Late Life Adventures in London and Beyond by Annemarie Rawson

Author:Annemarie Rawson [Rawson, Annemarie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-06T00:00:00+00:00

“Would ye hurry up youse two and ge’ yerselves doon the stairs!” Tom hollered up at us. “We’re leaving the hoose in five.” Tom has a very thick Glaswegian accent and at times I’ve had to turn to Margo and ask, “What did he say, what did he say?” But I understood that instruction very clearly!

“Coming!” I yelled back, grabbing my bag, and scrambling down the stairs to find Tom and Margo waiting patiently at the back door. Steve was still faffing about, getting his shoes on in the bedroom.

Tom was driving us to Falkirk to see the famous Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel. The Kelpies are a monument to horse-powered heritage across Central Scotland. These incredible steel structures stand a colossal 90 feet above the Forth and Clyde Canal, in beautiful parkland known as the Helix. Each one weighs nearly 300 tons. They are a magnificent sight and people standing beside them look Lilliputian in comparison. Only those booked on a Kelpies tour can step inside to witness the complexity of their engineering. These are the largest equine sculptures in the world.

Getting back to the car was tricky. “Watch yerself, Annemarie.” Tom nodded at the swan waddling up the path ahead of us, corralling her cygnets. “She’s nippin at anything and everything. Tha’ wee dog just got pecked, poor wee bugger.”

The young couple in front were now carrying their shivering little poodle, trying to console it after its ordeal. They slid down the bank to avoid getting a nip themselves and we followed shortly after them. ‘Mum’ was very fierce, protecting her babies while she tried to get them down into the water.

Margo, in the front seat, looked at her watch. “Tom, I think we need a coffee and a scone before we look at the Falkirk Wheel. We’re too early for the next lift,” she announced.

“Nae a problem, me darlin”. Let’s do that.” Tom grinned at her, patting her on the leg. He was always so genial. “Youse two keen?” he asked us in the rear-view mirror.

“Always. Definitely.” We both nodded at him.

The announcement came over the intercom that the next lift would be in five minutes. Perfect timing as we’d demolished our coffees and scones and were ready. After a quick loo stop we were out on the patio with an expectant group, all eyes on this incredible feat of engineering, waiting for it to move.

The Falkirk Wheel is a gargantuan boatlift, connecting the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals, lifting or dropping the boats some 115 feet and taking only five minutes to do so. Before the wheel was installed the boats had to enter and exit eleven locks, which took most of a day and would have been so tedious. The cost of building the wheel was a whopping £17 million – and that was only a third of the cost for the whole restoration. It was very impressive to watch in action.

Back at the car, Tom clicked the remote to open the doors. He stopped and looked at us.

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