Day 10 Drymen to Edinburgh

I knew I had a long day ahead so I made an early start, for once on the sunshine.

From Drymen there was a bit of hilly road to cover before picking up the WHW again,  which follows another disused railway line, and apart from being very puddley and muddy is easy going.

At Dunyreath Castle (just a hill now) it leaves the old railway route for a steep and rocky climb over the edge of the Campsie Fells. I did try to stay on the old railway but it was too boggy and overgrown, so over the top it was!

After the village of Strathblane the path becomes national cycle route 755 which means good fast surfaces past Lennox town and Milton of Campsie to meet the Forth & Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch.

 

It's canal towpath all the way to Edinburgh - no hills!!! The canal roughly follows the Antonine Wall, built by the Romans to mark the boundary of the Empire and keep the wildlings out. There's little left of the wall and its fortresses now though as they were mainly earth and timber.

It's a pretty, wide and well maintained canal, with lots of wildlife, but it does not seem to be getting a lot us use. The only moving boats I see all day are a couple of maintenance barges and this very tidy double.

Soon after a 'full Scottish' at the rather unlovely Bonniebridge, I reached this rather famous landmark. 

The Falkirk Wheel is an ingenious and showy solution to connect the Forth & Clyde and Union canals together without a long staircase of locks. But it has become a landmark and tourists destination on itself, you can even take a tour boat up the lift, through the tunnel and back - though it's a lot quicker to walk!

Unfortunately I still have nearly 30 miles to go, which is a lot even on the flat. Regular rain showers don't help either. Lovely as it is, by the time I approach Edinburgh I have had enough of canal and an feeling deeply tired, these legs need some time off.

The bike too lets me down for the first time when the forks lose pressure and slowly sink onto the bump stops. For now I am able to lock them out, but it will need sorting before tackling any rough surfaces again.

Miles today: 67. Total so far: 471.

Feet climbed today: 3330. Total so far: 36840.