We left Anna and Adam's comfortable apartment around 8.30 to wend our way through the parks and cycleways onto NCR 754 that would take us along the Clyde-Forth canal to Falkirk. And, it wasn't raining - yet - BUT the threat was there!
The route took us through the Botanic Gardens up & around the river Kelvin to the Maryhill Locks where joined the canal towpath. Ahhhhh, lovely & flat with some lovely views over marshaland if one stood up high on the pedals. The stopbanks were rather high for a shortie like me!
I loved seeing the birdlife along the canal- so similar to our experiences in France - and the canal boats making their way either toward Edinburgh or to Glasgow. It's not as busy as some of the other canals we have cycled along, mainly due to this canal being relatively recently renovated & re-opened. Loved te names of the towns we passed the edge of - Kirkintilloch, Twechar and Bonnybridge.
Just as I was wondering when we would reach it, The Falkirk Wheel appeared - one can't really miss it as it rears over the landscape and is a mavel to behold. To get some idea as to how it delivers canal boats from the Union Canal to the Clyde-Forth Canal take a look at this clip on YouTube. It was raining off & on by this time so we had a wee waner in the gift shop, watched the wheel do its thing twice then headed away between showers. The area of teh wheel is a very popular attraction; lots of families there taking rides or just playing in the fairground area and eating the range of food on offer.
We decided to take connector route to get to The Helix to see The Kelpies rather than turn off onto the Union Canal route into Edinburgh. We did get a little lost getting there as the connector route is not fully formed yet but we finally worked out how to get past the diversion to find the quiet cycle path into the Helix park complex .... it too was busy wit family groups enjoying watching the locks operate and taking in the artistic marvel of the Kelpies. These two horse head sculptures are quite magnificient and beautiful to behold at all angles. We spent quite some time there picnicking and sorting our night's accommodation as the campground we hoped to stay in was full, as were the two hostels & local B&B we asked. In the end the only place we could find was rather flash hotel near the Helix called Grange Manor so we booked it rather than risk freedom camping when it was getting colder & the rain continued to threaten.
Once we were booked in we ran a bath & luxuriated in the warm bubbles, rsting of aching old bones! In other words, we made the most of the facilities were were paying for. We also treated ourselves to a meal a Cook's Bar reataurant next door as seemed to be only takeway joints in the town & it was too cold to sit outside. I must say that the meal was very tasty as was the Edinburgh ginger gin I ordered while we waited for our food. We had the flatbread with roasted tomato salsa for starters follwed by Halloumi & quinoa slad for me while Caroline had spicy fajitas.
Breakfast next morning was full vege english - lovely house made vege sausages, fried tomato, scrambled eggs, toast and croissants. A great way to start a day's cycling.
It was a cool day again with a distinct threat of rain. We followed the NCR 76 coastal route which started in Grangemouth & wound us through the tenament area of the town, then close to the refineries and power stations for which Grangemoth is known. It then suddenly became a dirt road - perhaps we missed actual route in the pouring rain .... a downpour hit just as we were leaving greater Grangemouth. Quite changed my mood aftr such a good breakfast!
At Bo'ness we stopped for wee at the railway museum & tea shop then continued on to Blackness where we visited the castle and grounds - hoped to picnic there as the sun came out but as we were choosing a picnic table another downpour hit. Hurrumph!
ONWARD to Queensferry where we passed under or close to the 3 Forth Bridges, and finally found a suitable cafe for lunch called Picnic and seemingly run by an Italian family. Delicious sweet potato soup & bread - armed us up no end. estate & golf course before turning onto the NCR 1 to take us into central Edinburgh. These Sustrans route do take cyclists through a variety of places - never a dull moment; at least as we came into Edinburgh we saw a mix of lovely single-storey homes, luxury apartments and tenament blocks before we came into the centre of the city. AND, what a city Edinburgh is particularly at festival time! Busy, lively, inviting - with just too many sights & sites to take in.
Once into the city centre we were in the heart of festival territory with whole streets blocked off to traffic so that venues could be established. Throngs of people were wandering around or sitting in the sunshine (yes, we had some!) enjoying a drink or awaiting a show. We picked up our tickets for our evening show & pushed our bikes along the festival heartland zone - not easy! We finally decided to cycle again, battling the busy evening traffic to get to our AirB&B - I just took the middle line rather than get stuck constantly behind buses in the bus lane. Freaky & scary but we made it in one piece. All in all the two days were a mixture of pleasant, interesting and adventerous riding; certainly not boring or tedious.
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