Falkirk Wheel boat trip

As a keen walker and industrial historian, I have passed by the Falkirk Wheel on several occasions and marvelled at the sight of boats being raised or lowered by a distance of 35 metres. The engineering masterpiece links the Forth & Clyde Canal with the Union Canal and neatly solves the issue of transferring vessels between two waterways that converge at vastly different elevations. The rotating boat lift replaces a flight of locks that previously required the best part of a day to negotiate. By contrast, a cycle of the wheel takes just five minutes to complete.

Until today, I had only observed the process from a distance. Now I had the chance to be in the centre of the action. Also present were Nicole and my mum, for whom the boat trip was a birthday gift. The wheel is located over two miles from Falkirk town centre and can be approached from the surrounding motorway network. Ample free parking is available an easy 10-minute walk from the site. We waited in line by the canal basin and watched the wheel in motion as the barge on the preceding tour was lowered back down to our level. The hour-long trip costs £17.40, with a small discount for concessions. We filed on board and - following the mandatory safety briefing - were soon being lifted towards the sky. The roofed barge had large windows and the landscape opened up around us. A pre-recorded commentary was provided and conveyed the history of the two canals and the construction of the wheel. Following decades of abandonment, both corridors were fully restored at the turn of the century as part of the Millennium Link project. This scheme involved the removal of 32 obstructions to navigation, the erection of 28 road bridges and the diversion of a motorway. The 35-mile Forth & Clyde Canal opened way back in 1790 and linked the east and west coasts. Formal closure came in 1963 when the M8 was built across the course of the canal. Boat traffic had been in terminal decline for many years and there was little appetite to keep the facility open. The Union Canal was officially shut in 1965 but the physical connection to the Forth & Clyde had been lost 30 years earlier when the locks were dismantled and infilled. The 31-mile stretch from Falkirk to Edinburgh opened for business in 1822 and was built on the contour principle, meaning it hugged the lie of the land rather than take a direct route. This resulted in a meandering passage but the engineering costs were dramatically cut. When the restoration project was launched, a swifter method of transferring traffic between the canals had to be found. The old system had been a labour-intensive operation as each of the 11 locks had two sets of gates that had to be opened and closed every time a boat passed through.

Two water-filled gondolas of equal weight are attached to the Falkirk Wheel. Should a barge enter, it displaces its own weight, thus adhering to the famous Archimedes rule. Therefore it makes no difference to the wheel operation whether a gondola is occupied or not, nor indeed how heavy an individual boat is. The mass of each compartment remains constant. The wheel is so finely balanced it just needs a gentle shove to get going - said to be the energy equivalent of boiling eight kettles. As one gondola gently descends, the other glides upwards. The physics aren't too difficult to get your head around and the whole spectacle is enhanced by the pleasing aesthetic qualities of the boat lift - said to resemble a double-headed Celtic axe. The individual sections were bolted together and tightened by hand. Once the rotation was complete, we puttered along the aqueduct that leads to a 200-yard concrete-lined tunnel. This subterranean passageway is also part of the millennium rebuild and took us under the main Edinburgh to Glasgow railway line and the remains of the Antonine Wall. The original lock staircase was located further to the east (it was built upon in the 1960s). We chugged towards the two "top locks" where the modern Falkirk Wheel complex connects to the original line of the Union Canal. At this point our boat turned round and headed back through the tunnel. Back at the wheel itself, we paused for around 10 minutes before entering the gondola. We were now facing the Forth Valley and the views were far better than on the outward trip. The surrounding landscape was largely flat and sitting at the top of the boat lift allowed us to see for miles around. The onboard guide pointed out a few landmarks and I managed to pinpoint the Kelpies in the distance. The world-famous steel sculptures stand 100 feet tall at the end of the Forth & Clyde Canal, four miles from the junction with the Union. The opening of the Falkirk Wheel in 2002 was a major economic boost for the general area. Around half a million visitors arrive each year. The subsequent development of Helix Park (home of the Kelpies) has also helped transform an industrial region into one that now offers a host of leisure options. We finished off the day by relaxing in the visitor centre café. It had been a fun experience with plenty history thrown in. Just my sort of thing.

Glasgow Magnificent 11

A new waymarked walking trail opened in Glasgow last year. Linking up various green spaces in the south of the city, the Magnificent 11 crosses a wide range of terrain and - as it says on the tin - runs for 11 miles. The route is circular and the most convenient place for me to join was at Snuff Mill Bridge, an easy stroll from Cathcart Station.

