Ireland, UK 2017: 5/19 Day 17 - Glasgow, Falkirk, Culross

“When gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of season.”
~Irish saying

For our three nights stay in Edinburgh, we rented an apartment from the University. They offered a great price for the location--very near the Royal Mile.  Unfortunately, students are sometimes prone to forgetfulness and one such student left an unattended chicken cooking in an oven. The smoke tripped the fire alarm , causing an evacuation of the building. We had just returned to our apartment after finishing our laundry and that is the only reason we were still awake when the alarm sounded. We evacuated the building and didn't get to bed until 2:00 a.m.  Needless to say, we slept in a little bit today. Fortunately, the plan must have taken this into consideration because our site visits continued as scheduled.

Distance: 93 miles

We drove to Glasgow and arrived about lunch time. After parking the car, we sought out the Brew Box Coffee Company--a tiny model of efficiency operating out of a blue police box. Imagine if the proprietress designed tiny cafes for a living....  

With full bellies, we headed up the hill to the Glasgow Cathedral, because castles and cathedrals always seem to be at the top of the hill. Along the way, we noticed a number of beautiful murals.

By now, we had seen several stunning cathedrals, with similar architectural features. I liked this one best.

In addition to the portions used for worship, we could tour a few furnished rooms. Jeff made himself at home in the sacristy.

The lower level obviously didn't have the high ceilings of the main sanctuary, but it did have the impressive stone pillars. I'm pretty sure this is the portion used for Outlander, Season 2, Episode 7 (Faith).

Behind the cathedral, we walked across a pedestrian bridge (and further up the hill) to the Glasgow Necropolis. I guess a cemetery seems more impressive when it's called a city of the dead, don't you think?

Later addition to this post: Video of the Glasgow Necropolis on Facebook


After all the walking, we needed the fortification of  teeny Irn-Bru.













Next, we made two stops in Falkirk. We  arrived in time to see the last run of the Falkirk Wheel for the day. This impressive (award-winning, even) feat of modern engineering raises and lowers boats from the upper canal to the lower canal--like boat locks do, but way cooler.

We visited Helix Park to see the Kelpies (shape-shifting water horses in Scots mythology). Bonus: arriving "after hours" meant free parking!

As always, we saw interesting things along the way.

Jeff learned that this bird we kept seeing is a magpie.

There must have been some sort of fancy convertible automobile event that day.

Colorful canola flowers blanketed the countryside. (Heather doesn't bloom until August.)

After we checked in to our B & B in Dunfermline, we drove the short distance to Culross for a quick walk around.

Culross is pleased to be associated with Outlander and welcomes fans of the show. It served as the fictitious city of Cranesmuir.

The "palace" gardens stood in for the Castle Leoch herb gardens.

We talked to a resident of this street who told us tales of the filming of scenes of a boy being punished in this square and the changes the film crew made to the area to transform it for the show.

Jeff, who doesn't like spending the night in the homes of people he knows, survived his experience in the too intimate setting of a Bed and Breakfast. Thankfully, this night was the only such accommodation.