Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: horse

We were both really glad that we had broken our journey back to the Lakes with an overnight stay in Sterling as the journey down from Badachro had been a torturous one. The A9 from Inverness to Sterling doesn't have much going for it, it is just mile after mile of endless traffic. Pitlochry is quite a scenic area but I find The Cairgorms so dull. The only saving grace of the trip down was calling in at a lovely village called Carrbridge where we found a local cafe and had a coffee and and a bite to eat. The sign for Sterling was a very welcoming one and thankfully our hotel was just off the M90 junction. We popped in to Sterling in the evening but it was raining and a Saturday night so I think it's safe to say that we didn't see it at its best.

As we were in the area, it would have been criminal of us not to go and visit The Kelpies and The Falkirk Wheel as they were only a few miles off our intended route back to Cumbria. The Kelpies are 30-metre-high horse-head sculptures depicting kelpies (shape-shifting water spirits), located in Grangemouth, near Falkirk. They stand next to a new extension to the Forth and Clyde Canal, and near to the River Carron, in The Helix which is a new parkland project built to connect 16 communities in the Falkirk Council Area.

They were designed by sculptor Andy Scott and were completed in October 2013.The sculptures form a gateway at the eastern entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal, and the new canal extension built as part of The Helix land transformation project. They are a monument to horse-powered heritage across Scotland. Built of structural steel with a stainless steel cladding, they are 30 metres high and weigh 300 tonnes each and were opened to the public in April 2014 in a ceremony which attracted 20,000 people.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't too kind to us and the main Visitor Centre and cafe were closed but there was a kiosk where we both had a coffee to warm us up. They are by far the most impressive sculptures I've come across and you really need to get close up to them to appreciate both their size and construction.They are also illuminated at night so a nighttime visit has been put on my bucket list.

A few miles away and many roundabouts later lies The Falkirk Wheel which is a rotating boat lift, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel so boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal.

In March 1999 Donald Dewar, the Secretary of State for Scotland, cut the first sod of turf to begin work at lock 31 on the Forth and Clyde Canal and the wheel was opened on the 24th May 2002 by Queen Elizabeth II. Over 1000 people were involved in its construction.

One interesting fact is that the wheel was fully constructed and assembled at the Butterley Engineering plant in Ripley, Derbyshire. The structure was then dismantled in the summer of 2001, and transported on 35 lorry loads to Falkirk, before being reassembled into five sections on the ground and lifted into place. The wheel replaced a flight of 11 locks.

We were fortunate in arriving just as they were getting ready to raise the first boat of the day and it really is an amazing sight to behold. The final photos of the blog show you how it raises and lowers the long boats better than any description I could give.

The day had been an interesting and educational way to end our holiday and a complete contrast to the previous 10. I always find it hard to readjust when I've been away, especially when I've been up to The Highlands and I think Sal was the same. We were glad we stopped off in Falkirk but we were damned glad to get out of the place again and have a couple more quiet days in The Lakes.

The Kelpies

The Falkirk Wheel

Woke up early, there was frost on the ground, everyone else was lazing around, so what do you do? You put your boots on, grab your camera and get out.

I had two options :-

Kiverton Community Woodland or

Tommy Flockton's and The Chesterfield canal.

For a change, I opted for Tommy Flockton's or Pennyholme Marsh which forms part of The Cuckoo Way and is 46 miles long (74km). It follows the Chesterfield Canal through Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and Derbyshire from Chesterfield to West Stockwith and passed 36 locks and 11 bridges en route, plus it goes over the locally famous Norwood Tunnel which runs for 2,884 yards (2,637 m) from Kiveton to Killamarsh.

Pennyholme Marsh is an area of seasonally flooded shallow wetland between Kiveton Park and Harthill and sits above the blocked off Norwood Tunnel which carried the Chesterfield Canal. It can still be traced and is marked by a succession of spoil mounds from the construction shafts. It is planned to re-open the tunnel and, in time, complete the entire course of the canal for boat navigation. Tommy Flockton has long departed and the current owners of the field are now four legged.

Once past Tommy Flockton's you are at the eastern entrance of the blocked tunnel and this is where the canal towpath restarts, Going this way, the next major town is Worksop some eight miles away. I've walked parts of this section on numerous occasions and it is a real joy. First it passes Hawks Wood with its snowdrops and wild garlic and then Old Spring Wood with it's carpet of bluebells and yellow woodland anemone. Add to that the closeness of The Parish Oven pub and what's not to like?

On Christmas Eve I only did a small section of the path before turning back as breakfast was calling me. Also I had to retrace my footstep as the only other option would have been going back via the main road. The conditions were ace for photography as well. There were some super reflections on Pennyholme Moss and the thin layer of mist was just starting to break as I walked along the canal.

I do wish I had a canal as close to home. I know I have the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Bingley but that is a car ride away whereas this was more or less on my doorstep.

What a refreshing way to start my day and start my Christmas break.