I stood high above the fast-flowing White Cart Water. It rises on Eaglesham Moor in Renfrewshire and joins the Black Cart Water in Glasgow before pouring into the Clyde. I took in the picturesque scene and a sign informed me I was standing on the White Cart Walkway - another marked trail to investigate in the future. My route for today led away from the water and I walked up a steep residential street after crossing the 18th-century bridge. The original structure was built in 1624 and a stone bearing this date was re-inserted following the upgrade. Cathcart is now a leafy suburb but a range of industries were at one time present along the banks of the White Cart. The mill processed grain and snuff, hence the name of the bridge. It was finally closed to traffic in 1924. I entered the northern fringe of Linn Park and scaled a low grassy hill called Court Knowe. Mary Queen of Scots is said to have watched the Battle of Langside unfold from this vantage point in 1568, following her escape from Lochleven Castle. The conflict involved forces loyal to Mary and those supporting her half brother James Stewart, Earl of Moray, who had been acting as Regent of Scotland since Mary's forced abdication the previous year. Moray scored a decisive victory, ending Mary's attempts to regain the throne. She fled south immediately afterwards, spending her final night in Scotland at Dundrennan Abbey, near Kirkcudbright. A memorial stone stands in the park today but unfortunately the interpretation panels were impossible to read, due to vandalism. The path took me by the foundations of Cathcart Castle. The 15th-century stronghold was abandoned as a dwelling in 1740 and was finally pulled down in 1980, owing to its dangerous condition. Leaving Linn Park (I would return later), I traversed a couple of streets and found my way into King's Park. The 68-acre public space was gifted to the city in 1930 by Sir John Mactaggart, who had made his fortune in the housebuilding trade. The centrepiece of the old estate is the A-listed Aitkenhead House. Built in 1806 on the site of an earlier mansion, it was significantly improved in 1823 by leading sugar and cotton merchant John Gordon, who added wings to the central block. As you may have guessed, a large portion of his wealth was derived from slavery.

Today, the grand country residence contains 14 individual flats, having been converted in the 1980s following a spell of dereliction. Previously the building had served as a costume museum with a popular tearoom. It had also been a hospital during the First World War and a base for intelligence operations in the second global conflict. King's Park contains an elaborate tall sundial (B-listed) dating from 1885. Originally located at Douglas Castle, Lanarkshire (demolished in 1938), the six sections of the obelisk were transported to Glasgow in 1930 and installed next to the King's Park walled garden. This large enclosure was constructed in the early 19th century and would have provided kitchen produce for the estate. In recent years, Friends of King's Park have adopted the garden from Glasgow City Council with the aim of re-instating the interior to it’s former glory. A range of fruit trees have already been planted. Within the wider parkland, the arboreal inventory includes native species such as oak, lime, sycamore, horse chestnut and yew, along with more exotic specimens such as cypress, purple beech, red chestnut and monkey puzzle - fashionable choices in days gone by. I navigated my way to the exit at the bottom of the park and continued along a rising zig-zag path through what appeared to be recently-created community woodland. The trees were merely saplings. Two stretches of street walking were punctuated by a pleasant wander alongside a burn. I then arrived at Cathkin Braes Country Park. The trail now gained significant height as I reached the highest point (around 650 feet) within the municipal boundaries of Glasgow. An escarpment provides great views across the urban sprawl towards the Campsie Fells on the horizon. On a clear day, many familiar mountain peaks can be seen. Queen Mary's seat is a large cairn marking the spot where a Scottish monarch is reputed to have observed her troops contest a major conflict (does that tale sound familiar?). The natural environment of the park is a mixture of ancient woodland, grassland, heath and scrub. The feel is far more rural than other green spaces within Glasgow. Hardly surprising, as Cathkin Braes sits right on the edge of the conurbation, with farmland and golf courses beyond.

I enjoyed the panorama of our largest city and proceeded along the ridge. The path dipped down and I found myself on a network of mountain bike routes paralleling the edge of the woods. The trail had been well signed so far but the series of yellow markers suddenly dried up. I realised I must have taken a wrong turn, easily done in an area where myriad footpaths intersect. Rather than retrace my steps, I performed a spot of mental dead reckoning, weaved my way through the trees and quickly hooked up again with the official trail. Once clear of the woodland, navigation became easier and I walked across open countryside, between fields and on part of a tarred cycleway before eventually meeting the busy Carmunnock Bypass. The route descriptor on Walkhighlands said I should be standing opposite the Carnbooth House Hotel gates. Except there was no grand entrance, merely a row of large boulders blocking vehicular access. My urbex radar began to twitch intently when I saw the piles of fly-tipped rubbish on the driveway. This was no functioning business, but an abandoned location. I followed the access road round a bend to be confronted with the hulk of a decaying building. The hotel had obviously been gutted by fire and an online check revealed the blaze had occurred just two months previously. Ten fire engines battled the inferno but the interior was completely destroyed. The building had been vacant since 2019 and everything points towards arson. Planning permission had been obtained for a residential development but that won't be happening now. There was no security fencing and I was able to walk all the way round. Access was unencumbered but would have involved clambering over charred timbers and fallen masonry. Not my idea of fun, and also dangerous. Nobody else was present and I sensed the familiar eerie atmosphere that envelopes abandoned places that were once full of life. An unexpected find and one that really made my day.

