Heading West | Roll Along – A Travel Adventure

The weather has turned from our early bright, sunny days to cold and damp (and at times wet). We left Edinburgh in a chilly mist, deciding that cutting off 2 hours of tomorrow’s cruise would be worth it. The mist did stop, and the trusty captains motored on. Rachel spent half an hour at the tiller, then popped down below for some knitting – and I brought hot tea up to John.

We made it as far as Ratho, and moored just beyond the bridge leading to the Bridge Inn. Ann made us a yummy dinner of fish, potatoes and Brussels sprouts, which we enjoyed on their boat. As tired as we were, we ventured over to the inn for some libations and sticky toffee pudding. It’s not unusual to see dogs in dining establishments, and this was no exception. Cookie’s owner offered to move him from his couch, but we found an empty table nearby.

Sunday morning was dry, but cold. Our trek the previous evening meant we could have a leisurely morning. John made eggs, bacon and toast and after a second cup of tea we set off for Linlithgow. Along the way we pulled off at our previous Broxburn mooring spot to fill the water tanks. There are water points all along the canal, and we top off every couple of days. When we left Linlithgow a few days ago, we spotted a very nice mooring spot just outside of town. That was our aim for today, and we were happy to see it empty when we arrived. There are designated visitor moorings along the canal, and you can also drive stakes into the canal bank in other places and tie up for the night. When doing this, you often need to put a plank out from the boat to bank, and that can be a bit precarious. This canal is quite weedy along the banks, so those spots are pretty limited. The canal is not very busy now, but some of the visitor mooring have been taken, so it’s a bonus when we can find an easy mooring. We had a pair of ducks that immediately came aboard. It looks like they have learned that boats and people mean food – but they had to settle for a photo shoot from us.

Linlithgow is a small town with a lot going on. Everything is an easy walk from the canal. We had some time to relax before heading in for dinner at the Four Mary’s pub. Dinner was delicious, with huge servings. My roast beef dinner came with potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, and carrots. We wanted something with a real pub feel, and this came close. The interior walls were stone, with pictures on the walls about the palace and Mary Queen of Scotts (she was born in the castle down the street), and folks with dogs playing games in the bar area. The Four Mary’s Were the Queen’s ladies in waiting.

Another good sleep on the boat and we woke to bright sun and loud bird songs. Walking into town I turned the Merlin sound ID app on and caught these birds in the course of a few minutes.

Our morning excursion was to Linlithgow Palace. The palace was built in the 1400’s rebuilt in the 1600’s and then destroyed by fire in the 1700’s, leaving it in the present condition. On approach, we could see that it was just the shell of the palace, but once inside we found a maze of passages and stairways. It was so much fun to have free roam of the place! This is our 3rd castle/palace of the trip and we all agreed that it was the best. No crowds, and so much to see. We made it all the way to the top of the tower for a spectacular view of the neighboring loch and the town. We finished off the visit with a 2+ mile walk around the loch. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

After lunch we set off to find our next mooring spot. We need to be at the Falkirk Wheel top locks at 10am tomorrow, so we want to be close enough so we don’t have to rush in the morning.

As we approached the Avon Aqueduct – the longest and tallest aqueduct in Scotland – Ann and I jumped off the boats to take some photos of the view and get a different perspective of the boats driving past. Then we hopped back on at the end of the aqueduct.

Shortly after going through the Falkirk Tunnel, we pulled into a visitor mooring spot. This was a different kind of mooring for us. Instead of tying up along the canal, this is a small basin with a set of docks. We pulled in and tied up fine – we’ll see how the backing out in the morning goes! We took a short walk through the woods to fing the Battle of Falkirk monument.