UK OK with JK and RK: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

We have managed to get behind with the daily posts so in this post I will endeavour to bring us back into line.

Yesterday after attending the Anzac Service at the Castle we caught the tram to the Airport to collect our hire car for the next 20 days.

We are feeling quite pleased as they offered us an upgrade for a small additional daily cost. The upgrade is a brand new car, diesel with auto start/ stop fuel efficiency and is the same as the previous car we had in Ireland which was an Opel but this one is branded Vauxhall. The upside is that Rod is familiar with the car and it has a Sat Nav which we have decided is worth so much more than what we have paid in eliminating stress. It also has leather seats, rain sensitive wipers and auto headlights. What a bonus.

On returning back to our accomodation to change out of wet socks from the morning we decided that a visit to the botanic gardens would be possible after all, as the weather had cleared and the sun was out.

Starting out in the visitor centre we were interested to see the tree of donations. Leaves are available to purchase representing a donation to the gardens. Starting with a copper leaf at £1000 silver and then gold increased in value respectively.

The Queen' s Mother Memorial Garden was well thought out and executed. A little pavilion in the centre of the garden had internal walls completely covered in shells collected by school children and the ceiling was covered in pinecones collected from all the countries that the Queen's Mother had visited.

Spring has certainly sprung in Scotland and the garden was a beautiful place for a stroll and a coffee later on in the afternoon. The sky remained clear and the sun stayed out.

The gardens were beautifully manicured and a pleasure to walk through.

We finished off the day at The Bell Inn for our dinner. We were able to drive so the choice of venues increase considerably. It was another nice meal, we both had a Beef & Ale Pie with a glass of Cider. The bar was busy with all the regulars come to drink and watch the football on one of the many (at least 6) screens.

Today setting off from Edinburgh our first stop was to see the Kelpies at the Helix near Falkirk. This was something I stumbled on in the very early days of our trip planning and decided would be a must.

The walk through the Helix to the Kelpies was a pleasure in itself. The rain stopped and the sun came out as we zigged and zagged our way on the boardwalk through the wetlands which was once wastelands.

These metal sculptures of 2 Horse Heads stand 30meters high and are made of metal plates bolted together. What I didn't know is that it is possible to tour inside them, but we didn't.

Instead it was onto the Falkirk Wheel which is another attraction that we had planned a year ago.

The Wheel is an engineering feat, designed and built to replace several locks on the Canal. A boat or boats enter a gondola from the upper canal, whilst another boat /boats enter a gondola from the lower canal. The water level is carefully maintained to ensure they are equal in weight. The wheel is then set in motion and the gondolas quietly change places, lowering and being raised respectively. When the top and bottom are reached the gondolas are opened and the boats move on in the newly reached canal.

Again the sun and sky were kind to us, and even though there was a real chill factor and a small fall of hail and mushy snow on our walk from the car park to the visitor centre, we managed to be in the right place at the right time as far as rain was concerned.

Our new destination for the night is Perth. A walk into town to get dinner gave us a good opportunity for sightseeing. A very old and impressive bridge spans the river Tay.