23/7/26 Nottingham day 2

    Today we headed out to the bus stop and caught the bus over to near the castle . I have vivid memories as a kid about Robin Hood & the Sheriff of Nottingham - it may have been an early version on tv , but let's not let that bother you. On our way to the castle we found this statue outside the castle walls - who else but Robin Hood .

Across the road from the statue , you can sit and enjoy a meal / drink and enjoy the view - your drink won't be full for long with the angle on these tables .

  The streetlights are pretty cool as well !

The roof behind the streetlights belongs to this very old building . Yes , all those darker sections are timber that has been here for a long time, long time .

Upwards and onwards , we come to the outer gates and part with some cash - Robin Hood isn't here , otherwise the price would have been much more reasonable 😉🤣

Further in , and we made our way through the tunnel entrance on the right . 

Inside the tunnel .

The first section is a show via tv screens depicting the legend of Robin Hood and all the goings on .

This model was inside , showing one of the versions of the castle over the years . The current castle doesn't vaguely look any where near the one of old .

Here's a timeline of events at the castle .

Views from the castle are good , as you would expect from a castle that was guarding itself from intruders from the south .Trent Bridge was an important feature of this , as it was the only crossing of the River Trent , so it could be monitored easily .

There are now lots of houses surrounding the castle .

The weren't a lot of different plans for houses , with most resembling each other .

The castle is now used as a a gallery space to exhibit art & artists .

The yards & gardens are a bit parched at the moment with the ongoing heatwave that's hitting UK & Europe .

This is looking toward the town centre .

Unbeknown to us , there are lots of tunnels below the castle , used as a means of escape , and to bring goods into the castle - also ambush people , but that's another story . The sandstone is not as soft as other areas , but not as tough as other types , so that made tunnelling easier . This is our guide who explained lots about the tunnels .

We were entertained with stories for about 40 mins , before we reached the bottom .

  We discovered other buildings and houses seemingly attached to the rock below the castle , also this pub/inn claiming to be the oldest inn in England - and who are we to argue ??

We wandered over to St Peters Square , to find the square has been converted to a beach and carnival rides for the the summer period , complete with a small wading pool as well .

From there we wandered laneways and paths down to the bus station . There are trams here as well .

Found an interesting mural of a Chameleon .

We had to go past the Trent Bridge Inn on our walk back to the apartment, so called in for a look & a loo break . The walls are adorned with cricket photos & prints , with all the great cricketers on display .

   That was our day , here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1mfQAt-eZPAR5cYTKaZZDPvF9gA0eWMY&usp=sharing

 

22/7/26 Nottingham

 

   Our day started with a walk around the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground . We didn't know till yesterday late , that where my Dad lived as a child , was just around the corner from where we are staying . Here's the house in question, a 2 storey house typical of this area . It conjured up many memories , he was taken way too early at 61 .

There are many beautiful gardens in this area , and it was a pleasure to walk around admiring them .

  We walked around to the River Trent , which was also close to the house . Along the promenade there are flood gates to stop the outflow of water into suburbia . There's 2 steel gates and a levee mound to help stop the flood water . They are probably 8m above current water level , which indicates a lot of flood water !!

   Especially if you look at the size of the river . Canal boats are tied up alongside the stepped banks .

The next 2 photo's are looking toward Trent Bridge .

Across the river is a war memorial garden , with impressive front gates .

In the garden is a great rose garden , a fountain & pool , benches , grassed areas and a generally pretty area.

 

Got to love a bumble bee on the lavender .

We wandered up to Trent Bridge - so called because it's a bridge that goes across the River Trent . Nottingham City Football Ground is behind the bridge , Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is just to the right of the photo , and Nottingham County Football Ground is just to the left of the river - all 3 of these grounds are within 500m of each other .

 The bridge is ornately decorated .

     Continuing along the river , we walked through an industrial area before finding another bridge to cross the river to get back to the apartment . We may have indulged ourselves on some blackberries as we went along .

   We made it back to the apartment - it was a cosy affair , with a bed & kitchenette and a bath room that you had to leave to change your mind . I think they are looking more at the sports fans that come to watch cricket or football , to rent it out to them rather than travellers of discern like us !! 😁😆🤣 

  The owner lives next door to us , which came in handy when we needed to get an 2nd towel and a 2nd chair !! Also was handy for the owner when we set off the smoke alarm when cooking dinner - oops 😉

  That was our day .

