Last week it was made clear that a long Christmas vacation would not be practical this year so I decided a vacation to Scotland early in the summer would be nice. I’ve never been there, but from what I’m reading/hearing Edinburgh would probably be the best for me. When I first saw the Falkirk wheel (aka engineering porn) I thought it would be cool to see and it’s in the area.
What I want to know is it worth seeing in person? Boat tour, on foot? Can I see the naughty bits? Best way to get there (I’ll have a car but won’t use it when it’s not necessary)? How much of a tourist trap is it?
I haven’t decided on much besides going to Edinburgh but looking at the other threads on the topic no one has had much say about it.
I spent some time in Scotland this past summer. I was based in Edinburgh, but traveled around a bit. I didn’t see the Falkirk Wheel, unfortunately, but I’m chiming in just in case you have any other questions.
I will say that the one place we visited that impressed the most was Glen Coe, an absolutely beautiful valley in the western Highlands. I got to spend only a couple of hours there, but would have hiked it all day if I had the time.
I think it’s worth seeing, for sure. I’d reckon the train would be the best bet, as Falkirk is on the Edinburgh to Glasgow line and trains are frequent and not too expensive. I’ve not seen it in motion, so the boat trip sounds like an excellent idea to see the thing in action.
Slight drawback is that I can’t think of too much else to do there once you’ve seen the wheel. Only think I can think of is the Antonine wall, which is a cool piece of history but it’s practically disappeared as far as being a wall. I think you can see bits and bobs of it Falkirk way. I don’t know the Falkirk area well though (I’m in Edinburgh), so maybe someone else can chime in with some suggestions here. For me, it would be a nice morning out, there and back on the train.
I’ve never been to the Falkirk Wheel, but I have been to Linlithgow Palace which is also on the train between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It’s the the ruin of the palace where Mary Queen of Scots was born. It was really pretty and fun to explore. I’m sure you could combine the two trips.
I spent a semester at the University of Edinburgh a few years ago. My friends and I tried to go to Glen Coe but we kept getting off on the wrong bus stops, and the bus only ran every two hours! We ended up going on two really nice hikes around the towns on either side of Glen Coe though. My favorite place that we did make it to was Isle of Skye. It was gorgeous.
I’ll be there for 10-12 full days so things that take up part but not all day are really good for me. I’m traveling but I’ll be relaxing too.
Thanks for the other replies too, I’ll check out the suggestions.
More Engineering Porn, since you seem to be into that. I still haven’t been, but my brother melted into a moaning puddle and accused me of trying to break up his marriage (his wife refuses to fly and they live in Spain) when I showed him brochures. I suggested the Bilbao ferry