Carnbooth House was designed by Alexander Cullen around 1900. In the post-war years, the B-listed country mansion - surrounded by eight acres of woodland - became a children's home and by the mid-80s was a residential school for deaf and blind pupils. When Glasgow Council opened a purpose-built special needs educational facility in 2008, Carnbooth became a hotel with a reputation for hosting weddings in a marquee to the rear. Plans were drawn up to create a new function hall and incorporate housing into the grounds. Now we have another grand mansion crumbling away and most likely stuck in limbo. The rebuild costs will be huge and demolition of listed properties is only permitted in extreme circumstances. The trail didn't go through the Carnbooth grounds so I backtracked and continued across an agricultural landscape. I had to skirt a couple of fields but stiles had been provided and I eventually descended to meet the White Cart Water again. I walked downstream through woodland until I emerged at a cemetery, where I had lunch on a wooden bench. I had begun my circuit at the northern tip of the vast Linn Park and now I arrived at the southern end. I passed through a pleasant meadow and worked my way back to the river where I crossed the Halfpenny Bridge - an elegant single-span cast-iron structure that recently reached its 200th birthday. Linn Park was established by the Glasgow Corporation in 1919. Cathcart Castle and its grounds were added to the public space a decade later. The park contains an 1820 mansion - Linn House - that was extended in the 1850s by John Gordon (the slave trader's son) and converted to four private homes in 2007. Under public control, the grand dwelling had hosted a nature centre but later fell into dereliction. By now my legs were weary and I decided to stick firmly to the trail, rather than go looking for the mansion. Linn Park is home to 60 species of birds and the river walkway took me past an attractive waterfall.

Exiting the park and following the White Cart, my next port of call was Holmwood House. Designed for local paper magnate James Couper in 1858, who ran the Millholm operation near the bridge where I had begun my walk, the A-listed property is regarded as the finest domestic creation of architect Alexander "Greek" Thomson (and the best surviving example of all his works). He was a leading light in his profession and a pioneer of sustainable building. Thomson’s penchant for Grecian styling and symmetry is found throughout Holmwood, where the bold opulent decoration echoes the colours seen in ancient temples. After passing through a succession of owner occupiers, Holmwood's use changed when it was purchased by a religious order known as The Sisters of Our Lady of the Mission, who ran a nearby primary school. The nuns were accommodated in the mansion until the school closed in 1992 and Holmwood entered a period of uncertainty. There was talk of a developer moving in. Fortunately Glasgow Council had the foresight to block these proposals and the National Trust bought the house and grounds, opening them to the public in 1998. I viewed the attractive property from the front lawn and completed the final part of the circuit to finish up at Cathcart Station. An excellent trail that takes you through parts of Glasgow well beyond the city centre.

Steam Dreams

The Scottish Railway Preservation Society offers heritage trips at its headquarters in Bo'ness, West Lothian. Almost five miles of track connect the Victorian-style station to a junction with the main Edinburgh to Glasgow line. Great attention is paid to period detail and the project is staffed by volunteers. The society publishes a quarterly magazine and I have been a subscriber for many years. Two complimentary tickets are provided as part of the package and I took my dad along for a day out at the trains.

