of money on postcards and stuff in the gift shop. But it was gorgeous, as ever: it really is like being inside a wedding cake, all frothy and pale and intricate. I love it there, and I'd recommend anyone to go (all the airy-fairy, ley line/tree hugger/templar stuff aside *g*). Beautiful place.
After that we went to New Lanark. Potted history: new model weaving village, set up on philanthropic lines, by Robert Owen's father in law in the 1780s or so. Robert Owen is famous for the improvements he made in welfare and education while he was in charge of the cotton weaving mills there. To the casual observer, it looks just like Toy Town:
But there's no doubt that the improvements made in working conditions were astounding for their time. And it's in a very picturesque setting. There are the Falls of Clyde (complete with some kind of industrial pumping house or something - which gives the clue as to why exactly this spot was chosen for a social experiment in industrialisation *g*)
Yesterday was a Big Day. Lots of travelling about, but it was worth it! First up, the Falkirk Wheel:
Brilliant, brilliant, piece of engineering! Each of the gondolas within the wheels on each side of the central arm contains a barge. and the water needed to keep it floating. The object of the exercise is to raise one barge to the level of the Forth/Clyde canal while lowering the other to the level of the Union Canal. The difference in height is about about 75 feet. Once the gondola is occupied and the ends have been sealed, the wheel turns, bringing the top barge down and the bottom part up.
So far, so good. Here comes the brilliant part. This feat, thanks to the judicious use of the principles of physics (yay Archimedes, balanced weight and a clever cog system!) is achieved using power equivalent to boiling eight electric kettles and amounts to less than £10 worth of electricity a DAY. ::is proud of Scottish egineering::
The canal boats on the Union Canal were so pretty too:
After that, the Wallace Monument (think Braveheart). A huge chunk of Scottish history, and Wallace's sword to boot:
This thing is *huge* - 66 inches from hilt tip to sword point. He must have been one hefty guy, as well as a national hero :-)
And to cap it all, the views from the top were pretty spectacular. This is the River Forth, winding its way across the Carse of Stirling to the sea.
Finally, Loch Lomond. Which is utterly captivating. It was a glorious evening, so we really saw it at its best.
But the light kept changing as the weather moved in and some of the photos turned out really moody and atmospheric:
And just as a bonus, I snapped Stirling Castle on the way past (out of the car window!)
So. We had another grand day out today, but I'm knackered so that one'll have to wait until tomorrow.