The Falkirk Wheel

Sometime I come across something in my travels that just stands out. The Falkirk Wheel is such a place! Basically it is a rotating boat lift moving a boat 79 feet up (or down) from one canal to another. Located in the middle of Scotland, it is a one-of-a-kind, must see piece of machinery!

Passed California on our way from Dolphinton to Falkirk.

Approaching the wheel. This is the canal leading from the Union canal to the Forth and Clyde canal.

 Boat going into caisson.

 Starting to rotate up.

 Wheels on the caisson keep the boat level.

Going down the connecting canal.

Coming out.

 Empty caisson.

Peace

Sunday Flora

Purple especially for Bree!

Peace

Dolphinton

I went for a wee walk around Dolphinton the other day, watching, and feeling, the weather change every few minutes. Rain, sunshine, and cloudy were rolling around each other like marbles in a pan. And always with the wind. To say it is windy here is an understatement. Normal is probably 15 mph, and then it goes up from there. But, I like weather, so I am a happy camper.
Along with the wind is the fantastic light, changing from soft to dramatic in the turn of my head.

 I am amazed at some of the rock walls I have seen. That they are still standing after so many years (sometimes hundreds of years), is a testament to the skill of those who built them. This wall in Dolphinton;

This wall in Ireland;

This one in Spain;

And this wall in Hawaii. They don't build walls like these anymore.

 Big as my fist.

Peace.

St. Andrews and Crail

We tootled off to St. Andrews and Crail to see the coast and the North Sea. Apparently there are some golf courses around here, but we left our clubs back in the Shire. It was raining sideways when we left Dolphinton and we were expecting the same or worse along the coast. We were pleasantly surprised when the rain stopped as we got closer to Edinburgh, and the clouds were high and white. The wind, however, remained, but we weren't complaining. A beautiful drive, with lots of open fields before and after skirting around Edinburgh (and going over the Forth Bridge).
Crail is old, starting as a Pict settlement around the 3rd-6th century AD, and is an enchanting village.  King James I said this area was "a fringe of gold to his beggars mantle of a country." And he was right.

St. Andrews:

The remains of a 15th century Dominican Friary (Blackfriars).

University of Saint Andrews (next four pictures):

 3rd oldest university in the UK (established 1413), after Oxford and Cambridge.

 Pathway by the University. Must lose something in the translation.

 The ruins of Saint Andrew's Cathedral. Saint Andrew was the brother of Saint Peter, and legend has it that his partial remains were brought from Greece and buried here. The cathedral was destroyed during the Reformation and looks about the same now as it did in 1600.

Large fortified gate next to the cathedral.

Crail:

 Stunning coast!

 A Doocot (dovecoat in English). All that is left of a Franciscan Friary.

 The wind is howling on the other side of this rock wall.

 The colors of the rocks are very, very soothing.

 The harbor in Crail.

 The harbor walls are built with these large stones.

 Crab and lobster abound in the North Sea.

 Close-up of the wall structure of a house.

'Nuff said!

Peace