But I really fell in love with two historic sites which tied together the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; the  Antonine Wall and the Forth & Clyde Canal. I just had to come back to do those in depth, so here I am again. Falkirk is the focal point not only of these two sites, but early cattle trysts, and several historic battles.

Almost everyone knows about Hadrian's Wall, a Roman frontier built in the 120's, but until that trip I never heard of the more northern Antonine Wall built by Antoninus Pius in about 142. This wall went from sea to sea across the middle of Scotland connecting the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. Many sites and ruins still exist and many museums and societies are devoted to this project. I will not try to tell you all the details, because it is well done at many other websites. One of my favorites is at: http://www.britanniafilm.de/antonine01.html

In the late 18th century the Forth and Clyde Canal was built roughly along the same line to provide a shortcut from ocean to ocean. Later the Union Canal was built from Edinburgh and connected to the F&C at Falkirk through a flight of 11 locks. Eventually rail and highways replaced the canals and they fell into disuse and disrepair. The locks were dismantled and housing built in the area. Preservationists fought for the reclamation of the canals and they were cleaned up for business and recreation.The 11 locks were replaced by a marvelous machine called the Falkirk Wheel. The following link will take you to the wonderful Virtual Earth maps, where you can trace much of my focus area with highly detailed photos. Tom’s Falkirk Trip

Top of the swing with boat.

Click on map for navigable map.

Arbuthnot House