Looking back now, 2 months on since our Scottish adventures, I can’t believe just how much we did in what really was so short a time. Having “done” Glasgow, our next major destination was through the beautiful, snow-tipped Cairngorms to Inverness, but not before we had stopped off to experience 2 unmissable sights – the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies. When we first started planning our trip to Scotland, so many family members and friends told us that we absolutely had to visit the Falkirk Wheel and warned us to pre-book our tickets to make sure that we didn’t miss out that we both took heed and booked our Easter Sunday day out.

The engineering wizardry of the wheel, which was the world’s first rotating boat lift when it was opened in 2002 to link the Forth & Clyde and Union canals, had M absolutely hooked from the moment we showed him the website and he couldn’t wait to actually experience it in person. The transition from the lower canal to the higher one (and back again) is unbelievably smooth and you hardly realise you are moving 35 metres into the air on a remarkable man-made structure, planned in Lego and powered by the energy required to boil just 8 kettles for tea. Without a doubt, it is an impressive sight to observe and having done our “turn” on it, we settled in at the cafe for a light allergy-friendly lunch accompanied by a side order of a great view of the wheel doing its thing as we ate. 

The tour guide on our boat gave us so many facts and figures about the Wheel that it seemed almost impossible for the children to absorb many of them and yet, even now, they still remember the ones that particularly fascinated them whilst we were there. As we looked out from the top canal towards the Firth of Forth, we heard about the Kelpies just a short drive away and knew without a shadow of a doubt that we absolutely couldn’t head further north until we had taken our horse-mad girlie to see these amazing structures.

Built in a phenomenally short space of time in 2013 to form a gateway to the eastern entrance to the Forth & Clyde canal, this monument encapsulates the mythical beauty of the water spirits of Scottish folklore whilst forming a fitting tribute to the horse-powered heritage of Scottish industry. These 30-metres high horse heads are simply breathtaking to see and although we didn’t have time to enjoy the Easter sunshine with a walk through the Helix parkland project, we all relished the opportunity to stretch our legs and even perfect some dance steps on the way to the structures. All in all, it was a perfect way to spend a peaceful Easter Sunday with family and one that perfectly combined so many varied aspects of the Scotland we were slowly discovering each day.