21/7/26 Edinburgh to Nottingham

 

Today we leave Edinburgh , not before one short look around some of the city while we wait for our train to York , then Nottingham . Here's another view of Edinburgh Castle & the Tattoo seating . The tudor style buildings look like toys .

This is looking back towards the Scottish National Galleries again , with the very dry park below .

This is a gothic Monument to Sir Walter Scott , built in 1844 . In the foreground is a statue of David Livingstone an explorer and missionary .

      Sir Walter Scott statue - looks to be thinking " they've done it again haven't they "

Buildings close in on a tiny alleyway .

 

There's arches over bridges , roads above roads , an interesting stroll around .

A castle turret caught my eye and the camera's .

 Inside the train station , this is in the waiting room

This is out in the station itself 

We caught our train and made it to York where we had to change trains to continue on to Nottingham . We had a great conversation with a gentleman on the platform , turns out we were also sitting opposite him on the trip to York , so that was informative for us . He was a nice person , carrying Lyns suitcase onto and off the train again at York - a gentleman indeed !!

This is at York Railway Station .

We arrived at Nottingham , grabbed some food and then a taxi to our apartment for the next 3 nights . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1xesMbwyW_9ilyY8b-GRzKp3b0Emuaj0&usp=sharing

20/7/26 Falkirk Wheel

 

      From the engineering marvel that the Forth bridges are , to another piece of Scottish Engineering . Today it's the Falkirk Wheel , a rather large device to raise and lower canal boats from one level to another. We got the train to Haymarket , then another to Falkirk / Grahamstown , before a bus , then a walk beside a canal , over the canal and we were there . It connects the Forehand Clyde Canals with the Union Canal .3 canalboats were in the canal as we crossed over to the wheel . The process begins with a left turn into a loch , that then elevates the boats to another larger body of water , that's used for an amusement park as well as the transport route . 

Here's the wheel , loaded up with one tour boat in the bottom and one at the top , there are docks to tie up to and there were several boats moored here . The tour boats do a roaring trade , with up to 96 people able to do a cruise and a trip up & down on the wheel , and run on the hour - at 17 pound per adult , slightly less for seniors and half price for kids over 5 , they certainly rake in some money !!

The wheel lifts passengers & boats 35m in the air and is a site to behold . The lifting /lowering process takes roughly 5 minutes from top to bottom , then there's some extra time for navigating in & out , as well as the time spent opening and closing & sealing each tub - it's quite fascinating .

We had our lunch in the shade below the upper canal and watched the event unfold in front of us .

The tubs rotated around on a wheeled track , and the large cog wheel you can see is the levelling device . There is a central cog that doesn't move and these 2 cogs on the tubs that are stationary as well . They are linked with 2 smaller cogs that run a chain between the 3 larger ones , keeping the tubs level . 

After watching this for a while we set off for the canal above , the view of which is special . 5 rings on pylons support the upper canal till the ground comes up to meet it . It doesn't end there , there's also a tunnel through the hill as well . The tour boats take you up the wheel , then through the tunnel to a turn around point , then come back again , with commentary of course . The whole thing takes approximately 50minutes . We enjoyed the walk , so we could check it out .

And from above this is the view we got , a beautiful sunny day and still conditions meant great reflections.

This is the view toward the tunnel .

This is the tunnel which you can also walk through , with a tour boat on the way back .

   We thoroughly enjoyed our wander around and taking in the views and the engineering . Heading back down to the carpark , we order a taxi to take us to The Kelpies - 2 enormous horse sculptures . In Scottish legend , these Kelpies are mythical creatures that can present themselves in any form to take away the children , but they are appearing as horses - albeit very large ones . Unfortunately for us , there was a flooding incident at The Kelpies and they'd closed it off to the public . Decision made for us , we headed back to the train station and then a bus to the apartment . The bus driver recognised us - we chatted to him at another stop when he was starting his shift a few days earlier - they are a friendly bunch here !! 👍 Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1NNVUcanwGixHqPkmBW-ROCLXLTX2KnI&usp=sharing