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After what seems like ages we set out today to take the Timahoy up to the first lock of the Forth and Clyde canal. Its called Carron lock and is just beyond Grangemouth and up the river Carron for two miles.

With my new engine and the helpStephen my son and Ron from the ‘Impulse’ at Cramond I got on to the Timahoy. The new engine looked like not starting and we huffed and puffed for a long time before I remembered the cut-off gizmo without which it can’t start. Once that was in place there was no problem. The weather was a bit cold but the sea was fairly calm at first and on engine only we belted up to the Carron. We had to do this within 5 hours otherwise we would miss the entrance time to the lock. At the Carron the window to get upstream depends on both the water being high enough to flaot the boat and then not being so high that you dont have headroom under the bridges.

This is a nice route which takes you up theForth and under the famous  Forth Railway bridge and the less famous road bridge 

It wasn’t easy to make the time. Around Cramond there are lots of sand banks and we spent the first half hour or so going north east to clear them and get in to the channel rather than the NW we would have preferred. Still within an hour we were going under the bridges and could see ahead of us the key landmark, Longannet Power station. This power station has a huge chimney so is easily seen but it gives you a false sense of nearness. Hour after hour we drove towards it, the bottom of the boat slamming against the current and the wind, with it not seeming to get much nearer but eventually we did arrive, phoned Donald the lock keeper who is so very friendly and started our way up the Carron river.