Day 92: Riverside Museum, Glasgow to Linlithgow, West Lothian

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

6th April 2021: 76.99km walked today taking the total to 8793.36/8868km. 12.5% of 73 entries submitting 615.95km.

Today’s walk takes us from the Riverside Museum, out of Glasgow on the Forth and Clyde Canal to reach Falkirk at the Falkirk Wheel. There we join the Union Canal and head towards Linlithgow.

Route 24: Glasgow to Edinburgh

From the Riverside Museum we follow a path along the River Kelvin under road and rail bridges, then through several streets to pick up the Kelvin Walkway. This path takes us along the River Kelvin heading north to pick up the Forth and Clyde Canal once more. Reaching Snow Bridge, we pass the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and walk through Kelvingrove Park alongside the river this time with more lovely views of Glasgow University. We cross the River at Kelvinside and continue the tree-lined towpath, crossing another footbridge to pass the remains of the North Woodside Flint Mill that once ground flint for Glasgow's pottery industry.

We continue to follow the river, past the Humpback Bridge of the Botanic Gardens, walking for a further 2 kilometres until we reach the Kelvin Aqueduct. We re-join the Forth and Clyde Canal Path, crossing the aqueduct to pass the 5 Maryhill Locks. The locks carry the canal to Stockingfield Junction, where the Port Dundas branch of the canal joins from the south. We head down a set of steps to pass underneath the canal, heading up a ramp to re-join it on the other side. We continue east on the towpath, a fairly rural setting despite the fact we are still the Glasgow suburbs, passing Possil Marsh and Loch, now a Nature Reserve cared for by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. We push on for 7.5 kilometres past Mill Plantation Woods then Cadder Wharf, on past The Stables, a restored stable block now a restaurant, to eventually reach Kirkintilloch.

We push on through Kirkintilloch along the path, back out into farmland once more, passing the ruined Shirva Stables we passed earlier, through Twechar to reach the Auchinstarry Basin and marina on the outskirts of Kilsyth which opened in 2005 with moorings and a customer facilities block. Continuing along the north side of the canal we pass through Dullatur Marsh once more and at Wyndford Lock cross onto the south side to pick up the Camp Castlecary Circuit for a time. We follow Wyndford Road to the end where we bear left. Continuing to the right would take us into Wardpark North where 'Outlander' has its film studio at Wardpark Film and Television Studios. We walk Castlecary Road, then Cumbernauld Road crossing the canal back onto the north side.

A further 7 kilometres takes us back through Bonnybridge to arrive at the Falkirk Wheel. Located on the outskirts of Falkirk the wheel is here to connect the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal. When the canals were first constructed, the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal were connected via a series of 11 locks. The Forth and Clyde Canal closed at the end of 1962 and by the mid-1970s the Union Canal had been filled in at both ends; the area the locks once occupied was built on. With the start of a new Millennium, National Lottery partly funded the regeneration of both canals in a project called the ‘Millennium Link’. The Falkirk Wheel was built to connect the two canals and once more allow boats to travel coast to coast. The final design was agreed with a cooperative of firms and the British Waterways Board. Construction began in 1999, the Falkirk Wheel opening in May 2002. The Falkirk Wheel sits on the site of old mines and tar works so deep foundations were required for the Wheel Basin. The boats have a lock to negotiate to move from the Forth and Clyde Canal into the Basin area. The Wheel rotates the boats (up to 8 at a time) in ‘gondolas’ up to an aqueduct which leads along a section of the new waterway through a 168-metre tunnel. At the other end, the boats go through a further pair of locks to join the old Union Canal. It is the only rotating boatlift in the world and one of only two boat lifts in the UK, the other being the Anderton Boat Lift in Cheshire. It's a magnificent structure standing 35 metres tall and, due to its clever design, only requires a small amount of electricity to perform its task. It is regarded not only as a feat of engineering but a work of art. A visitor centre sits to the east side of the basin and wheel, as we see on walking through the area; it is a popular tourist attraction with many visitors taking a boat trip via the wheel towards the Kelpies.

