The Sunday Times - UK (2022-06-05)

The Sunday Times June 5, 2022 9

Edinburgh, marks the main access point

for the northern part of the Pentland Hills

(pentlandhills.org)

BOAT AROUND THE FALKIRK WHEEL

Cruising “doon the watter” along the

Forth and Clyde Canal has many

highlights, but none is more impressive

than the Falkirk Wheel, the world’s only

rotating boat lift, midway between

Edinburgh and Glasgow. It’s an enormous

expression of metal connecting the

waterway to the Union Canal, and boat

trips let you play Para Handy, if only for

half an hour. Extend your trip with a stop-

off at the nearby Kelpies, a monumental

study of the country’s mythic water

spirits. The duo of ginormous silver horse

heads are 30m tall and engineered from

more than 900 stainless-steel dragon-

scale plates. Definitely worth a photo.

Details Falkirk Wheel boat tour: adult

£13.50, child £8 (scottishcanals.co.uk)

Continued on page 10→

Details V&A Dundee is 75 minutes by

train from Edinburgh and open daily

except Tuesday, with free admission to

the permanent exhibits (vam.ac.uk)

EXPLORE THE PENTLANDS

Its proximity to Edinburgh’s city centre

aside, the Pentland Hills is a regional park

that showcases its wild traditions proudly.

This is a place for day-long trail runs,

off-road biking, wild swimming, stand-up

paddleboarding and a cornucopia of other

activities, the selling point being arm’s

reach adventures most think are only

possible in the west Highlands. Scenery-

wise it’s heathery terrain home to roe

deer, grouse and mountain hare, as well as

reservoirs, sheep-trodden moorland and

five summits that can be hiked in one day.

Scald Law is the highest at 579m and has a

skyline view crammed with volcanic

crags, glens and distant castles.

Details The Flotterstone Inn near

Penicuik, a half-hour drive south of

produce. For dinner try the Balgove Steak

Barn — it’s Brigadoon does barbecue.

Details St Andrews is 90 minutes’ drive

north of Edinburgh; the nearest railway

station is Leuchars, ten minutes’ drive

out of town (standrews.com)

ENJOY DESIGN AT V&A DUNDEE

Scotland doesn’t make enough of a

fuss of its design credentials, but

this satellite of the V&A in London

helps to address that. The building

is from the mind of the Japanese

architect Kengo Kuma, its hull-

shaped structure supposedly a

mirror image of the coast’s North

Sea cliffs, while the insides are

decked out with genre-hopping

exhibits. A highlight is the

restoration of Charles Rennie

Mackintosh’s Oak Room,

and the calendar of

exhibitions is worth

keeping an eye on.

copse of oak; a skeletal tangle of wire by

Antony Gormley; and concentric land

sculptures from Charles Jencks. Note, it’s

open from May to September only.

Details Book online, adult £10, child £6

(jupiterartland.org)

EAT SEAFOOD IN NORTH BERWICK

Of all the summer road trips you can take

from Edinburgh, those along the East

Lothian coast could well be the most

satisfactory. Distances are short, the

beaches and dunes are continuous, and

the seafood is as good as anywhere. Start

with a dip at Yellowcraig beach, with a

view of Fidra Island, an inspiration for

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island,

then motor east to North Berwick’s twin

beachfronts. After a boat whirl around the

seabird sanctuary of Bass Rock, dinner is a

box of claws from the Lobster Shack, a

chalkboard institution on the quayside.

Details North Berwick is 50 minutes by

car from Edinburgh, or 35 minutes by

train (visiteastlothian.org)

SWING OVER TO ST ANDREWS

There is enough beautiful distraction in

St Andrews, even if you’re not a golf

enthusiast. The 18-hole course was

invented here and it’s home to

one of the world’s oldest and

most revered clubs — plus golf

shops, a museum and boutiques

selling memorabilia and gear.

Besides this there’s a gorgeous,

shortbread-coloured beach,

a terrific ruined castle and

cathedral, plus award-winning

ice cream and field-to-fire Fife

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From left: mythical Kelpies near the Falkirk Wheel;

Robert the Bruce keeps watch at Stirling Castle;

Jupiter Artland; Glengoyne whisky; golf at St Andrews

SHINE-A-LIGHT, E35.PIX/ALAMY; ALLAN POLLOK MORRIS