Buses And Boats And Trains

Yesterday we travelled miles (kilometres). Because Dorian had classes, we were on our own for the morning and afternoon. We decided to go out to Falkirk to see The Wheel. This is a very futuristic system to move boats from one canal to another. We went to the bus depot and for some unknown reason our local bus passes would take us to the Wheel an hour and a half away. The route was through a series of small villages to Falkirk. This is one of Sheelagh's favorite pastimes.

As we got off the bus, we tried to find a tourist information centre. Finally we wandered into what looked like a government building and just walked into an office. We asked where the Wheel was and if there was anywhere we could find out about longboat rentals. It seemed that all information was at the Wheel and it was out of town. There was a bus, and we would take it, but no, Alistair Mitchell to the rescue. This man is a wonderful spokesman for Falkirk. He manages the town office, but has a personal goal to be sure tourists are welcomed. He gave up a good part of his lunch hour to drive us out to the Wheel, explain it, take us to the boat rental place, take us on a tour showing us battle sites, (see the monument above where the Battle of Falkirk was fought), and finally showing us the Callendar House. He explained about the Antonine Wall. This was a Roman wall that was used for a short time to stand between the Romans and the pagans. They soon fell back to Hadrian's wall farther south. There is a break in the wall in front of the house, (see picture) He introduced us to the people there as his new Canadian friends. This man deserves a medal from his town and should serve as a model to all who love their towns. I thought that he was similar to one Ron Schmidt.

After a great lunch in the teahouse located in the old stable building, (see pictures of what George ordered) we toured the house. It was built, in pieces, over many years, but the community began with the Thane of Callendar in the 11th century. Sheelagh adds her piece - the kitchen in this house has not been touched since the 1820's. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures. It was so dark. After watching movies like "Pride and Prejudice", you think all was sunshine and roses. But the houses must have been so dark and dreary.
At about 4 pm we hustled to the train station and took the 25 minute trip back to Glasgow Queen St. That's right, 25 minutes to do the 1 1/2 hour bus ride.
We met Dorian at The Village Curry for a delicious Indian meal, before walking over to The Citizen's Theatre for an excellent play, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF JOE EGG.
So, it was two, tired, old puppies that struggled up the drive to our door last night.