Forth and Clyde Canal.
Forth and Clyde Canal.
Situated between Falkirk and Grangemouth the canal was opened in 1790 and crossing central Scotland the Forth and Clyde Canal provided a route for seagoing vessels at what is the narrowest point of the Scottish Lowlands for the Firth of Forth and Firth of Clyde.
Running from the River Carron at Grangemouth to the River Clyde at Bowling the 35 mile (56 km) canal had a basin of considerable importance at Port Dundas in Glasgow.
With the advent of the increased size of seagoing vessels the canal proved inadequate as these vessels could not pass through and coupled with the arrival of the railway age these factors all contributed to the demise of the usefulness of the canal.
Due to increasing maintenance costs of the bridges that spanned the canal which by this time exceeded the revenue that was raised by the usage of the canal it was closed in the early 1960’s.
Political failure and financial considerations were not forthcoming and this added to the decline of the canal and the route that ran through Grangemouth was in 1967 drained and backfilled to allow for the creation of a carriageway to cater for the needs of port traffic.
Fortunately though in more recent years common sense prevailed which has seen the utility of the canal regenerated and today is available for leisure.
It is not uncommon to see houseboats and other vessels on the canal.
Falkirk, Scotland.
Forth and Clyde Canal.
Forth and Clyde Canal.
Situated between Falkirk and Grangemouth the canal was opened in 1790 and crossing central Scotland the Forth and Clyde Canal provided a route for seagoing vessels at what is the narrowest point of the Scottish Lowlands for the Firth of Forth and Firth of Clyde.
Running from the River Carron at Grangemouth to the River Clyde at Bowling the 35 mile (56 km) canal had a basin of considerable importance at Port Dundas in Glasgow.
With the advent of the increased size of seagoing vessels the canal proved inadequate as these vessels could not pass through and coupled with the arrival of the railway age these factors all contributed to the demise of the usefulness of the canal.
Due to increasing maintenance costs of the bridges that spanned the canal which by this time exceeded the revenue that was raised by the usage of the canal it was closed in the early 1960’s.
Political failure and financial considerations were not forthcoming and this added to the decline of the canal and the route that ran through Grangemouth was in 1967 drained and backfilled to allow for the creation of a carriageway to cater for the needs of port traffic.
Fortunately though in more recent years common sense prevailed which has seen the utility of the canal regenerated and today is available for leisure.
It is not uncommon to see houseboats and other vessels on the canal.
Falkirk, Scotland.