The Forth & Clyde and Union Canal towpaths

The Forth & Clyde canal was designed by the eminent civil engineer John Smeaton and completed in 1790. Crossing the Scottish Lowlands at the narrowest part, the canal runs for 56km and provides a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth via a short stretch of the River Carron near Grangemouth in the east. Closed in 1963 to avoid the need to construct a motorway crossing, the canal became derelict.

Built between 1818 and 1822, the Union canal was designed by Hugh Baird and was originally used for transporting coal before competition from the railways caused it to close to commercial use in the 1930s. Described as a contour canal – following a 73 metre contour through cuttings and tunnels rather than making use of lock flights to change elevation – the only locks on the canal connecting it to the Forth & Clyde Canal at Falkirk were filled in and built over.

National Lottery funds were used to regenerate both the Forth & Clyde and Union canals as part of the Millennium celebrations in 2000 and the Falkirk Wheel, a unique boat lift, was completed in 2002 to provide a link between the two canals and allow boats to travel from the Clyde or Glasgow to Edinburgh. The towpaths of the two canals make possible a straightforward walking route between Bowling on the Clyde west of Glasgow, and Lochrin Basin in Edinburgh.

THE CHALLENGE

The route follows towpaths and provides good walking conditions throughout. The walk is also well served by public transport, making it easy to complete the route in sections.