Forth and Clyde Canal

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The Forth and Clyde Canal, near Bonnybridge and Larbert

The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles (56 km) long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River Carron near Grangemouth. It passes through the Maryhill area north of Glasgow city centre, with a branch off to Port Dundas which was built to secure the agreement and financial support of Glasgow merchants who feared losing business if the canal bypassed them completely. The western end of the canal connects to the River Clyde at Bowling.

It was designed by John Smeaton. Construction started in 1768 and after delays due to funding problems was completed in 1790. The Union Canal was then constructed to link the eastern end of the canal to Edinburgh. Between 1789 and 1803 the canal was used for trials of William Symington's steamboats, culminating in the Charlotte Dundas, the "first practical steamboat". The canal subsequently became a major route for Clyde puffers, many of which were constructed at Bowling.

The branch within Glasgow from Maryhill to Port Dundas, showing Ruchill Church.

In 1963 the canal was closed rather than engineer a motorway crossing, and so it became disused and semi-derelict. Canal locks in the Falkirk area on the Union Canal near the connection to the Forth and Clyde canal had been filled in and built over in the 1930s. As part of the Millennium celebrations in 2000, National Lottery funds were used to regenerate both canals. A boatlifting device, the Falkirk Wheel, was built to connect the two canals and once more allow boats to travel from the Clyde or Glasgow to Edinburgh, with a new canal connection to the River Carron and hence the River Forth. The Falkirk Wheel opened on May 27, 2002 and is now a tourist attraction.

The canal and its locks in the Maryhill area are frequently featured in the background of outdoor shots in the BBC television sitcom Still Game.

1 Locks
2 Bibliography
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Locks

There are 40 locks on the Forth & Clyde Canal, as follows:

1 - ?
2 - Sea Lock No. 2
3 - Carron Cut Lock No. 3
4 - Abbotshaugh Lock No. 4
5 - Bainsford Lock No. 5
6 - Falkirk Top Lock No. 6
7 - ?
8 - ?
9 - ?
10 - ?
11 - ?
12 - ?
13 - ?
14 - ?
15 - ?
16 - Falkirk Bottom Lock No. 16
17 - Underwood Lock No. 17
18 - Castlecary Lock No. 18
19 - Castlecary Lock No. 19
20 - Wyndford Lock No. 20 (SUMMIT LEVEL)
21 - Maryhill Top Lock No. 21 (SUMMIT LEVEL)
22 - ?
23 - ?
24 - ?
25 - Maryhill Bottom Lock No. 25
26 - Temple Lock No. 26
27 - Temple Lock No. 27
28 - Cloberhill Top Lock No. 28
29 - ?
30 - ?
31 - ?
32 - Cloberhill Bottom Lock No. 32
33 - Boghouse Top Lock No. 33
34 - ?
35 - ?
36 - Boghouse Bottom Lock No. 36
37 - Dalmuir Drop Lock (constructed recently to take navigation below bridge)
38 - Dalnottar Lock No. 37
39 - Bowling Lock No. 38
40 - Bowling Basin and Sea Lock

[edit] Bibliography

Lindsay, Jean (1968). The Canals of Scotland. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4240-1.
Brown, Hamish (1997). Exploring the Edinburgh to Glasgow Canals. Stationery Office. ISBN 0-11-495735-5.