On our very recent trip to Scotland just a few weeks ago, Dave and I booked a Vintage Afternoon Tea Cruise on a long boat from the Linlithgow Canal Centre to the Avon Aqueduct. I love tea and Dave loves the canal shows from the UK, so it was a perfect combo of our two interests.

On our first full day in Linlithgow, after touring Linlithgow Palace, we walked over to the Linlithgow Canal Centre to board our canal boat. The weather had held and was only gray and windy. The long-boat is covered with windows, so we’d be safe from the elements.

I had been watching the webcam that is setup at the canal centre for some time and couldn’t wait to see it in person! It’s just as cute and cozy as it appeared and we watched as other people gathered and private long-boats passed through the canal. Very relaxing.

As we waited to board the boat, there is a nice museum and tea room available, but the tearoom ladies were VERY busy transferring food, trays, plates, and hot water to the boat. They had also hung bunting along the inside of the boat, which added to the festive touch. Once all the guests boarded, we set out to enjoy all the amazing treats they provided and some hot tea and coffee.

The cruise was aboard one of their 40-seater boats cruising out to the Avon Aqueduct – the longest and tallest in Scotland, where we were given the opportunity to disembark and walk along the path for a fantastic photo-op. I chose to stay on the boat, but Dave exited and explored. It was just a tad too high for me.

Our 2.5 hour cruise was a leisurely boat trip amongst the overgrown waterways and under stone bridges.

Dave got to go up on the bridge and chat with the older gentlemen helping with the boat and I know he had more fun doing that then drinking coffee out of a tea cup and eating small sandwiches. It was a really nice Sunday afternoon activity!

We also learned that the canal center was going to have a “float” of some kind in The Marches parade on Tuesday in Linlithgow and sure enough, they had a rustic float representing the early canal barges where coal was transferred on the canals by horse. They had a horse kind of pulling the cart, but also some people power. When we saw them in the later parade, they had won 🏆! I was so happy for them. We were invested now.

Everyone at the canal centre were very helpful and I’m sure they were also very tired, especially with doing daily tours and getting the float ready for The Marches.

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If you’d like to read more about our trip to Scotland, check out my travel blog below.