Falkirk and Edinburgh

On our last day of the trip we went to the Falkirk Wheel. The wheel is a rotating boat lift that connects the Forth and the Clyde Canal. It is the only one of it's kind in the world. A boat goes in one end, and the giant contraption raises it like a ferris wheel, depositing it at the upper lock. We stopped to watch a boat go through. 

Then it was off to visit the city of Edinburgh. All the travel journals I'd read advised against driving in the city, and we discovered how true that was. The narrow roads were congested and it was made worse by road construction mid-city. There was also a lack of signs for tourists on how to get to the castle.

Fortunately I had my Tardis key and was able to transport us to center city. We walked the Royal Mile, and had a few pints at the Scotsman and the White Horse (est 1742). We also saw the bar at the World's End. It got this name because in the medieval times it was the last bar within the old city walls, hence the end of the world as far as the city inhabitants were concerned as beyond lie dragons.

The Royal Mile literally has shops for a mile. There are quite a few selling luxury items like cashmeres and tweeds, and an equal number selling tourist souvenirs. Prices really vary for the same items all over Scotland. I picked up a red Wallace blanket at the William Wallace Memorial for 35 pounds, while on the Royal Mile the same item might have gone for 99.

The Royal Mile leads you up to to Castle Rock, upon which sits Edinburgh Castle. The castle has besieged on numerous occasions, none of them successful. An active military garrison is stationed here, and it also contains the governors house. Inside there is something very special! The STONE OF DESTINY!!! Or in The Gaelic as they say, An Lia Fàil. 

In ancient pagan times the people raised megaliths for a number of reasons, and incorporated stones into their religious practices. One stone earned the name the Stone of Destiny, and every royal who took the throne had to stand on the stone. In the 13th century Edward Longshanks (he will sound familiar to those who saw the film Braveheart) sought to suppress the native Scots, and due to the prophecy that whoever owned the stone ruled Scotland, he confiscated it and removed it to England where it sat for hundreds of years under the throne in Westminster Abbey. Only in 1996 was the stone returned. The stone is on display in the castle and is still used for coronations. When the next in line of the British royals becomes king, he will be standing next to the stone. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph it. I was however singing Steve McDonald's tune 'Stone of Destiny' to myself as we viewed it.