Boats in the Air & Mythical Beasts

 SONG - Myth - Celtic Music

Heading north from Glasgow to Stirling we had some time to explore before going to our next lodging for the evening. So we took a small detour to the Falkirk Wheel and Kelpies.  But first I have to share with you that it’s our grandson, Charlie’s second birthday today! Not to worry though, we will celebrate when we return home. He is such an enthusiastic and sweet little boy who tries to keep up with his big brother at every turn!

Happy Birthday Sweet Charlie!

Our first stop was the Falkirk Wheel that connects the Forth and Clyde Canals with the Union Canal and is the only rotating boat lift in the world. 

Signage at the site state that it could turn itself with the energy from just 4 teapots because it’s engineered so well and expertly balanced.  They also state that it could hold 100 elephants!

The gate opens up,  asking sure the water levels are the same inside the holding tank as it is in the canal, and the boat glides in. 

The giant gears begin rotating the boat and another holding container full of water & a potential boat above. 

The device raises one boat up and lowers another. 

Once both boats are where they should be the gates go up or down depending on where they are - top or bottom and the gates open to release the boats to sail happily on their way. 

As we were leaving we noticed several narrow boats on another canal. They were beautiful and fun to watch - along with a mama swan on her nest and daddy swan on the lookout. I saw a crow come close and boy did he go after it!

On towards the Kelpies……

The Kelpies are mythical water creatures that can turn into humans.  And they represent the horses in the Scottish culture.  The sculpture was made by Andy Scott and unveiled in 2014.

Just incredible

We then traveled further north to Stirling so Mr. B could do some of his family tree research but after contacting the minister of the town near Stirling, he found out that they didn’t have the records he was looking for nor could he go into the cemetery where his relatives were probably buried due to unsafe conditions (most of the headstones were toppled over).  So since we already had reservations there we decided to visit Stirling Castle and see what else we might take in.

Our home for the next two nights and it looks like something out of Harry Potter, doesn’t it?

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

- Harry Potter

Mee-mawing

SONG - The Weaving Song by Stick in the Wheel

https://youtu.be/7IGsGUVkUKg?si=oyMA6mM05OQRuWzC 

Day 20 - Sun. May 19

One section of the stained glass windows in our hotel staircase 

Today we were planning on going to the Kelvingrove Museum but we both woke up feeling like taking some time to relax.  I even took a three hour nap and those of you who know me well, know I detest naps.  I leave those to Mr. B who adores naps! We read and planned our next few days and by about 3:30 we decided to venture out over (or under in our case) the River Clyde and into the town of Paisley.  

We found Shuttle Street where people & families were eating outside and enjoying the sunny day.  My 3rd great-grandfather, Henry Grieve (1810 - 1865) was a hand loom weaver in this community and although I don’t know where he lived exactly, I do know that he was baptized & married in the Low Church across the street from here and that he most likely worked here on Shuttle Street.  

These were the cottages that the weavers worked in and most likely lived in (upstairs) and have been preserved by the Paisley Historical Society.  Unfortunately they were closed on Sundays. 

These are named the Sma-shot Cottages of Paisley.  The Sma’ (small) Shot was a cotton thread which bound all the colourful weft threads into the warps of the famous shawls. Later in the 1850’s it was the name of the weavers uprising against the owners who refused to pay for this tiny thread because they could not see it on the finished shawl but the weavers needed it to hold the shawl together.  The weavers won and every first Saturday in July there has been a celebration in honor of this day since 1856.

This statue was donated to the cottages and shows a lion with the loom on his side and various tartan fabrics.  And yes Paisley fabric was produced here in this town but they did not invent it.  It was used in India for thousands of years but the weavers in Paisley copied it and produced so many shawls with is this design it has been called Paisley print for many years.

And just across the street is Low Church where Henry was baptized and married to my 3rd great-grandmother, Isabella Dalziel. It is now used as an Arts Center  

The view of downtown Paisley from the church 

We then drove over to the town of Govan to a church that had Vikings graves on display inside but they had closed at 4 so we ran a few errands and then headed back to our hotel for a wonderful dinner. 

I had chicken with a crust of leeks & mushroom and Mr. B had fish & chips. 

The we shared dessert which was amazing - Apple Cobbler Soufflé with Carmel topping  & ice cream!

“You must be from across the pond?”

