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European Adventure 2017
It was a miserable old day as we headed off to Bannochburn on Wednesday morning. It didn't matter too much as most of the display was inside. The. Battle of Bannochburn took place on June 24th 1314 between Robert the Bruce from the Kingdom of Scotland and Edward ll from the kingdom of England. It was a battle for the Highlands of Scotland and as usual a very bloody affair and this time won by the Scots. The 3D imagery on display was amazing and really drew you into the battle as you dodged flying arrows and ducked from rearing horses. It must be a great way to bring history to life for the children and there were plenty there enjoying it. At the end there was a strategic interactive game you could play and we watched as two teams of people pitted their wits against each other in a battle. Good fun. It was still raining as we left Bannochburn and headed to Falkirk but just as we got there it cleared up and the warmth of the sun came through. The Falkirk Wheel came about through an ambitious £84.5 million Millennium Project with the objective of restoring navigability across Scotland on the Historic Forth & Clyde canals and the Union canals. A major problem was that the Forth & Clyde Canal was 35ft below the Union canal as the 11 locks which previously connected the gap had been dismantled in 1933. What was required to join these canals was some sort of boat lift and the resulting perfectly balanced structure came into being. The. Falkirk Wheel as it is known is the worlds first and only rotating boat lift and it is a truly spectacular sight. We watched as two boats arrived, one at the top level and one below and then once they were secured the water was sealed in and the wheel slowly turned reversing their positions. The wheel is 35metres tall, cost £17.5 to build and contains 1200 tonnes of steel. The gondolas hold 500,000 litres of water, enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool and the wheel only uses 1.5kWh of energy to turn, the same amount it would take to boil 8 household kettles. A short distance from there are the Falkirk Kelpies which are two giant sculptures of horses heads placed alongside the canals as monuments to the horse and the part that working horses played in shaping the way we live today. Each of the Kelpies stands up to 30metres tall and each one weighs over 300 tonnes. From there it was onwards to Edinburgh and a camping spot on empty ground beside a park and ride from where we took the bus into the city. The Fringe Festival is in full swing and together with the Military Tattoo, Edinburgh is GOING OFF!!!! What a great atmosphere. The rain had cleared and it was a cloudless and balmy night with so many buskers and acts along the Royal Mile and hundreds of shows in various venues over the city. We took in some of the buskers for a while and then a couple of comedy shows which were great. As we waited for the bus to take us back to our vans we were treated to a fireworks display from the castle where the Tattoo was being held. Our turn tomorrow night!
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