Services are steam-hauled but special heritage diesel days are also scheduled. To have a vivid memory of mainline steam, you would have to be over 70 years old. Later generations experienced the diesel juggernauts which are now regarded as classic traction. We had been to the Bo'ness railway a handful of times before but this would be the first occasion with Dad as a wheelchair user. One coach was equipped with a ramp and a widened internal door. We entered without any problems. The carriages are of vintage design and therefore not built with disabilities in mind. Kudos to the organisation for making modifications to ensure access for all. Before boarding the train, we had ordered a bacon roll in the café and then browsed the shop. These buildings are new but the railside interface involves a step back in time. All is not quite as it seems, however. As you stroll along the platform, it's natural to assume the society has done a grand job restoring Bo'ness Station to its former glory. In reality, the original terminus was torn down and buried under a car-park and roundabout, a few hundred yards to the west. Everything you see today has been assembled since 1979 on a new site, using dismantled parts of railway infrastructure from around the country. The late-Victorian station building comprising the ticket office and waiting room came from Wormit in the north of Fife, where services hadn't stopped since 1969. The train shed (originally erected in 1840) with its fluted cast-iron columns was shipped in from Haymarket, Edinburgh. The signal box dates from 1899 and formerly belonged to the Caledonian Railway, guarding a junction in Garnqueen, Lanarkshire. The lattice girder footbridge came from Murthly Station in Perthshire - closed in 1965, although the line is still active. A goods office was sourced from Dunfermline Upper Station (closed 1968 and demolished 1990) and the water tank was donated by Grangemouth Docks. Together, the complex is Grade-A listed and began operation in 1981. The site occupies old docklands and was once criss-crossed by railway sidings. Commercial activities at Bo'ness Harbour ceased in 1959.

We settled into our seats and the whistle tooted as the five-mile journey commenced. Despite the fact we were travelling on a dreich Tuesday, the passenger numbers were healthy due to the local school holidays. The line runs along the shore to Kinneil before taking a turn inland. Nobody boarded or left the train here today, but in the summer months it's a popular starting point for a coastal walk. The first Bo'ness Station was the final stop on a line that ran from Airdrie via Slamannan (birthplace of my gran), crossing the main Edinburgh to Glasgow corridor en route. Planned as a freight link between the Lanarkshire Coalfield, Union Canal and North Sea, the route also carried passenger traffic, although the post-war Ordnance Survey maps show the tracks pared back from the western end as far as the goods depot at Avonbridge. Bo'ness Station closed in 1956 but freight transport continued for a further decade. The line was then cut back to Kinneil Colliery and this arrangement lasted until 1978. The rails were gone by the time the SRPS acquired the land and new metal was laid on roughly the same alignment, the main difference being the diversion under the A904 just outside the town. This was more practical than the old low bridge above the road that excluded certain vehicles. Services initially ran to Kinneil Halt on the shore but an extension to Birkhill was completed in 1989. Three and half miles of track were now in use and the elegant timber station building at Birkhill has an interesting history. Erected at Monifieth in 1898, the SRPS rescued the structure from potential demolition in 1988, by which time Monifieth Station was unmanned. A timely intervention, as the offices on the opposite platform had already been gutted by an arson attack. The smaller eastbound shelter was carefully dismantled and transported to Glasgow, where it featured in a railway display at the city's famous one-off Garden Festival. Re-christened Heart of Scotland for the event, the old station building was flanked by a steam locomotive from 1876. Staged over four months, the festival took place on former industrial land by the River Clyde and its huge success was instrumental in securing European City of Culture status for Glasgow in 1990. Heart of Scotland moved across country to become Birkhill Station, the third halt on the heritage route. There wasn't a stop here originally but sidings served the local fireclay mine. Industrial activity ceased in 1981 but the local council opened the mine as a tourist attraction and it was marketed in conjunction with the railway. I visited with my folks over a decade ago but the operation closed permanently in 2013.

The final extension to Manuel Junction was established in 1990 but this was purely to facilitate a physical connection with the main line. It wasn't until 2010 that passenger access was permitted. The final section of the steam railway crosses the River Avon on a high viaduct. The locomotive runs around the train at Manuel and guests can alight to watch this process from the platform and raised viewing area, while express trains hurtle by on the other side of the fence. I got off to stretch my legs but Dad remained on board as the stony platform surface isn't suitable terrain for a wheelchair. Once the loco was hooked up at the other end, we chuntered back down the slope to the Bo'ness terminus. Heritage lines are usually restricted to a maximum speed of 25 mph. The vintage waiting room has display panels relating the history of local railway and canal corridors. Train services reached Bo'ness in 1851 and various industries developed along the shore. Central Scotland was once covered in a dense network of railways and they aren't coming back, but it's nice to be able to traverse a piece of the old patchwork and learn about the inextricable link to social history. The SRPS also runs an excellent museum located across the footbridge from Bo'ness station but we didn't have time for that today. A combination ticket can be bought for a train trip and museum visit and it really is worth a look around. Between the two facilities are the sidings and sheds where the working rolling stock is quartered. Occasionally a steam superstar - such as Flying Scotsman or Tornado - is stabled at Bo'ness while on Scottish tour duties. I have seen both these iconic iron horses on public display here. No doubt a nice revenue earner for the society. A major source of income for heritage railways up and down the land are the Christmas Specials which attract large numbers of families. Steam may have been withdrawn from the regular network more than half a century ago, but its appeal is timeless.