Today was a Sunday with a difference: on a cold, clear October morning we were booked to fly with Lothian Helicopters on a quick spin from Airth. This was a voucher from last Christmas kindly given to us by son Sandy of Gift Experience Scotland, and – had we spent ten months planning the best day to use it – we could not have been luckier. The visibility was superb and we were amazed at how much of central Scotland we could see. Lucky me, thanks to taking a serious camera (my Lumix G1 with 45-200 zoom, hand-held obviously), I got the front seat. Below is a taste of what I captured.
We started from Powfoulis Manor Hotel, which looked splendid with its mature trees in autumn colour, where the smart helicopter flew in to pick up me, Keir, friend Ken and three other passengers:
Flying mostly at 2000 ft, we had a terrific view over the Falkirk Wheel, Larbert generally and the new Forth Valley Royal Infirmary (taken through the chopper's glass floor!):
The distant views on this beautiful day underlined how narrow is the landward part of central Scotland: to the east we could clearly see the Forth Bridges at Edinburgh, and to the west not only the high-rise flats of Glasgow, but also, 50 miles beyond, to the snow-capped peaks of Arran.
It was brilliant also to see crisp detailed views of places nearer home, such as Stirling Castle, the King's Knot, the M9 and River Forth:
