Summer Break in Lancaster and Scotland, 2022

 At the end of August, we did a two-week trip to Lancashire to see Emily and then on to Glasgow for four days with some of my family, and then a tour in Scotland seeing Helen's younger brothers Iain and Kenneth and their families. We planned this mostly travelling by train and hired a car in Bathgate for the trip further north in Scotland and returning to Bathgate and by train to Glasgow and then home. Unfortunately, the trip coincided with rail disruptions because of staff shortages and also the funeral of the queen that meant some venues were closed during our tour. The train problems meant the journey up was via Derby and Sheffield (to the east) and then back west via Manchester as the trains through Birmingham were not running.

We have been to Lancaster many times but not since we did the work on Emily's canal boat last year when it was out of water for repairs and painting. This time we stayed in central Lancaster in Regent Street that is close to the railway station and town centre. This was very pleasant, and we did some fine walks around Arnside travelling directly by train and then walking up to Arnside Knott and then back by Grubbin's Wood Nature Reserve and alongside the river Kent back to the station. There are great views from the hillside looking over the bay. Another day we took the cycle path from Lancaster towards Glasson Dock, stopping for lunch at the Conder Green at The Stork Inn in a lovely sunny setting in the garden.

Leaving Lancaster, it is only about 2 hours to Glasgow centre and a 20-minute walk to our accommodation on Bath Street just off Sauchiehall Lane on the north side of the Clyde. We were situated in a theatre area with night clubs nearby and plenty of places for eating and breakfast or coffee.

Looking over the Clyde towards the north.

One of the lesser-known murals at the rear of Bath Street where we stayed.

The first two days we decided to see around the city using the Hop-0n Hope-off bus (about 30 minutes frequency at £16 per day and second day for £1 at the time we visited) that has a starting and finishing point in the main George Square but can be accessed at several locations around the city. We enjoyed the live narrative of the Glaswegian guide that was very thorough although the recorded multilingual audio was also good. The first day we did the full tour and then chose to go to the Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel situated at the junction of Glasgow's two great rivers the Kevin and Clyde.  This is spacious and with lots to see depending on your individual interests. It also has a restaurant and great views of the river and parts of the city. The Tallship attraction next the museum on the waterfront was closed when we visited.

The front of the Riverside Museum with the Tallship on the waterfront.

The next day we visited Glasgow Green and the People's Palace, again using the bus tour. Next to the museum is the Doulton Fountain originally built in 1888 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria and recently relocated.

The Doulton Fountain restored and moved here in 2005 and looking impressive in the autumn sunshine.

The People's Palace and Winter Gardens.

Again, the Palace and Winter Gardens is a Victorian building dating from 1898. Originally the ground floor was for people to use for reading and had recreation rooms, built for the use of the people of Glasgow. Now of course it is a major tourist attraction for the city, and I'd say has too much information to take in on one visit so a good reason to return in the future. Needless to say, it also has a coffee shop on the ground floor. We then returned to George Square for a look-around and lunch, with lots of choices nearby. We decided on a Scottish Tapas restaurant, something we'd meet again on our travels further north.

The following day we walked to The Tenement House owned by The National Trust Scotland. This was only 10 minutes and very good with lots of information on a "middle-class" tenement well preserved from the period and containing many original household items. The two guides were particularly helpful and knowledgeable about the last occupants and their way-of-life (the house opened for visitors at 10 am and closed at 4 pm), We then went on from here to the Kelvingrove Museum, again a short 20-minute walk through the Kelvin Grove Park on the north side of the motorway (there is a footbridge to cross!). There is a lot to take-in here and we curtailed our visit to enable us to get to the Botanical Gardens which is situated about 30-minutes north from the museum. Again, we could have spent more time here in the various hot houses and gardens, but time was limited.

We then left Glasgow from Queen Street Station on the line to Edinburgh and stopped at Bathgate where we met Iain and Elaine for a couple of days visit. This region is in the M8 corridor and has changed markedly in the last few years with lots of new housing and developments. We had a stroll around Bathgate for coffee and to see the local museum and parks. We had visited Bathgate before but had not walked around the centre, so it was good to see all the activities and community groups that flourish here. The next day we went further afield to the village of Blackness and the castle that overlooks the Firth of Forth with views of the Forth bridges and to the south.

View of Blackness village from the walls of Blackness castle.

Inside the castle that has served several purposes over its history.