- locals ask us multiple times each day

Aye

And you probably want to know about the title of this post, Mee-mawing. It’s a form of talking in the weavers shed as the noise was so loud that you couldn’t hear so they used a form of mime & exaggerated mouth movements that could be understood by the other weavers and it was called “Mee-maw”

Oops A Daisy

 Song - Slip Slidin’ Away by Paul Simon

Day 19 - May 18

In the morning we drove to the beautiful Glasgow Cathedral which we had visited in 2017. After numerous tries at a variety of parking lots in the area that would only accept many pounds of change for each hour (no credit cards) we decided to park in the nearby hospital parking garage which turned out to be free!  

While the cathedral is a bit of amazing architecture and beauty, we were really looking forward to visiting the lower church but it was closed.  Most churches are built upon another church or place of worship that had been destroyed for some reason but Glasgow Cathedral still has its lower church. The present day Cathedral was dedicated in 1197. 

1. Oops - Lower church sealed off

Papa chair, Mama chair, Brothers chair and baby’s chair

My Grandad John was born & lived just a few blocks from the Cathedral in a  Tenement building on Rotton Row which is now part of the Strathclyde University.

Rotten Row on the corner of Weaver Street in the 1950-60’s before they were torn down. My Grandad lived next to the pub. 

The same corner today

And while looking for a parking spot earlier we drove 2. Oops - by Henry Grieve’s, my 3rd great-grandfather’s address - 9 Shuttle Street.

We jumped onto a HoHo Bus (Hop on Hop off bus) that takes you around Glasgow for 90 minutes. 

3. Oops! Unfortunately the upper level was full and we had to sit downstairs and we forgot to pick up our headphones to listen to the city tour until 15 minutes into our drive.

I so wanted to see some of the famous Glasgow murals but 4. Oops! - the bus didn’t do a shout out to many of them and I was on the wrong side of the bus for any photos. 

After a warm 90 minute bus ride we got off back at the Cathedral and walked to the hospital to find our car. We then drove about 20 minutes north to Sighthill Cemetery where my 3rd Great-grandparents are buried. 

But as we drove higher and higher up to the top of the cemetery we realized that someone or something didn’t want us to explore any further.  (Cue creepy music here)

On several roads there were headstone pieces in the center of the road where even Mr. B couldn’t budge them and o. Others there were tree branches that we couldn’t drive over.  So someone or something didn’t want us to continue our journey. 

5. Oops! -we spent hours there and could not find the family head stone even though I had a photo of it! Mr. B was such a trooper driving up and down many rows looking with me. 

We returned to our hotel to have a cocktail out on the back patio in the sunshine and then we had a great dinner in the bar. 

After more than 3 weeks, I had a cheeseburger and it was delicious,

“Well Lassie that’s the First event of the Scottish Highland Games“ 

- Jim says to Jeanette after loading our heavy luggage into our car

Well Done That

SONG - Fisherman’s Blues by the Waterboys

Day 18 - Thurs. May 17

After having breakfast in Windermere and saying goodbye to Poppy & her parents we then headed north to Castlerigg standing stones and Hadrians wall. 

After a few wrong turns going to Castlerigg we found our way to the 3000BC stones just east of Keswick.

While they are not massive like Stonehenge, these are more intimate, romantic, impressive and much less crowded. Still they give me the feeling of our ancient ancestors and their incredible knowledge to build this stone circle to most likely keep track of astrology, the seasons, stars and sun.

Oh yes, they also built it so Jeanette could time travel through the stones just like in Outlander!

Our next stop is Lanercost Priory, east of Carlisle

Welcome to Lanercost

The photo above shows the church on the upper left and part of the priory ruins on the right and directly below. 

The church is in the left with the vicarage on the right

All that is left of the gatehouse 

The view from inside the church looking out a the priory ruins

The charter for the priory was founded in 1166 and dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536. Valuables were confiscated, the canons turned out and stones, lead & timber was used for other purposes.  

2 pm - Time for lunch!

Sitting outside of the tea house at Lanercost was the perfect spot to enjoy our lunch! After sharing a chicken salad on toasted sourdough & a yummy piece of lime & courgette (zucchini) cake we decided to head on up to Scotland as we still had a two plus hour drive.

We made it to Glasgow and once again Mr. B did a fabulous job driving and he even got a compliment today when he had to drive past a piece of road equipment with very little forgiveness. One of the road crew said “A good bit of driving, well done that!”

A delicious dinner and wine at our hotel - Hotel du Vin - in a quiet part of Western Glasgow. 

Looking forward to exploring the city tomorrow!

The traditional Scottish Gaelic toast when raising a glass to say ‘cheers’ is Slàinte mhath which is pronounced slan-ge-var