70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Today, day 26 of the Olympic torch relay, the flame travelled 145 miles from St Andrews to Edinburgh and visits Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument and Edinburgh Castle on the way.
Early in the morning, the torch was carried along West Beach in St Andrews by a group of children to re-enact the famous scene in Chariots of Fire where the British Olympic team (decked all in white) ran along the sand at Broadstairs in Kent. The scene for the 1981 Oscar winning film was actually filmed on West Beach and the athletes portrayed in the film were training for the 1924 Olympics (although none of them were carrying an Olympic torch as part of their training regime).
After its cameo on the coast, the torch continued on its route through Dunblane and Cumbernauld before it was transferred to a boat when it reached the Falkirk Wheel - which was opened by the Queen 10 years ago as part her Golden Jubilee celebrations.
It then was carried over the Forth Road bridge on a bike by record holding long-distance cyclist Mark Beaumont.
Early in the morning, the torch was carried along West Beach in St Andrews by a group of children to re-enact the famous scene in Chariots of Fire where the British Olympic team (decked all in white) ran along the sand at Broadstairs in Kent. The scene for the 1981 Oscar winning film was actually filmed on West Beach and the athletes portrayed in the film were training for the 1924 Olympics (although none of them were carrying an Olympic torch as part of their training regime).
After its cameo on the coast, the torch continued on its route through Dunblane and Cumbernauld before it was transferred to a boat when it reached the Falkirk Wheel - which was opened by the Queen 10 years ago as part her Golden Jubilee celebrations.
It then was carried over the Forth Road bridge on a bike by record holding long-distance cyclist Mark Beaumont.
Iain Morrison, enterprise manager at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh described how the torch arrived in the city at about 5pm and rested there overnight. Edinburgh Castle was the focal point for the celebrations, which is straight up the hill from The Fruitmarket Gallery. Iain Morrison, enterprise manager at the Gallery, headed up there after it had closed, hoping to catch sight of the flame:
‘There were lots of rumours among the crowd as to which direction the torch would take and people were running this way and that after it as though on some huge treasure hunt. I was fortunate and I caught up with it outside the Old Bank of Scotland, where the changeover took place.’
The town was ‘jam-packed’ with tourists and locals all jostling to see the torch, said Iain. ‘You couldn’t cross the Royal Mile and had to take a two-mile detour – it was just a solid wall of people. I’ve never seen Edinburgh like that. Even during the Festival, when the city is full, people are walking in different directions to different events. Here everyone was walking in one direction – towards the torch.’
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