Tag Archives: Falkirk Wheel

Boardwalk

10 May 2019 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

Back in February you will all clearly remember that we visited Duck Bay on Loch Lomondside. We were impressed by its modern, almost glitzy appearance and were surprised to learn that the management, family run Cawley Hotels, also had a place in our home town of Falkirk. Typically perhaps, we then forgot all about it. You know how it is? When you live in a town like Falkirk you tend to think that nothing much changes. The odd ginormous horse’s head appears but otherwise everything pretty much stays the same.

Things do change however and this place is a prime example. Just over a year ago it was known as the Wheelhouse because of its proximity to the Falkirk Wheel. We liked it and would occasionally drop in for a coffee or a spot of lunch. Now, however, it is called Boardwalk and it wasn’t until we walked through the door that it dawned on us … Boardwalk is Cawley Hotels place in Falkirk. Now we remember?

It has been transformed from its previous rather dark and subdued existence. Now it is the exact opposite. Both inside and out, it is bright and airy … an huge change for the better. There’s lots of outside seating though today was a wee bit damp to take advantage. New glass walls give the illusion of it being much bigger than it was and there are numerous different eating areas catering to all requirements.

Learning on the job

We had been hoping to have a sandwich and a scone … if they had any. However, when we left Duck Bay, all these months ago, we had promised ourselves a return visit to try their delicious looking meringues and strawberry tarts. Here at Boardwalk, we ended up opting for an afternoon tea since that seemed to encompass all our needs – sandwiches, scones, meringues and strawberry tarts … perfecto! We were looked after by a nervous looking young chap who had obviously just started and was being tutored in the fine art of looking after discerning sconey’s every whim. He did very well and by the time we left, he not only seemed to have grown in confidence but also in stature … brill!. What about the scones?

Tricky decision

Well, everything was excellent, including the scones. Unfortunately we found ourselves debating whether or not they were topscones and sadly decided that they just missed out .. by the merest smidgen. A little on the big side and a little short on fruit. It was the same tricky decision when we were at Duck Bay so perhaps we should not have been surprised. Everything else about Boardwalk looks and feels great so we will definitely return before long.
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Prince Archie

In between the wall to wall coverage of Prince Archie’s arrival you sometimes get a snippet of Brexit news. Unbelievably, now we will have to elect new representatives to the EU Parliament … even though we are leaving. Okay the EU has stipulated that the UK must not make mischief in the new Parliament but try telling that to mischief-maker-in-chief, Nigel Farage. It seems to us that the EU should have the ability to expel members. The UK must have cost the EU dearly in terms of money and time wasted. They should just expel us and then independent Scotland can get on with the job of rejoining.

When we were on the Independence march in Glasgow last week we were impressed with the enthusiasm of the many young people taking part. Why not, it’s their future? They tend to get drowned out by the older voters however. Hence back in February in our Offshore post (the one before Duck Bay), we proposed that everyone one year older than me should be shot. The proposal raised much concerned comment from, perhaps unsurprisingly, readers who thought they might be affected. Okay, it’s a tad radical but we see no reason to change! Otherwise, for goodness sake, how are people supposed to learn to vote correctly?

FK1 4AD tel: 01324 272427 Boardwalk Falkirk

///ambushes.tungsten.ranges

Ordinary

Canada Wood Kitchen and Bar

29 June 2015 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

This place seems to have appeared out of thin air in an area south of Falkirk which was once well and truly off the beaten track. Now, however it appears that every one is beating a track to the Canada Wood Kitchen and Bar. No wonder, it’s great! Falkirk really has to be congratulated on creating imaginative and mega visitor attractions, The Wheel, The Kelpies, The Helix. There is also a fantastic network of cycle and walking paths that crisscross the whole area and which this place is designed to fully exploit.

The building is impressive both inside and out and great to see it being well used. Walkers, cyclists as well as people coming by car just to enjoy the surroundings and the food. We had just been out for breakfast but could not resist going in just to see what it was like. Given our already fully sated state it was only one cherry scone between the two of us, but what a scone it was … giiiinormous. One half the size would still have been too much. Nevertheless I managed to get through my half but Pat was defeated by hers .. smaller scones would be much better. Coffee was fine and the whole place had a good, if slightly chaotic vibe. Given time we are sure it will all settle down and become one of our regular haunts.

When I was a lad Canada Wood was where we did forestry work or beating up for the pheasant shoots on Callendar Estate. It was definitely not frequented by coffee house aficionados. Wonderful to see such entrepreneurship so we really wish this place all the luck in the world. The website is still under construction but you can catch it on FaceBook.

