Forth and Clyde Canal Pathway

Along the Forth and Clyde Canal Pathway

The Forth and Clyde Canal Pathway is a walking and cycling route which runs between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde: it is 66 miles long, open to walkers and cyclists, and runs from the west coast to the east coast between Bowling in Dunbartonshire to the west of Glasgow, and Lochrin Basin (Edinburgh Quay) in Edinburgh, Midlothian. The path runs on the towpaths of the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal and is entirely off road.^[1]

The route passes through five counties: Dunbartonshire (twice), Lanarkshire, Stirlingshire, West Lothian and Midlothian.

The path is well maintained and its surface is generally good, although there are some stretches particularly between Falkirk and the outskirts of Edinburgh where wet weather leads to muddy conditions unsuitable for bicycles fit only for the road. It is well used by walkers and cyclists, and designated as one of 'Scotland's Great Trails' by NatureScot.^[2] It also forms part of the National Cycle Network, being designated as Route 754.^[1] Sustrans advises that the path is best followed from the Clyde to the Forth because the prevailing wind is from the south-west.^[1]

Much of the path is also suitable for experienced horseriders, although in some places low bridges, narrow aqueducts and gates may restrict access for horses.^[3]

Ttrailheads

Bowling (west of Glasgow): 55°55’48"N, 4°28’48"W
Lochrin, Edinburgh: 55°56’35"N, 3°12’29"W

Route of the path

View of Edinburgh Quay

Following the path west to east, it begins at Bowling Basin where the Forth & Clyde Canal enters the Firth of Clyde. The canal runs east through Clydebank, Boghouse Locks, Clobberhill Locks, Temple Locks and Maryhill Locks. It passes close to the former Singer Sewing Machine Works which once employed 19,000 people. At Stockingfield Junction near Maryhill is the 'Glasgow Branch' a spur which originally connected to the Monkland Canal (which connected with Port Dundas, close to the city centre of Glasgow).^[4]

From Stockingfield Junction the canal path runs north east, through Bishopbriggs, Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth, to the Falkirk Wheel where the Forth & Clyde Canal joins with the Union Canal. A branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal runs from Falkirk to the River Carron, near Grangemouth.^[5]^[6]

The path continues along the towpath of the Union Canal, through Linlithgow, past the red shale bings which are all that remains of the West Lothian oilshale industry, and through the outskirts of Edinburgh.^[7] Unlike the Forth and Clyde Canal with its many lock systems, the Union Canal is a contour canal and there is only one lock, located near the Falkirk Wheel.

The path ends at the canal port at Lochrin Basin, Edinburgh Quay, near Tollcross, in the centre of Edinburgh.^[8]

If desired the pathway can be extended a further two miles through the centre of Edinburgh and down to Leith and Leith Docks.

Railway lines run close to the path for most of its length. Bowling Station, on the line from Glasgow, is close to the start of the path.^[4] Both Glasgow main line railway stations are in the centre of the city, only a few hundred yards apart. The line which has run close to the path from Bowling to Glasgow passes through Glasgow Central Station low-level. The railway line which runs close to the rest of the path runs from Glasgow Queen Street Station to Edinburgh Haymarket Station. In Croy, Falkirk and Linlithgow the canal passes only a few hundred yards from the railway stations. Edinburgh's Waverley Station and Haymarket Station are only a short distance from Lochrin Basin.^[8]

The path can be completed in three, roughly equal, sections:

Bowling Basin (Bowling Station) to Auchinstarry Basin, Kilsyth (Croy Station)
Auchinstarry Basin to Linlithgow Canal Centre (Linlithgow Station)
Linlithgow Canal Centre to Lochrin Basin (Haymarket and Waverley Stations)

Places of interest along the path

The canal, seen beyond the M8 motorway

The Slateford Aqueduct on the outskirts of Edinburgh takes the canal over the Water of Leith.^[9]
The Avon Aqueduct is west of Linlithgow and is 810.0 ft (246.9 m) long and 86.0 ft (26.2 m) high. It is the second largest aqueduct in Britain.^[10]
At Broxburn on the Union Canal the path runs between a number of red shale bings. The world's oil industry was started near here by James 'Paraffin' Young who build an industry to extract oil from shale. The bings are the remains of an industry which once employed 10,000 people in the area. Some of the bings have been removed to provide foundation material for motorways, but many remain.
The Almond Aqueduct is west of Ratho and takes the canal 75 feet above the River Almond.
The Falkirk Wheel allows water craft to move between the Forth & Clyde and Union canals. It replaces the eleven locks that used to allow boats to traverse the 110-foot height difference between the two canals.^[11]
The Falkirk Tunnel is the oldest and longest canal tunnel in Scotland. It is 690 yards long, 18 feet wide and 20 feet high.
The burgh of Kilsyth, with Colzium estate and park
The Antonine Wall, which is an ancient Roman fortification and wall, seen for example at Bar Hill near Twechar
The Kelvin Aqueduct in Glasgow is 400 feet long and 70 feet high.^[12]

Alternative coast to coast routes

Sustrans have devised an alternative coast to coast route across the narrow waist of the land here: Route 75. This starts at Gourock on the Firth of Clyde and then goes to Bell's Bridge in Glasgow, by way of Paisley. It then goes to Edinburgh by way of Airdrie, the Bathgate Railway Path, the Water of Leith Walkway and the Union Canal towpath.^[13] This route is longer at 171 miles and only 98 miles of the path are off-road. Another alternative route across central Scotland is the John Muir Way, which runs from Dunbar in East Lothian to Helensburgh in Dunbartonshire, a distance of 134 miles. This path includes a section along the Forth and Clyde Canal, and is also designated as one of 'Scotland's Great Trails'.^[14]