Back from the Islands

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Geo: 57.1475, -2.09539

The ferry docked in Aberdeen at 7am, after a comfortable 12hr crossing. We were temporarily flummoxed by a lack of Internet connection (the ferry wi-fi was rubbish) and no downloaded Google maps to use. We (Robyn) got talking to a gent while we were looking at the Aberdeen Castle Gate. This fellow was a local who had an opinion on everything, and barely drew breath between sentences. He was entertaining and his stories sounded true. He did deliver on wi-fi though, and gave us the password for a local private network that got us up and running again.

So we visited Aberdeen's Trump International Golf Course that apparently had heating under the resorts roads so they remained passable in icy weather. £215 green fees, but there were plenty of people playing. Then we drove south to Carnoustie Golf Club and looked at the hallowed links course. Then on to Falkirk to see The Kelpies sculpture and the Falkirk Wheel.

Got home about 6pm after a packed few days of driving and sightseeing.

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Photos

Lerwick-Aberdeen ferry deck plan
Not sure if the posted photo resolution will be great enough to zoom in and read this? We were in cabin 409. There were two vehicle decks below.

Aberdeen Castle Gate
The man from Aberdeen was a local entrepreneur who bemoaned the Council allowing this (foreground) structure commemorating the Scottish Kings to fall into such disrepair. He spoke of the tunnels under market square that have existed for hundreds of years. He pointed out the church where Bonnie Prince Charles went down to the basement and rode his horse through the tunnels to the docks and safety.

The white Carnoustie Hotel
Three courses at Carnoustie: the Burns, Burnside and the Championship courses.

The Kelpies near Falkirk
Dramatic sculpture of the shape-changing mythical creatures. Their commissioning is part of the rejuvenation of the Forth-Clyde Canal project that connects Edinburgh and Glasgow. These are 30m tall and are internally lit (see the web for some fantastic night time photos). The site was opened to the public last year.

Falkirk Wheel
Opened in 2002, this boat lift connects the Forth-Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. Instead of a flight of locks to negotiate the height difference, this landmark structure was proposed. It raises one or two canal boats 24m. The boats float in 250,000L of water in each pod. Because they are counterbalanced (a computer adds and removes water from each pod to ensure this is the case) only a small amount of energy is required to complete a rotation (equivalent to boiling 8 kettles of water, they say).

Comments

[Morag]

How beautiful. Will check website for more agog