When I was out earlier in the week I’d found a viewpoint for the Forth Bridges, unfortunately they’ve let the hedges grow so high it’s difficult to get a good picture which rather defeats the object. It was only as I was driving out that I realised I only had to walk a few yards down the road for an interrupted view. As I was driving past the same point I stopped again and spent a few minutes capturing some shots. I’ll only know when I get them on the computer how well the worked but here’s one to be going on with.
I last visited the Kelpies on a freezing cold December day so was pleased to go back in somewhat warmer conditions. For anyone who doesn’t know, Kelpies are mythical horse like creatures that inhabit streams and rivers. The statues were erected as part of the Helix Park development, the initial concept had been that they’d actually move as part of pumping water for the canals but that proved impractical - they weigh over 300 tonnes each! They are a tribute to the heavy horses that worked in Scotland on the land and hauling boats.
The mottoes alongside are Bow down your strong heads to taste the water, Stretch up your long necks to face the sun and Echo the great beasts that work among us. I’ll be entering the best of the pics in a calendar competition and I’m hoping I can incorporate the mottoes in the image.
The final visit was to the Battle of Bannockburn Visitor Centre. I accepted the option of the guided tour, at a bargain price! It should have been £7.50 however she put it though as a senior without checking (if I’m asked I’m always honest, if not it’s their look out) and then discounted it to £3 due to problems with the large screen displays. The guide was American, which seemed slightly odd but she was good and I guess neutral in describing a battle between the Scots and English! The engineer was working on the display technology and wondrously it started working just at the right moment. The presentations were a bit cartoon like in places but you did get a clear sense of his things were and it’s quite spectacular having a volley of crossbow bolts start on your right on one huge screen, shoot across in front of you then hit the Scots on the screen to the left - graphic but it got the point across.
The guide did talk a little about the difference between longbows and crossbows but omitted a crucial point, even though the presentation illustrated it. The crossbow may be more powerful and need less expertise to fire but the longbow has a much higher rate of fire. In any case the English bowmen were at the wrong end of the battlefield when the Scots attacked and when they tried to gain the higher ground on the flank they were turned off by the enemy cavalry. Had it not been for that they would have been able to fire on the Scots and the result, and history, may well have been very different. One oddity about this battle is there are virtually no relics of any kind, the victorious Scots stripped the field bare afterwards.
With the weather being very variable, sunshine and drizzle with intermittent heavy rain, I decided to head straight on to the hotel at that point. Thoughts of a peaceful afternoon were somewhat destroyed by a large and boisterous wedding party but gradually the friends assembled ready for a couple of days of fun and frolics.
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