We had a perfectly pleasant stay in Thurso, and even wandered out to the movies to see “The Salt Path,” with Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. I enjoyed the film despite its flaws, especially (unsurprisingly!) the landscape.
We were only a couple blocks from the train station for our train to Inverness, through the Highlands, and then transfer for the rest of the journey to Falkirk. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the station to see that there were NO TRAINS AT ALL leaving from that station, and we would be bussed. Since we had an extremely tight connection, we were not at all optimistic that we’d make it. But the bus driver was AWESOME and we made it with five minutes to spare LOLOL!!! The train ride from Inverness through the Cairngorms was stunning.
We understand that we saw sites we would not have seen on the train. We were in the very front seats, so had great views out the windshield. It’s impossible to take good pix from busses and trains, but here ya go!
And then we arrived in Falkirk. Finding the bus stop to take to our hotel was ridiculously complicated, it was only a couple of blocks from the train station, but for Reasons, confusing. We were, delightfully, right on the canal, so we were well-placed for our evening/night walk to the Falkirk Kelpies.
Some background of the legend: The kelpie legend is a Scottish myth about a shape-shifting water spirit, usually appearing as a horse, that haunts rivers and lochs to drown and devour people, especially children. It’s a cautionary tale to keep kids from water, but it can sometimes be controlled by capturing its bridle, a symbol of its power. It also appears as alluring to humans to lure victims. Boy, I’ll say!
We got home well past 10 pm, but as you can see, it’s still light out.
We were due to get up on the early side to find breakfast, and then find our way to the Falkirk Wheel for the next adventure!
Debkakes in the UK 2025 