There was a cold wind at the castle I guess partly from its exposed position on the Firth. Following the staircases through the castle, there are excellent views of the surrounding region and information boards on the history of the buildings. It was first mentioned as a residence and also a prison in 1449 so has a long history of changes. We did get a feeling of how the castle looked as many of the rooms, although now empty, were intact. Indeed, the location was used in the television series "Outlanders" featured in series 1 and 2 as the headquarters of "Black Jack Randall". 

Leaving Bathgate by car (Eurohire Drive, Bathgate), we travelled north to Falkirk via The National Wallace Monument near Stirling. This is situated on Abbey Craig. The car park is at the bottom and the monument is reached by a footpath through the woods. The tower itself is 87 m in height and has 246 steps leading to exhibition rooms and the top tower that gives excellent views of Stirling and the river where the Battle of Stirling Bridge took place.  It is well worth the climb, even though space on the stairs is limited!

View from the top of the Wallace Monument to the winding River Forth, the site of the battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. William Wallace led the Scots to victory.

One of the wooden sculptures on the path climbing to the monument.  This one is of an iron worker with anvil by Iain Chalmers. 

It was only a short drive into the centre of Falkirk to the Orchard Hotel (this proved to be good value at £99 for two nights including breakfasts). From here we decided that a little walking to see the town, the Helix Park and the Falkirk Wheel, would be nice as we had spent a few days sitting. The first afternoon we went to the see "The Kelpies". These are apparently the world's largest equine stainless steel sculptures standing 30 metres in height and looking over the Forth & Clyde canal. The name was chosen by Scottish Canals from Gaelic meaning a mythical water horse.

The Kelpies situated The Helix Park just outside Falkirk. The water between the sculptures is connected to the Forth & Clyde canal at the rear of the photo.

The Kelpies from the other side of the Forth & Clyde canal. The canal towpath is on the right of the photo and leads back to Falkirk and onwards to the Falkirk Wheel.

After a snack at the site, we set off on the tow path back to Falkirk. This is through pleasant countryside on a well-marked tarmac path, ideal for cycling as well. 

The following day was the Queen's Funeral and a Bank Holiday in the UK hence most people were watching TV or having a lazy day. We are respectful but not loyalists, so it didn't really affect us apart from the fact that the facilities and Falkirk Wheel were closed but open for visiting. We re-joined the towpath and followed it the junction with the Union canal where the Wheel allows boats to get between the canals and hence across Scotland (about 35 miles or 56.3 km), Grangemouth to Bowling. Originally there was a series of 11 locks which took a day to navigate to get between the canals. These were dismantled in 1933 and the Wheel was opened in 2002 after a massive engineering works (see the Scottish Canals website for details). This is a truly impressive structure, and we were sad not to have seen it in action.

The Falkirk Wheel, the bottom is linked to the Forth & Clyde canal. Boats are lifted 115 feet up to the aquaduct connected to the Union canal.

This is where the boats are lifted to the Union canal.

We walked up hill to the Union canal and then followed finger post to the Antonine Fort (about 45 minutes). This was pleasant through the woodlands to reach a grassy plateau area with some boards explaining what had been found in excavations but now covered as I guess they were originally found. This is one of about 16 known forts along the Antonine Wall (AD140) built in a bid to mark the north-west frontier of their empire. After this we retraced our steps back to Falkirk stopping at a wayside pub, The Canal Inn, Lock 16, for a drink and nibbles. Later in town we found another Scottish tapas restaurant, this time serving more traditional Scottish food in the tapas and this we can recommend.

Progressing northwards to Ballachulish the next day, we passed several sites and of course, through the famous Glen Coe. 

A break at Loch Lubnaig in the Lock Lomond and Trossachs National Park; perfect weather for this time of year in Scotland.

This is the completed replica 17th. Century turf house at the NTS Glencoe Visitors Centre. Glencoe National Nature Reserve | National Trust for Scotland (nts.org.uk). 

Tormentil growing on the outside walls.

The Glencoe visitors centre had changed since we last past with a turf house completed during the Covid lockdown.  It was interesting to see the outside walls beginning a life of their own with some plants taking hold.

Our next stop was the Loch Leven hotel just off the A82 after crossing the bridge joining the north and south parts of the village of Ballarculish. When I first went to Scotland with my parents on holiday in the 1960s, the connection over Loch Leven and Loch Linnhe was by a small vehicle ferry. The hotel was pleasant with many European tourists but was chronically understaffed, a recurrent problem we encountered on this trip.

