The start of The Whithorn Way, or is it the John Muir Way?

I left South Queensferry on a beautiful sunny day, the blue sky being reflected in the Firth of Forth.  My destination was Bo'ness, but there were numerous distractions to stop me along the way.
On the way to Blackness

I had to stop numerous times to look back at the bridges crossing the Firth of Forth, silhouetted against the blue sky.  The path wound its way, on a very quiet road, along the coast, eventually passing Hopetoun House, referred to as Scotland's finest stately home, though now owned by a charitable organisation to preserve it as an historical monument.   It is now closed for the season, but I got glimpses of it as the path took me around it, and through the deer park.

The Whithorn (or St Ninian's) Way
The rail bridge .....
.... and the two road bridges

An intended short stop at a lovely restaurant called The Lobster Pot, at Blackness, led to a longer late lunch before heading on my way to Bo'ness.  
Blackness Castle

From Bo'ness the path then headed, via the Union canal, towards Falkirk, and at the end of the day I hopped on a train to Stirling where I stayed with my friend Charlotte, who I met 10 years ago on Orkney, and her husband Donald.  I had a lovely time there, attending a wonderful session. For those not in the know - this is a musical time where various attendees choose the songs / airs they will play or sing and everyone else joins in.  It was a wonderful evening, as it was 10 years ago, when I first attended it!
Leaving Bo'ness, the path took me through the grounds of Kinneil House, partly demolished - until they discovered some extraordinary frescoes decorating the walls.  Saved by paintings!
At the back of the house was the remains of a little cottage.  This was built for James Watt to secretly work on his steam powered engine.  The black cylinder is explained by the photo below.

After lunch at the Bridge Inn the path followed the Avon River upstream, eventually meeting the Union Canal, and crossing the Avon viaduct (below)


Falkirk is the home of the Falkirk wheel, whis is at the end  (or start - depending which way you are going) of the union canal.  The Falkirk Wheel, a rotating boat lift, replaced the 11 locks needed to lift boats 35 metres from the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal.  An amazing piece of machinery!
The Falkirk Wheel from the Union Canal
The boats are lifted up to this canal (the Union)
The boat is in the gondola, having just been lifted up to the Union Canal, 35 metres up, and is about to be on the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Basing myself in Stirling for another day, I set off walking along the canal, catching the train back.  It is so much easier walking without a pack, especially when my path took me up Croy Hill.  This is part of the ancient Roman Antonine Wall and began wide and grassy, but changed to a narrow, steep, and very slippery path once over the top.
The delightful Stirling railway station.
A sculpture on the Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall

Reunited with my pack, I set off on the last leg of this section to Glasgow.  This was along the canal, but it was a long hard day as there was a strong wind, and then rain for the last few kilometres.   I got caught by the rain because of my tendency to stop and yack to people.  They want to know what I am doing, and it is never a three minute chat!
Walking, or rather - being blown, along the Forth and Clyde canal towards Glasgow.
More reference to the Antonine Wall.

Officially I have been following The Whithorn Way, but the only signs I saw were for the John Muir way and a cycle route.  It wasn't until I was leaving Glasgow that I saw the first Whithorn Way sign - but that's for another post.

Comments

  1. ScooterLitch22 October 2024 at 15:21

    Wonderful description of the journey. John Muir was an interesting man, way before his time in many ways and has a significant legacy in the environmental movements around the world. But also controversy has followed that legacy including naming the walk after him in Central Scotland. Every blessing Janet for what comes next. Scott

    ReplyDelete
  2. Janet22 October 2024 at 23:59

    In a way, I think of this path as being the start of the one that continues in America. I guess the fact that he was born in Scotland gives them a right to claim him in this way - like we claim people in Australia. Cheers, Janet

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Herrstein to Kirn - 14.5kms, our way!

Image
 Today was a much easier day, except for a long hill which seemed to go up, and up, and up. However, we had a very pleasant time, walking through forests, walking alongside fields of ripening grain, and best of all, walking alongside gurgling streams. I was even reminded of the verse from "The Happy Wanderer" - I love to wander by the stream, the gurgles in the sun ...." A couple of dog walkers, from Munich, having a rest. Having had a restorative nights sleep, a substantial breakfast, and made lunch from the leftovers (at our hosts suggestion), we were able to wander around the beautiful historical town of Herrstein, something we were incapable of doing last night.  It truly is a lovely town, as you can see from the photos.    The bendy beams! Having ambled along to our destination of Kirn, and arriving so early, we couldn't access our accommodation, we had a pick me up of a coke for me and a beer for Edith.  We had a delicious meal of a traditional German past...
Read more

Back on the road, and all is well.

Image
The day, Sunday, began with a walk down the hill and then up to the Cathedral where I, along with many (maybe 150) other pilgrims attended the 7am Mass.  At the conclusion we were given a blessing and we set off, some with packs on, others, like me, returning to their accomodation to have brekky and collect their packs. The bags lined up at Mass  Below these screens there is a very long flight of stairs to the door of the Cathedral, and another equally long one to the street.  The back screen comes up first, then the side screens come up.  All very silent. Pilgrims departing This is the path that most pilgrims were leaving by, hence the shells above my head.  I turned right at the end of this street and headed south. Rain overnight had dramatically lowered the temperature and it was a pleasant, if  late, start to the day.  Because I attended the Mass, had a leisurely breakfast, and had to do all my foot exercises I was a couple of hours late leaving on...
Read more
Image
                                                                            Off again soon!  Starting out following in the footsteps of the mystic, composer and generally all round fascinating Hildegard von Bingen.  Stay Tuned! 
Read more