THE FALKIRK WHEEL (AND KELPIES) THE EASY WAY

For some time, I have wanted to visit the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies – in fact, ever since Bernie refused to make a detour as we were returning from a wedding near Inverness!

We have talked about making a short trip to Edinburgh several times since but never got around to booking anything. Thinking about a Christmas present for Bernie last year, I saw a 3-night boutique hotel offer in Edinburgh on Wowcher and purchased it. On opening the envelope, he realised straight away that he had been stitched up.

Trip planning proceeded apace with us choosing early March in the hope of decent weather and deciding to fly from Luton rather than driving. We thought we’d give public transport a go but hire a car if necessary.

On arriving at Edinburgh airport early afternoon, we located the tram service which took us into the city centre in under an hour. Setting off in search of our hotel, Bernie was soon attracted to a pub called The Conan Doyle – an interesting place with various items of memorabilia and details of Sir Arthur’s life … and some good local ales of course! We were helped on our search for the hotel by some very friendly locals who spotted us checking Google maps on our phones and offered their help. Our first two days were taken up with visiting Edinburgh’s sights – the castle, the Royal Mile, a cat café, and the Holyrood Parliament building. We also visited the Tourist Information Centre to enquire about the best ways to get to the Wheel and the Kelpies. After much deliberation and computer searches, we were advised to get a train to Falkirk High station and then to get various bus routes.

On our final day we set off by train for Falkirk High pleased to find out our Senior Citizen Railcards worked in Scotland (unlike our bus passes!). The journey only took half an hour, and we exited the station looking for a bus stop – none to be seen. However, there were two taxis waiting. We thought it worth finding out how much it would cost to visit the Wheel and the Kelpies by taxi. We were surprised to find out that the driver would take us to both for £15. On the way to the Kelpies, he took the time to point out some local areas of interest for us.

The Kelpies are situated in The Helix Park, an ecopark which transformed 350 hectares via a £25 million grant from Big Lottery in 2007. Designed to commemorate the working horses that pulled barges of iron ore, coal etc from Falkirk’s iron works to the industrial areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh they completely dominate the area being some 30 metres high. It took just 90 days to construct what would seem to be a giant 30,000-piece steel jigsaw. On a lovely bright, sunny March day, they were a truly magnificent sight. An extension to the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Kelpies Hub (a turning point) were constructed to allow boats access. The whole site was officially opened by Princess Anne in July 2015.

Our taxi driver had waited for us and took us onto the Falkirk Wheel next. It was a short drive and much easier than going by bus. He offered us his phone number so we could ring him when we had finished our tour so he could pick us up and take us back to the station for an extra £5 – great service!

Unfortunately, due to the cold temperatures and the canal being frozen, the trip boat had curtailed its journey so we were only able to go into the low level gondola and complete one turn without exiting at the higher level. The captain of the boat was a very amusing character who kept us all entertained. The Wheel replaced a flight of 11 locks which linked the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal and were closed in 1933.

In the early 1990s the concept of a boat lift was put forward, but it was not until 1998 that work started on the £84.5 million Millennium Link project to re-join the two canals. The Wheel was constructed in Derbyshire, dismantled, and transported by lorry (35 lorry loads) to Falkirk. It stands 35 metres tall and, unbelievably, it takes only 1.5kWh of energy to turn – the same amount as it would take to boil 8 electric kettles as the Captain assured us!

It was claimed to be the world’s first and only rotating boat lift when officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 2002. Is that still true?

We completed our shortened boat trip, had some lunch, and then rang for our taxi ride back to the station. Our driver had already returned and was waiting in a car park, having been home to have lunch and see his dog. We were soon back at Falkirk High station. Our total taxi fare was £20 but we were so pleased to have been conveyed door-to-door and not having to wait around for buses that we handed over a generous tip.

So, we had had a very enjoyable day visiting two very impressive constructions alongside two canals that we would never have been able to visit via our boat Inca –we certainly travelled the easy way!

We are again holding our own very special annual canal event – the Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally - now back firmly in its regular slot over the last weekend in June. This year it’s the 24th – 25th, June, with music legend and steam enthusiast Pete Waterman now firmly committed to taking the helm and opening it, so save the date!

We have held the Rally since 2003, bar the loss of two years due to covid. This year, will be our 19th Braunston Historic Narrowboat Rally. We are now putting all the final preparations in place. With the threat to government funding, the waterways need to have something to celebrate – something to look forward to – and hopefully this event will be a showcase for our wonderful waterways heritage.

Our initial soundings of owners of these historic narrowboats, is that they can’t wait to come. We have already received an encouraging number of early bookings, and they just keep coming. This could well be a vintage year. These leviathans of our canal-carrying past are THE making of the Rally, which, as for some years now, will probably be the largest gathering of them anywhere on the waterways.

The Rally was originally conceived late in 2002, to celebrate the completion of the then major restoration works to the steam narrowboat President, with the first Rally being held in June 2003. Narrowboats deteriorate in a water environment, and require regular maintenance, especially when old and steam-powered. President ran into trouble again in early 2019 when its boiler was condemned, requiring a new boiler and associated works. Besides the £80,000 needed, there was also the problem of finding a manufacturer to build it. Once there were hundreds of these boiler manufacturers across the UK, but now only a handful remain. The other problem has been the spec. and finding an engineering design company able and willing to produce one. Nearly four years on, the Friends of President have now all the preparations in place and fingers crossed, the boat will be back on the water in steam by the end of this year, and attending the 2024 Rally – the 20th we will have held.

We had very much hoped works could have been completed in time for this year’s Rally, but disappointingly it just won’t happen. But we have devised a Plan B to keep the activist Friends of President on-board. President’s butty Kildare will attend, after a makeover in the docks at Braunston Marina, where the boat has just arrived. Kildare will be towed during the Rally by the replica steam tunnel-tug Hasty, which is a regular attendee at the Rallies. Pete Waterman will be at the helm for the opening with a little help from the Friends of President, who will then steer the pair in subsequent parades. As all of this is new, in the week before the event, enthusiast from the Friends of Raymond will be trained on all aspects of handling that pair of boats in the parades. We are very grateful to the owner of Hasty for allowing us to use his boat in this way, who for good reasons cannot be with us!

Our music-impresario for some years now, Janul, is already networking the amazing musicians she produces each year for the famous beer tent - the Dry Dock Inn – a mini-Glastonbury, without the mud. Alarum Theatre are also onboard with their latest production based on the centenary of the 1923 Braunston Boatmen’s Strike. We are also seeing a very positive response from trade exhibitors and likewise the canal societies and the canal artists’ tent, whom we seek to support through free space and the publicity the event gives them.

We are fortunate to be able to hold the event in our marina, including parking, with use of the canal outside for the parades of historic narrowboats, thanks to the CRT. The Rally is very much an outdoor event, with the five odd thousand people who traditionally attend, spreading themselves out along the mile or so of towpath to watch the parades. So we should be able to hold the event in safety. Here’s hoping we have you on-board!