2010 Scotland, Ireland, Portugal and Spain trip (SIPS)

We ventured North at the end of July to escape the Canberra winter and benefit from a second summer. The first job was to secure a towing vehicle as previous year’s arrangement of leasing Nissan Pathfinders unfortunately stopped in 2010. After much work on the web and 2 months before our departure we secured a Volvo XC90. Unfortunately when we arrived the deal fell through so we spent our first day searching and then driving to Leicester to find an alternative. This was successful. We then fitted a tow bar and collected the caravan from storage.
Here is the new combination outside Jo’s house in Solihull prior to taking the ‘van to Derby for its annual service.
While it was serviced we travelled to Scotland for a week on a canal boat starting at the Falkirk wheel. It is a spectacular structure and a bit of a challenge when it is being negotiated a matter of minutes after casting off. Basically it is two troughs of water which counter balance one another. You drive into the top or bottom and then the wheel turns 180 degrees and you drive off at the other level.

All simple stuff! The troughs are on wheels and held horizontal in a ring at either end so none of the water (or occupants) spill out.

The view is terrific provided you do not fear heights. Here Jo is enjoying the view while holding on tightly.

Although the wheel is a terrific bit of engineering the locks at the top and bottom are another thing altogether. They are 12’ 6” wide and were meant for two boats side by side (as is normal). The only draw back is that narrow boats are 6’ 10” wide so… (even those used to metric can I suspect master this little calculation). Why the designers didn’t is a mystery. Result, wasted water and slow travel through the locks (and a number of embarrassed operators who have to keep relaying that it is a “stuff up”!)

A little down the Union canal (the Scottish one) is a bridge with two faces on the key stones. This one is of the engineer looking West towards a tunnel and locks – hard work, hence the scowled expression.

By comparison the one on the other side of the bridge is far happier looking at a contour canal (no locks – just excavation) and the fun of 3 aqueducts on the way to Edinburgh.

Our first major port of call was Linlithgow. It is a beautiful town dating back many centuries. The palace was started in 1424 by James 1. It is an imposing structure jutting out into a small loch. Very picturesque. There have been many additions over the years however the most controversial is the new spire to the church which was erected in 1960. Like it or hate it, it is a least memorable so the architect has achieved something!

We hired the narrow boat in conjunction with Sue and Martin (ex Dubai and Canberra – also see earlier blogs). They are now professional holiday makers (whereas we are part timers). As a result of their holidays they missed my 60th celebrations in Sydney in June and thoughtfully supplied me with champagne, a selection of beers and a large bar of Toblerone. Just what was needed to ensure the first night kicked off really well.

Day 2 saw us going through some wonderful countryside (albeit the temperature was a little cool but generally dry). We went over a couple of very high aqueducts which Sue sort of enjoyed provided she did not have to be too close to the edge.

We eventually arrived in Edinburgh where the basin has been modernised with sculptures and new buildings. It is not quite as thriving as some of the older parts of the city but with some good marketing (including educating taxi drivers where it is) could be a thriving area.

By comparison the new parliament house attracts many visitors and like all good public buildings was very late and well over budget. It looks good though….

However, the castle is still far more spectacular.

Helen and I really like Edinburgh and on this trip decided we would spend some time with one of her other loves – the royal family. Where better to feed this addiction than through a visit to HM Yacht Britannia?

Britannia was launched in 1953 and decommissioned in 1997 and had a good run (albeit the Queen was very disappointed with the 1997 decision). It is now a great fixed display and still hosts dinners.

Our timing was perfect as the fringe festival and tattoo are held at this time of year. Part of the tattoo was a New Zealand band who also gave a show on the rear deck of Britannia. The music was great but not as entertaining as their Hakka.

Brittania is just awesome and has a real upstairs/downstairs feel. On the yacht it is actually front and rear of the main mast. The front is for the ships crew and the rear for the Queen and her entourage.

The focus on putting on a show requires significant support systems such as the laundry (changes into uniform often happened 6 times a day).

The operating theatre… (probably best not to be ill). Brittania’s claim was that she could be turned into a hospital ship in 24 hours – fortunately this never occurred.

The bedrooms forward of the mast were a little less lavish than those of the Queen and Duke (who had separate connecting rooms with single beds). Apparently Charles got a double bed put in for his honeymoon in one of the guest bedrooms opposite the Queens room (bit of Royal “goss”).

The engine room just gleamed and apparently never faltered in her 45 years of operation.

Meanwhile venturing towards the rear there is a room for the silver (and another similar one for the china).And capacity for some 30 diners. It takes over half an hour just to get the cutlery right with each being measured using a ruler. Menus are specially prepared (sometimes months in advance) and guests are allowed to take them home as a memento.
The sailors are not allowed to make any noise and most used sign language (unlike other Royal Navey ships where barking orders was the norm). They did not wear a hat and hence were deemed not to be in uniform. This meant that royalty did not have to keep saluting. They were also not allowed to make eye contact.

After all this cleaning and being on duty it is no wonder that there was a need for some frivolity. One way was playing wombat tennis using a ceiling fan and a bear. The rules were not published but it was apparently pretty noisy with the assistance of the mess bar.

And for the technically minded….

The canal network we were on transverses Scotland and also connects Edinburgh with Glasgow. There are a number of swing and lift bridges. On the Union there are only the couple of locks adjoining the Falkirk wheel so it is a pretty lazy piece of boating.

On the Forth and Clyde canal there is no shortage of water with much running over the gates.

Here we are waiting for the Bonney lift bridge to be opened while enjoying the swans and their signets. At the top of the hill is a Scottish flag with presumably Scottish cows below.
When the weather was sunny some of the views and light were hard to beat.

There was also the opportunity for scrumping with Sue and I picking a large bowl full of raspberries (and we only suffered a couple of stings from the adjacent nettles).

A great and very quiet week (it was not until day 3 that we passed a boat coming the other way). The only downside was that all the locks and bridges are operated by Scottish waterways. This is very restrictive as they only operate between 9:00 and 5:00. On other waterways the boat handlers undertake this work which gives the crew some exercise and enables the full daylight summer hours (5:00 to 22:00) to be used. This appears to be a unionised operation which would be better spent on maintaining the canals (eg weed control which is poor) than having the expense of a van with 2 people driving along the towpath to operate the locks purely for our benefit.

Nonetheless the canals went through some beautiful country. The highlight for me was seeing two deer in open ground spooked by the boat and leaping into a nearby copse.

We realised when travelling back to Solihull that we passed close by an old Dubai friend Barclay Chalmers. He was good enough to agree to a proposal that we drop in for tea on the way past. We met his lovely wife Elizabeth Ann, daughter Mhairi (slightly changed from the wee girl we knew) and James. Great to be able to do this after 30 years!