Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
KIPPEN
Cross Keys
T
01786 870293,
W
kippencrosskeys.com.
This venerable village inn, licensed since 1703, serves
above-standard pub grub - try the venison and beetroot
casserole (£14) - and features three stylishly renovated
rooms.
Food served Mon-Fri
noo
n-3pm & 5-9pm, Sat
noon-9pm, Sun noon-8pm.
£70
Woodhouse
Just off the roundabout outside
Kippen on the A811
T
01786 870156,
W
thewoodhousekippen.com.
Buzzy, bright and
irresistible self-styled diner with a wood-fired stove and
an attached farm shop. Excellent soups, sandwiches,
specials and baking (from £5) are all home-made,
mostly with local ingredients.
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat
& Sun 10am-5pm.
interiors are plush and
bea
utifully preserved. Sleeps
sixteen. Four nights from
£787
DRYMEN
Clachan Inn
Drymen Square
T
01360 660824,
W
clachaninndrymen.co.uk.
Dating back to 1734, the inn
is an atmospheric spot for a pint and offers a range of great
simple pub grub such as scampi and burgers (from £6.50).
Mon-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 12.30pm-10.30pm; food
served all day.
The Pottery
9-11 Main St,
T
01360 660458,
W
thedrymenpottery.co.uk.
Features a lively upstairs pub
(with pool table) serving plain but tasty fish and chips,
burgers and pizzas (from £5.95) and a downstairs coffee
shop with a nice timbered roof and a pretty garden, serving
delicious locally baked cakes.
Mon-Sat 9.30am-10pm,
Sun 10am-9pm.
Winnock Hotel
The Square
T
01360 660245,
W
winnockhotel.com.
In the village square, this flower-
bedecked eighteenth-century coaching inn has fairly
comfor
table e
n-suite rooms. Look out for the ceilidh
nights.
£69.50
7
GARGUNNOCK
Gargunnock House
Gargunnock
T
01628 825925,
W
landmarktrust.org.uk.
If you're in a group, consider a
stay at this wonderful country house operated by the
Landmark Trust. Behind the Georgian facade are elements
of the original sixteenth-century tower house. The historic
The Falkirk Wheel
Lime Rd, Tamfourhill • Visitor centre daily 10am-5.30pm • Boat tours daily: April-Oct every 30min 10am-4.30pm; Nov-March hourly
10am-3pm • £8.95 •
W
thefalkirkwheel.co.uk • Bus #3 from Falkirk town centre or walk along the Union Canal from Falkirk High train station
he icon of an ambitious project to link Falkirk's two long-neglected canals is the
remarkable
Falkirk Wheel
, opened in 2002 two miles west of Falkirk town centre.
Looking more like a giant metal claw than a wheel, it was designed to solve the
problem of the 115ft gap between the Union and Forth and Clyde canals. Back in the
1930s, before the canals went to rack and ruin, barges had to spend a day passing
though eleven locks. To solve the problem, engineers designed the giant lift, which
scoops a boat in one claw and an equal weight of water in the other. he simple process
of rotating the perfectly weighted claws and depositing the boat in the other canal is
said to use only the same energy that it takes to boil eight kettles.
Boat tours
take you from the visitor centre, where there's a decent
café
, on a one-hour
journey from the lower basin into the wheel, along the Union Canal for a short
distance, then back down to the basin again via the wheel. he boat trip isn't essential if
you just want to see the wheel in action, which can be done by
walking
around the
basin and adjoining towpaths.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
FALKIRK WHEEL
By train
Regular trains run from Edinburgh to Stirling via
Falkirk Grahamston Station, while Falkirk High Station,
which is further from the centre, is a stop on the
Edinburgh-Glasgow line.
Destinations
Glasgow Queen Street (every 15-30min; 25min); Stirling
(every 30min; 15min).
By bus
Falkirk's centrally located bus station is at Callendar
Riggs. First Bus #3 Red Line runs to Falkirk Wheel from the
bus and coach stations (every 15min).
Edinburgh (every 15-30min; 30min);
Dollar
Nestling in a fold of the Ochils on the northern bank of the small River Devon, where
mountain waters rush off the hills, a
uent
DOLLAR
is known for its Academy, founded
