Union Canal

Union Canal

legend Forth and Clyde Canal 3 Golden Jubilee Lock Falkirk Wheel boatlift Rough Castle Tunnel (365 yd) 1,2 Locks (2) Greenbank aqueduct Falkirk Tunnel (696 yd) 60 Glen Low Bridge 55 B805 Blairlodge Bridge 55 B810 Brightons Bridge Bethankie aqueduct 52a A801 Lathallan Bridge 49 B825 Causewayend Bridge Avon aqueduct 48 A706 Woodcockdale Bridge aqueduct aqueduct B9080 Pilgrim's Hill aqueduct Philpstoun aqueduct 38 B8046 Fawnspark Bridge 32 B9080 Winchburgh Bridge 26 A899 Broxburn Bridge 24a A89 Broxburn Road Bridge 21a M8 Motorway Bridge 20a Bathgate Railway Bridge Almond aqueduct B7030 Bonnington aqueduct A720 Scott Russell aqueduct 7b A71 Road Bridge 4d Kingsknowe Rail Bridge Slateford aqueduct A70 Prince Charlie aqueduct Railway Aqueduct Edinburgh Quay Lochrin Basin

The Union Canal is a 31.5 mile (50.7 km) contour canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.

The Avon Aqueduct

Location and Features

The Union Canal is 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. There is also a new tunnel where the canal passes under the Antonine Wall.

Boathouse at Shandon, Edinburgh

The canal has many aqueducts, including the Slateford Aqueduct that takes the canal over the Water of Leith in Edinburgh, the Almond Aqueduct near Ratho and the 810ft long 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 emblazoned with the coats of arms of Glasgow and Edinburgh, facing west and east respectively.

History and Archaeology

It was originally known as the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal, to celebrate the uniting of the two cities by the new canal network, but this name is rarely used today. The canal 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.

Wooden barge during excavation

Plan of the barge

Originally used for transporting coal, 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.

In 2004, an archaeological investigation by a team from Headland Archaeology uncovered the stern of a 21 metre long wooden barge.^[1] The vessel was discovered on the south bank of the Union Canal. The remains represent the final berth of an early to mid 19th century canal barge or scow, a type of horse drawn vessel that was the main freight carrier of the time. Typical cargoes included coal and lime from Lanarkshire although there were a number of passenger carriers too; the actual function of this vessel is unknown. The vessel was dismantled and removed from the canal in order to record the techniques used in its construction. Additional work will seek to identify the species, age and provenance of the timbers.

Modern Uses

The canal is now used recreationally by canoeists at the Forth Canoe Club and rowers from schools and universities, e.g. the St Andrew Rowing Club. The Edinburgh Canal Society, the Bridge 19-40 Canal Society and Linlithgow Union Canal Society promote general use of the canal. They hire rowing boats and narrowboats, and they provide regular boat trips on the canal for the general public. Also of note are Re-Union Canal Boats who operate a social enterprise building and maintaining a boat for hire.

The Millennium Link, a project to restore both the Union and Forth and Clyde Canals, saw the two canals joined once again at the Falkirk end of the Union Canal, in the year 2000, by means of the Falkirk Wheel. The Falkirk Helix is a new six year project which will connect the Union Canal with the sea, by way of another unique boatlift in the shape of kelpies, the mythical water-horses.

Raft race passing the restored Leamington lift bridge

Union Canal

This area is currently being redeveloped for commercial and residential use, starting with Edinburgh Quay. British Waterways decided in June 2008 to market the area between Edinburgh Quay and Ashley Terrace Bridge as Edinburgh Canal Quarter. With the canal now largely restored for both boating and for walkers and cyclists on the towpath, it is enjoying new life. Holiday barges are common in the spring and summer, while in area nearer the city centre there are even year-round residents living on narrowboats. A "floating restaurant" boat operates by arrangement, providing a meal whilst cruising. Raft races have been held in Edinburgh on 30 June 2007 and 28 June 2008, using found "junk" material for the rafts. Whilst the Linlithgow Union Canal Society has been hosting its cardboard boat race for many years, at the Linlithgow Basin.

References

• Coleman, R (2004) 'Union Canal, Leamington Wharf' Discovery and Excavation in Scotland p. 57
• Lindsey, Jean, (1968), The Canals of Scotland, David & Charles Publishers, ISBN 0-71534-240-1
• Massey, Alison, (1983), The Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal, Falkirk Museums Publication, ISBN 0-90658-624-0

See also

UK Waterways portal

• Canals of Great Britain
• History of the British canal system
• Charles Baird, Hugh Baird's brother
• Forth to Firth Canal Pathway
• Falkirk Helix
• World Canals Conference

References

External links

• Union Canal Edinburgh a community website about Lochrin Basin and the Union Canal in Edinburgh.
• The Union Canal on Undiscovered Scotland

Coordinates: 55°58′N 3°08′W / 55.967°N 3.133°W / 55.967; -3.133