Author: DanielleWatson

Falkirk to Cadder

After a lovely stay with Moira and James, I was ready to set off again along the canal. Today, I would follow the canal to Cadder, a little village on the north east of Glasgow.

Along the first part of the canal, there were these posts which encouraged you to use your senses to explore the surroundings. It was really nice, to find them as I walked along. They had one with a little mirror, so that you could look up at the clouds and one with instructions to make a mud pie!

It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining and there were light clouds in the sky.

As I walked along, I found the final/first post which explained that the posts are part of a Safer Communities Youth Action Project.

As I came to the end of the Union Canal, I went through the tunnel to the Falkirk Wheel. There were some cool lights down the tunnel and even a purple one towards the end!

The Falkirk Wheel connects the Union Canal with the Forth & Clyde Canal. I sat and had a snack, marvelling at the wheel. Unfortunately, I was too early to see it rotate.

I joined the Forth & Clyde Canal, which would take me to Cadder. The canal was lovely and green, with a nice and wide tow path.

The tow path was opened in 1773. It was amazing to think that the infrastructure was built over 250 years ago!

I had a lovely time walking along the canal, although it was a little hard underfoot. As I walked along, I spent time spotting all of the different plants and birds. There were also lots of lilly pads in the water too!

The canal took me through Kirkintilloch. As I crossed the road, there was an Italian restaurant called Nonna’s kitchen. I decided to pop in for a drink and some ice cream. As I was sat outside enjoying my well earned snack, I got chatting to some chaps at a nearby table. They had spotted my bag and asked me about my trip. It was lovely to chat to them. When I went to pay, I was so surprised to find out that they had paid for me! It was such a kind gesture and I was blown away. It was amazing that strangers would show such kindness towards me. There really are some wonderful people in the world, and I’ve been so lucky to meet so many of them along my trip.

Fuelled by my orange juice and ice cream, I continued along the canal to Cadder. On the way in, I passed the site of a Roman Fort, which included an information board and replica stones. It is really interesting to see Roman history this far north, as Hadrian’s Wall is thought of as the northern reaches of the Roman Empire.

I finished in Cadder, where I was picked up by Lindsay. Lindsay is a friend of a friend that very kindly let me stay. It was lovely to meet her and her family!

East Calder to Falkirk

After a lovely stay with Claire, she dropped me back off in East Calder, for me to continue my journey.

I started by walking through Calderwood Country Park. It was a lovely path, through paved woodland. It was really lovely to see all of the different wild flowers that were out.

I then joined the canal towpath, which would take me all the way to Falkirk. The sun came out and it was a lovely peaceful walk along the canal.

I saw some swans with their cygnets. The grey fluffy babies were so cute.

The Union Canal is the canal between Edinburgh and Falkirk. Along the way, signposts told me the miles to different towns. It was nice to tick the miles off as I walked along.

The canal was really varied with beautiful green trees, followed by views across open fields. The changing scenery made the walking pass by quickly.

As I walked along, I met a group canoeing down the canal. There were two instructors, with two participants, in a catamaran canoe (the two canoes were connected to each other, side by side). We did at one point have a mini race! I just about won!

I was very excited to find a field with two donkeys, and a horse. I stopped to give the donkeys a stroke. There were two worn paths from the tow path to the fence, so I think the animals must be used to getting lots of affection!

I followed the canal into Linlithgow, where I was meeting some of the local Rangers. We had arranged that they would walk a section of the canal with me. I was a little early, so I stopped and had my lunch at the canal basin. Unfortunately, this was where the weather turned, and there was a hail storm!

Thankfully, it dried off a bit by the time I was meeting the Rangers and it was only light rain.

The Rangers joined me for about half an hour, which was lovely, then their leader joined me until the Avon Aqueduct. The Aqueduct takes the canal over the River Avon. The view from the top was beautiful, and thankfully it had dried off a little!

As I continued along the canal, the weather did a mixture of downpour, then sunshine. The sun shone for just long enough to dry my coat, before I got wet again! Although, I can’t complain, it was much better than continual torrential rain!

As I walked along, and got closer to the busier Falkirk, I chose to listen to some of the BBC Scotland Outdoors podcast. This is my favourite podcast, and they cover all sorts of outdoor topics in Scotland. Often listeners message in about where they listen to the podcast. The podcast I listened to was an interview with listener Marian Burrows-Smith, who had been listening to the podcast in Nepal. It was so interesting to hear about how her trekking adventures in Nepal, led to her creating a charity that builds toilets in Nepal. It was really inspirational to listen to a woman who had been on her own adventures and used it to make a positive difference in the world.

On my way into Falkirk, I came to the Falkirk tunnel. This is the longest canal tunnel in Scotland, at 630m long! It was really cool to walk through. There was a really good echo too!

The tunnel brought me almost to the train station, where I finished my walk for the day.

For the next couple of days, I am staying with Moira and James, who I know through walking events in Girlguiding. It’s been so lovely to stay with friends along the way. I’ve been able to see friendly and familiar faces. I definitely think it has helped me to cope with being away from home.

In the evening, I went to visit Moira’s Guides. It was lovely, the rangers came along too, as well as some other leaders that I know. It was really lovely to tell them all about my journey and answer all of their questions. It definitely felt more nerve wracking doing it for people that I know, but everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I had a brilliant time.