CHARTER HOTEL BOAT WILLOW - Cruising Scotland's Canals - Falkirk Wheel - Bowling - Glasgow - Edinburgh

About our Canals: (See also our above 'Wildlife' link)

The Scottish Lowland Canal network is made up of two main canals, linked together at the Falkirk Wheel. Together they link the west coast of Scotland to the east coast and link Glasgow to Edinburgh (city centres). They are The Forth & Clyde Canal and The Union Canal. The Navigation Authority for the system is British Waterways (Scotland), now splitting from the English authority. In my view their website is far superior to the English counterpart 'Waterscape' - so have a look at their webpages 'Forth & Clyde-BW(S)' and 'Union-(BW(S)'. As you will have gathered, the two canals are linked by the Falkirk Wheel, so here's a link to explain how the Falkirk Wheel works.

Forth & Clyde Canal:

Here's the 'Wikipedia Description': 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 approximately 35 miles (56km) long. The eastern end is connected to the tidal River Forth by a short stretch of the tidal River Carron near to Grangemouth. The highest section of the canal passes close to Kilsyth and is fed by an aqueduct which gathers water from (the purpose built) Birkenburn Resevoir in the Kilsyth Hills, stored in another purpose built resevoir called Townhead near Banton, from where it feeds the canal via a feeder from the Shawhead Burn near Craigmarloch. The canal continues past Twechar, through Kirkintilloch and Bishopbriggs to the Maryhill area north of Glasgow city centre. A branch to Port Dundas 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.

For modern day cruising we can split the Forth and Clyde into the sections below - Cruise Timings are as suggested by British Waterways and thus excluding allowances for visiting canal side attractions etc: (Remember that we also need to allow for timings on the Union canal to/from Edinburgh).

River Carron to Falkirk (6hrs): This section climbs 16 locks from the tidal River Carron in the east to a point on the canal just below the Falkirk Wheel. Essentially an urban environment and, as such, boat movements tend to be confined to the passage of sea going boats in transit between the Firth of Forth and the Clyde.

Falkirk Wheel:Jubilee Lock lifts boats from the Forth and Clyde canal at Falkirk up into an attractive basin in preparation for ascending the Falkirk Wheel onto the Union canal (and eastwards to Edinburgh City). Willow's 'home mooring' is Berth No.9 within the basin.

Falkirk to Glasgow (6hrs): If remaining on the Forth and Clyde canal (rather than ascending the Falkirk Wheel), this attractive section takes us westwards to Glasgow. The Forth & Clyde canal was designed to suit sea going vessels in transit. It is therefore pleasantly deep and wider than most English canals. This extra depth means the water tends to be clean and clear. One could be forgiven for likening the waterway to a small river, rather than a canal. From Falkirk, we climb 4 locks onto the 'summit pound' and then follow the southern edge of the Campsie Fells to Maryhill on the outskirts of Glasgow. Here, at Stockingfield Junction, we can head south for the 2 mile urban cruise into the centre of Glasgow. Alternatively we can continue west heading for the Clyde.

Maryhill to Bowling: (1 full day) From Maryhill, descending a total of 17 locks, we travel west 'downhill' parallell with the River Clyde to the very attractive Bowling Basin (a further sea lock takes sea going vessels out onto the tidal Firth of Clyde). Although urban down to Clydebank, this stretch is nevertheless enjoyable and makes for interesting cruising.

The Union Canal:

(3 full days cruising, there and back)

Here's the 'Wikipedia Description': The Union Canal is often described as a contour canal, following a 73-metre (240ft) contour throughout its length. Originally, the only locks were those at Falkirk, to make the link to the Forth and Clyde canal. Now, there is one lock just before the Falkirk Wheel and a double lock just above(actually that 'double lock' is incorrectly named - the proper term is a 'two chamber staircase lock'). There is also a new tunnel where the canal passes under the Antonine Wall. The canal maintains its level by embankments, cuttings and major aqueducts, rather than following the original contour.

The canal has many aqueducts, including the Slateford Aqueduct that takes the canal over the Water of Leith in Edinburgh, the Almond Aqueduct and the 810-foot-long (250m)Avon Aqueduct near Linlithgow, the second longest in the United Kingdom.

The Edinburgh end of the canal no longer reaches quite as far as it did (to 'Port Hopetoun' and 'Port Hamilton' basins which were filled in after the canal closed). Instead, the canal stops at Lochrin Basin at Fountainbridge.

Many of the stone bridges have keystones on which is engraved the number of the bridge. However, the keystones of Viewforth bridge, the second bridge from the start of the canal at Edinburgh Quay, is emblazoned with the coats of arms of Glasgow and Edinburgh, facing west and east respectively.

The canal was originally known as the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal, to celebrate the uniting of the two cities by the new network, but this name is rarely used today. It was designed by Hugh Baird, who oversaw the engineering work while it was being built between 1818 and 1822. Two of its construction workers were the famous murderers Burke and Hare. The soliton, a form of wave, was first observed on the Union Canal in 1834, while its discoverer John Scott Russell was travelling along the canal in a horse-drawn boat. A modern aqueduct over the Edinburgh City Bypass is named after Russell. Originally the canal was used for transporting coal, but competition from the railways caused it to close to commercial use in the 1930s. The locks, connecting it to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Falkirk, were filled in and built over.

Happily for us, the canal was restored at the start of this century. The Union follows a mainly rural course, mainly lock free. For those familiar with the English canal network, it has been likened to a 'cross between the Macclesfield and Caldon canals' often described as just 'delightful'. At a guaranteed depth of 3ft 6ins, it is claimed that boats need to take it slower on the Union than on the deeper Forth & Clyde. However we find that the depth on the Union causes less problem than some of the shallower English Canals such as the Macc, The Llangollen, and the Upper Peak Forest. On those canals we would regularly scrape the bottom with Willow - keeping in centre channel on the Union we don't scrape at all. But with plenty to see and stop for along the way, speed isn't usually an issue. The terminus on the Union at Lochrin Basin in Edinburgh is only 10 minutes walk away from the shops on Princes Street, or the Royal Mile (and of course Edinburgh Castle). Holyrood Park under 2 miles away. What better way to visit the attractions of the Edinburgh Festival or Royal Military Tattoo, than using Willow as your Edinburgh base.

With the most impressive canal tunnel we've ever seen (Falkirk Tunnel); impressive aqueducts (Avon, Almond, Scott Russell, and Slateford); impressive vistas over the Ochil Hills, Firth of Forth (including glimpses of the Forth Road & Rail Bridges),and the Pentland Hills to the south; we think the Union Canal just can't be missed - not to mention visiting Edinburgh's Royal mile at one end and the Falkirk Wheel at the other end. And it's not crowded out with other boats like some English Canals (Llangollen). On a recent cruise we met only two hire boats and two Seagull Trust charity boats over the whole length of the canal.

IT IS UNLAWFUL TO SMOKE ON BOARD WILLOW

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