25th - 27th October

On the 25th October, Katie's birthday I should add, Robin drove up to Edinburgh to meet me for a few days of exploring. After a lovely dinner at Henderson's (where else?), we set out the next morning to Falkirk.
First stop was the Kelpies. I'd seen these driving past, but to stand at the foot of two giant metal sculptures really put their scale into perspective. They are so big, there is an exhibition inside them. These thirty metre high, silver horse heads looked remarkable against a rainy sky. They are surrounded by a series of narrow canals, and as we left, both the water and the horses glistened as the sun attempted to appear.

Nearby, but not so close that we could find it easily, is the Falkirk Wheel. The only rotating boat lift in the world, it connects the Forth and Clyde canals to the Union canal, by lifting boats thirty five metres into the air. The airborne boats are then fed into a tunnel of water, which feeds into the second canal. It looks like a very slow version of a ride at a water theme park, and although we decided not to take the boat ride to the top ourselves, it was fun taking photos of the wheel as it turned. Apparently the wheel is incredibly energy efficient as well, making the design more impressive.

From Falkirk, we drove to Doune. A quick stop in a cafe with "Outlander's panini" advertised, (we chose the lentil soup), and I realised we were in Outlander territory. Sure enough, a few metres down the road is a new gift store, aptly named "Lallybroch". Inside was a wonderful collection of Scottish humour, artwork and gift

items. Of course, there were limited edition prints of the book characters as they appear in the series, scented candles, and the entire series of books for sale. There were even signed copies of an album, sung by the artist who played the bard in Series One. The woman who owns the store was lovely, having moved to Scotland within days of the Brexit announcement and set up shop. We got so engrossed in conversation that we nearly missed Doune Castle!

Doune Castle. A grand place in it's own right, it found fame first through "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", and then through Outlander. Robin and I opted for the audio guide tour, which turned out to be a thoroughly entertaining option. The guide gave information on the castle history, along with excepts of the Monty Python film, which brought it all to life in front of me! The Outlander guide was special. The voice over was recorded by Sam Heughan himself, with additional stories about behind the scenes filming. I spent a good deal of the tour laughing at the commentary, whilst frantically trying to capture the photos which would best show what I was seeing for myself.

After an hour of climbing stairs and ducking through passageways, Robin and I made our way towards Helensburgh. On the way, we passed Deanston Distillery, and decided to see if it was open.
Deanston Distillery featured in the film "The Angel's Share", which I was introduced to only recently. Other than an opportunity to try more whisky, I got a kick out of recognising scenes, and even saw a 2000 cask which was signed by the cast and crew of the film. Apparently, one of the workers at Deanston was an extra in the film, and if you should happen to see it, keep an eye out for the man who corked the cask. For the record, the whisky wasn't too bad either!

When I first knew I was coming to Scotland, I reached out to several online communities over here. One of the women who responded was Deborah, who I finally met when she hosted us for the night, in

Helensburgh. It was lovely to put a face to the name, and Deborah came with a bonus friend - Mia the boxer X collie! So we made two friends that night, and Deborah was a lovely host.

In the morning, after perusing the local shops, Robin and I visited the Hill House, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, one of Glasgow's beloved architects. Designed and built for Walter Blackie, a publisher, in 1902, the house is a mix of styles, including Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Japonisme. Quite simple to look at, the house is detailed from window panels, to doors, carpets, soft furnishings, chairs and tables. Everything is tied together with a recurring pattern or colour theme, drawing inspiration from nature. Outside is a large garden, where we found apple orchards and vegetables which put my gardening attempts to shame.

Nearby Helenburgh is St Peter's Seminary. This is a brutalist style building which Robin was very keen to explore. After a few wrong turns, we found the location, around two miles off an unmarked road. The car was having a hard time with the unsurfaced road, and so we turned back, headed to Glasgow instead.
In Glasgow, we headed to Mono for a late meal. Coca cola black beans have never tasted so good! We stopped into an art gallery on the way, where we found an exhibition of life in Glasgow, from around the 1970s. It was quite a good exhibition, with photos of people in their day to day lives interspersed with protests and politicians.
Our stomachs settled, we raced to The Lighthouse, where we had a mere twenty minutes to try and take in as much as we could. At The Lighthouse, we found another exhibition on Charles Rennie Mackintosh, along with an incredible spiral staircase, leading up to the Mackintosh Tower. Although we arrived too late to climb the tower, we were able to stand at the bottom and look up at the winding stairs, which led to a great collection of photographs and a

sore neck.

Rushing on to the Gallery of Modern Art, we had another quick look around. I'd already seen the exhibition, but Robin hadn't, and I was happy to take it in a second time. Just as we were about to leave, we were told about an open mic night starting upstairs, in five minutes time. If we didn't have to get back to Edinburgh that night, we may have stayed. I'll have to make up for it in Edinburgh instead. Not enough music this trip!

Our return to Edinburgh was pleasant, albeit the traffic. We settled for a dinner of hot chips (my fault!), and I found myself back home, in the city I have come to love.