Pili pili pom pom pom

Note to self (category - Scotland): if debating whether to wear jeans or waterproof trousers for a walk, always choose waterproofs. Duh.

Apart from the unwanted additions of my soaking-wet jeans, leaks in M's high-tech jacket, and Winnie the Pooh's rain song on repeat in my head (M would probably add slipping and sliding for miles along a very muddy path too, but I found watching him highly entertaining and it's my blog. At least my boots were appropriate.) our Sunday touristico walk turned out to have a theme of transport history.
We found a destination for some future weekend - a charming old train station, which in a few weeks will restart their steam train runs to an abandoned mine. Exciting! (Trains are cool. You may disagree, but you would be wrong.)
The actual walk followed the Union Canal and river Avon, both very pretty, over a massively impressive aqueduct and under a smaller viaduct. The Canal was a great improvement in transport in 1822, shortening the travel time between Edinburgh and Glasgow to mere 12 hours - and today people think nothing of commuting between them every day. Most things we take for granted have existed for such a short while it's unsettling. But could anyone explain how the canal boats were made to run straight along the canal, when pulled by horses from the towpath on the side?
The finale was another impressive view of the ruins of the Linlithgow Palace sitting on a knoll by a lake.

Last weekend was the turn of Dollar Glen and Castle Campbell - formely Castle Gloom, still situated by burns Care and Sorrow. All of which might suggest that the name Dollar is indeed derived from grief and darkness and such. One mystery remains: who on Earth thought it a good idea to build a cottage above the castle and ruin its viewpoint, supposed to command the entire glen?

Which reminds me (because the Spanish voiceover says dolor a lot, with delicious feeling) - go see Pan's Labyrinth. I've never paid attention to a film's sound design before, but this was so beautiful and atmospheric. And it looked fantastic, and there's a great story, and the scariest monster, ever. The one with the hands. Hrr. I'll go hide now.