The bridge at Ballarculish from the steps at the hotel.

The village of Mallaig, the coastal destination of the so-called Jacobite steam train.

We then drove the short distance to Fort William and parked near the railway station for the day and looked around the town. This had not changed very much from our last visit here and we had the same difficulty finding a coffee stop, partly because of the number of visitors and the poor weather with mist shrouding the hills. We had booked an afternoon trip on the Jacobite train (see the web site:  https://westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite) that goes over the famous Glenfinnan viaduct overlooking Loch Shiel. The train stopped here for 20 minutes, so we enjoyed the views whilst eating an ice cream from a platform vendor. When we reached Mallaig, the weather had not improved so we looked around the harbour and the Heritage Centre (museum) that gave information of the development of the port, the pier, and the clearances in the Highlands that led to the herring fishing industry developing in the village and also the improvement in transport particularly the steam railway dating back to 1901. On reflection we should have had lunch first as the village was overwhelmed with day visitors (mainly from the train) and we had difficulty finding a table. On the trip back we didn't stop at Glenfinnan. We did get good views of Ben Nevis as we neared Fort William. We can recommend this journey because of the amazing scenery that the train passes at a slow speed.

On return to Fort William, we had a 10-minute drive to the Distillery Guest House which was very pleasant, and then onto Lairg the next day choosing a scenic route alongside Loch Ness and off west to Beauly where we stopped for lunch in the autumn sunshine. However, before that we stopped to see Fort Augustus and the locks that join the Caledonian canal to Lock Ness. A series of boats including some "Le Boat". the company we used on our Canal du Midi trip, were passing through from Loch Ness.

Fort Augustus where the canal joins Loch Ness.

Looking south into the canal as the boats leave the locks.

  

Beauly village, a welcome stop on route to Lairg.

Beauly village looked picturesque in the sunshine (with a few looming clouds) especially with the numerous hanging basket. We even ate outdoors before wandering around the shops and I recall visiting the village before and its wide main street.

The south side of Cromarty Firth and the Cromarty bridge in the distance, our route north from here.

After this we cut across country avoiding the main A9 road to get a hilltop view from the Struie on route towards Bonar Bridge. This is steep and at times narrow road, but the view from the top is spectacular and worth the diversion.

Struie hilltop (660 feet) view above Dornoch Firth

There are not many hotels in Lairg and we stayed at what must be the largest, The Highland Hotel on the main street. We had a walk around the village and to the bridge and a pleasant dinner, again with mainly overseas guests. The receptionist was also looking after the hotel as well as serving food and generally keeping things going as once again, they were short of staff. However, they were well organised with allocated times for breakfast and evening meal.

A cycle repair station in Lairg, what a brilliant idea.

We then drove to Kenneth and Jane's for a couple of days near Tain and did some walks and tours from there including part of the Pictish trail passing the Hilton of Cadboll sculptured stone dating from 780 AD, the fortifications and batteries from WWII on the remote coastal path near Castlecraig farm (N57.695, W3.982) and offshore windfarm structures. The defence area seems to be little known although covering several different structures over a considerable area I couldn't find anything in detail on google.

Part of the defence structures, a gun battery, near Castlecraig farm

Defence structure looking out across the Moray Firth.

Offshore wind farm structures near Nigg.

On another trip we went further north towards Ullapool (21 km to north of Ullapool) but taking the narrower track roads that Kenneth is familiar with. First, keeping to the south side of the Dornoch Firth to Bonar Bridge and then taking the track on the west side of the Kyle of Sutherland and then A837 north-westerly to Ledmore and then branching west on A835 to reach our destination Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve (N58.034655, W5.067636 ) 

 

View from Knockan Crag Reserve of Lochan an Ais with Cul Beag (769 m) in the distance.

There are various paths around with one going to the top of the crag and gave great views of the surrounding mountains and lochs, and if you are interested in geology, this would be good place to see the changes in rocks through the ages. I also noticed the purple flowers of Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) on the path side as we climbed up into a windy and cooler exposure.

Devil's Bit Scabious.

This proved a very scenic trip, and I can recommend it if you are at ease driving on single track roads.

From here we returned to Bathgate to return the hire car and then onto Glasgow (Maldron Hotel that is close to the station) and home. A great trip and also good to see everyone "up-north".