Falkirk's Union Canal gets ready to mark its bicentenary

Managed by Scottish Canals, the canal stretches from Tamfourhill’s renowned rotating boat lift – where it links up with the Forth and Clyde Canal – all the way to the Lochrin Basin in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh.

It opened in 1822 as a means of transporting goods, but closed in 1965 due to the advent of freight trains and heavy goods vehicles on our roads.

However, the canal reopened in 2001 as part of the Millennium Link project – which also created the Falkirk Wheel.

There are plans already underway to mark the canal’s bicentenary next year.

A Scottish Canals spokesperson said: “We are excited to be celebrating the 200th anniversaries of the Union Canal and are currently working with partners – including local councils and user groups – to shape what these celebrations will look like and to attract the necessary funding to deliver them.

“We hope to be in the position to announce our plans soon.”

David Blair, of Scottish Canals, added: “The Union Canal has a rich history and, almost 200 years on from its opening, it remains a hub of activity. The anniversary will not only celebrate the heritage of the network but will also create new and exciting opportunities for canal side communities to learn more about the canal's past as well as its present use.”

The Union Canal was designed by Thomas Telford who estimated the cost at £240,468.

The “cutting" of the canal began in March 1818 and those two notorious murderers, Burke and Hare, worked as “navvies” on the project.

Stretching 31 miles, it was built as a contour canal, which helped avoid building costs and future operational delays caused by the provision of locks – however, it did but necessitate large aqueducts to cross river valleys.

A total of three major aqueducts can be found on the Union Canal, while 63 bridges were originally built, mostly using stone brought from local quarries. All the bridges are numbered in sequence from Edinburgh.

The canal was completed in May 1822 when a boat carrying stone slabs from Denny made the first trip to Edinburgh.

The Union Canal – or to give the stretch of water its “Sunday” name, the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal – was constructed to bring minerals, especially coal, to Scotland’s capital city.

Once the canal route was in place between Edinburgh and Glasgow, a passenger service was established.

The fast boats which carried the passengers were called Swifts, and completed the journey in just over six-and-a-half hours at speeds averaging nine miles per hour.

While the canal enjoyed initial success transporting goods and passengers, the construction of railways, particularly the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway which opened in 1842, meant it was not the first choice for firms looking to ship materials and goods or passengers looking to travel between the cities.

Sadly it fell into decline and was closed to commercial traffic in 1933. In the 1960s, the abandoned flight of 11 locks at Camelon – which connected the Union to the Forth and Clyde, was filled in.

Formal closure came in 1965 and throughout the 1970s and 1980s the canal was left in a deteriorated state.

Although parts of the canal remained navigable, especially around Ratho and Linlithgow, the chances of ever returning it to full use diminished steadily.

Particular problems were caused when the M8 motorway cut the canal west of Ratho during its construction and, of course, at Camelon the 11 locks linking the two canals were also removed.

The tide finally began to turn in the 1990s, when restoring the the Union Canal – and also the Forth and Clyde Canal – became a real possibility.

A project known as the Millennium Link – which cost some £84.5 million – began in earnest.

Many barriers had to be overcome.

A new stretch of canal had to be dug at Wester Hailes. And where it was cut by the M8 motorway the Union Canal was diverted a little to the west through a new channel and a bridge was created, entailing the lifting of the whole roadway.

Most significantly, a way had to be found of linking the canals together in the absence of the 11 locks that used to do the job. The answer was an extension to the Union Canal leading to the top of the Falkirk Wheel, which was opened by the Queen in May 2002, marking the completion of the Millennium Link.

It has since gone on to become a location for recreation with canoes and narrowboats aplenty to be seen and organisations like Re-Union Canal Boats building and maintaining vessels people can use for canal trips.

It has not been all plain sailing since the canal was re-opened – on August 12 last year torrential rain hit the Falkirk area and caused the Union Canal to flow over its embankment east of Polmont, producing a 30 meter wide breach in the canal.

The floodwaters released from the breach caused significant damage to the main railway line from Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk High Station.

Thankfully the breach was repaired.

There have been many challenges and setbacks to overcome for the canal in the last two centuries and there will no doubt be more in the future – but the way things are looking just now, the Union Canal will be with us for another 200 years and beyond.

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