FK1 3AZ tel: 01324 610026 Canada Wood

self-service

Falkirk Wheel Café

13 May 2015 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

Nowadays, although it is not that long ago, it is quite difficult to think back to the millennium and all that was going on at that time. Remember the millennium bug that was going to throw every computer and hence the world into chaos at the stroke of midnight? In central Scotland the big project was the rejuvenation and rejoining of the Union canal and the Forth & Clyde canal. Both had lain derelict and unloved for many many years. At one time the canals had been joined by a series of locks but they had long since disappeared so the answer was to build the Falkirk Wheel to raise boats from the lower Forth &Clyde canal into the Union and vice versa.

The result was a spectacular feat of engineering which has successfully put Falkirk, for the first time ever, on the tourist map. It seems to be continually busy with people from all over the world just coming to look at how it works. Or taking boat trips to actually experience it for themselves. Catering for this influx of visitors is the ubiquitous visitor centre with the usual gift shop and cafe area. The gift shop has all the stuff which you would find in any shop aimed directly at tourists. We always find this disappointing and slightly irritating because tourists to Scotland must find almost exactly the same choice of goods whether they are. At Falkirk Wheel or Culloden battlefield or Edinburgh Castle. Kind of the same way as the Queen must find that the world smells of fresh paint.

The café here is confusing and disappointing. Difficult to figure out the system and, when you do, it just screams of inefficiency. That said they do have a reasonable range of stuff on offer. However, it is set up pretty much like a school canteen, a bit cold and clinical. The service is a bit like that as well, nobody seems to be enjoying working there. It probably suffers in the same way as all places that don’t actually have to attract customers in their own right. The customers arrive to see the Wheel and there’s nowhere else to go for something to eat or drink. A kind of monopoly situation.

We bought some lunch but because they had banana and chocolate chip scones we thought that, being dedicated sconeys, we had to try them as well. They were okay, quite good texture and definitely tasted .. you’ve guessed it, of banana and chocolate. Fine as a novelty scone but definitely not going to displace the traditional ones. Just call us old fashioned.

Democracy?

Apart from the Wheel itself, this was a disappointing experience. We brought some friends from England along who had never been to Falkirk before and had hoped for better. Also hoping for better as the election dust settles and Westminster gets back to work. It does make you wonder about the state of democracy in the UK. 85% of Scotland, 73% of Wales and 58% of England didn’t vote for the Tories but got them anyway. An outright Tory government threatening to do away with our human rights. Scotland even gets a Secretary of State to speak on its behalf, chosen from a shortlist of one. The one Scottish Conservative MP? There must be a better system!

Ordinary, Scones

Callendar House

4 May 2015 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

Callendar House is a great Georgian chateauesque building in the centre of Falkirk. It’s history goes way back to the 14th century when it was built for the Livingstone family. However, since then it has played host to many historical figures including Mary, Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Queen Victoria. The tearoom we see today is part of the restoration after the house was partially demolished by Cromwell’s forces in the mid 17th century.

Affinity

I have a particular affinity to this place because my dad was head forester on Callendar Estate and as a young lad I regularly had to accompany him to visit the offices which were in the west wing of the house. At that time the house and its policies were very private with few people ever getting to go anywhere near it. The riders and hounds for fox hunts always started off from the front door. It was eventually taken over by Falkirk Council in 1963. Since then it has been run as a public amenity for the people of the town.

The turbulent times in the past brought about by Cromwell and the Young Pretender are not all that far removed from what we are witnessing in GE2105 with only a few days left before polling. All the Unionists parties seem to be hellbent on neutralising Scotland’s MP’s in Parliament without, apparently, realising the irony of what they are doing. If Scotland is effectively disenfranchised then Scotland, to all intents and purposes, is a foreign country .. end of Union. The Union will not be preserved by ignoring the settled will of one of it’s constituent countries. Hoary old sceptic that I am, even I cannot imagine that they are all as thick as that. England does not ‘need’ Scotland it sure as hell needs Scotland more than Scotland needs England.

No staff

We were here for the Fabrizio Gianni photographic exhibition which was great. Of course we soon ended up gravitating towards the tearoom which is absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, however, it has ‘council’ written all over it .. the epitome of inefficiency. Although it could easily be decked out with tasteful tables and chairs that you can buy for buttons at an auction, instead it has the ‘council’ conference style furniture which jars grotesquely with the surroundings. There is a fantastic fireplace .. but no hint of a fire? When we arrived there were no staff either although someone eventual appeared from some distant room. It was a very odd atmosphere.

The staff were friendly but had to work very hard fetching everything from afar. They advertise afternoon tea with freshly baked scones and cream. However our scones were certainly not baked that day, the worst scones we have had in some time. We were also told that they “don’t do cream”. What with the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies, Falkirk has become a major tourist attraction. C’mon Falkirk Community Council, you can do better than this with such a splendid location!

FK1 1YR tel: 01324 503770 Callendar House

Scones, history and a dollop of politics