We follow the Canal Walk uphill to the east of the complex to reach the Rough Castle Tunnel entrance; the tunnel was dug to protect the archaeology of the Antonine Wall here. The towpath leads us through the tunnel to emerge at the locks that lift the boats to the Union Canal level. We continue along the towpath arriving at Port Maxwell, the old site of the original canal terminus where the locks would convey the boats down onto the Forth and Clyde Canal. There is a small aqueduct conveying the canal over Greenbank Road. If you look to the south side here you will see greenspace, the South Bantaskine Estate Public Park. It was here in January 1746 that the Battle of Falkirk Muir took place between the Jacobite army and George II troops. A battle which the Jacobites won and a monument at the top of the hill commemorates this.

The path continues, looking out over Falkirk as we progress, passing next to the railway line as we approach Falkirk High Station area. We pass through the station car park here to access steps which lead us to another tunnel walk, this time 630 metres in length! We are in the Falkirk Tunnel, a rather dark and dingy place, but there is lighting which is sufficient to stop us getting the creeps! We emerge onto a tree-lined path passing under several stone bridges and enjoying lush greenery. At Reddingmuirhead the canal cuts through industrial parks, past supermarkets and a Young Offenders Institute, but it's not long before the leafy path returns.

After walking through a housing area at Polmont, the path is on more open terrain again. We pass under the A801 bridge then the canal meanders under more bridges. We may just be able to spot the ruins of Almond Castle through the trees of Haining Woods. The castle was once known as Hainings Castle, dating back to the 15th century when William Crawford of Manuel was recorded as the landowner. It passed by marriage to the Livingston family in 1542 and they continued to live here until after the 1715 Uprising. However, the name change came about because in 1640 Sir James Livingston, the younger son of Alexander Livingston, 1st Earl of Linlithgow, had been given the title of Lord Almond by King Charles I in 1633; he changed the castle’s name to match his title. As they backed the Jacobites in 1715 the aftermath saw their lands and estates forfeited to the Crown. York Buildings Company purchased the castle, who in 1783 sold what was even then a ruin, to William Forbes. The castle stood in fields until the late 1950s when a brickwork was built. This has since been pulled down and the castle now sits in an overgrown area, overlooking a cleared industrial site called Whitecross Industry Park, the ruins fenced off to protect curious folk; both are awaiting redevelopment opportunities.

We pass Muiravonside Church which was built in 1806 before we see Causewayend Basin, an unusual square basin on the south bank. It's a quiet place today turned into a small marina with a Bistro, Bridge 49, sited on the bank. In 1837 it was built as an industrial terminus for the Slamannan railway, where tonnes of coal from the North Lanarkshire coalfields were transferred onto barges for transport. From here we approach the Avon Aqueduct which carries the Union Canal over the River Avon near Linlithgow. It was built between 1819-1821 and is 250 metres long-standing 26 metres above the river, making it the longest and tallest aqueduct in Scotland and the second-longest in the UK.

Just after we leave the Avon Viaduct, we turn left down some steps and join the River Avon Heritage Trail. The trail starts high above the River Avon but descends until the path is alongside the river. At that point, across the river on our left, we should be able to see a gable end which is all that remains of the Manuel Nunnery which was founded in 1164 by Malcolm IV. It was a small nunnery, and it is known that in 1552 there were 4 nuns and a prioress living there. By 1739 it was roofless and most of it has since been washed away by the River Avon.

We soon pass an information board about the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge. The battle happened as a result of the death of James IV at Flodden in 1513. His young son, King James V, was kept as a virtual prisoner by Archibald Douglas. The King’s mother made a few attempts to release him and one of them resulted in the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge on September 4th, 1526. The Queen’s force of over 10,000 men, under the Earl of Lennox, marched towards Edinburgh but were stopped at Linlithgow Bridge by a force of around 2500 men under the Earl of Arran who supported Archibald Douglas. Unable to cross at Linlithgow Bridge, the Queen’s force used a ford near the Manuel Nunnery and got jammed between the river, marshy ground and the high ground that the Earl of Arran’s force occupied. The arrival of reinforcements for the Earl of Arran meant that Lennox’s army was beaten, and more than 3000 men died; Lennox was captured and then murdered. The supposed site of his murder is marked by a cairn which we will pass soon.

The path winds through woodland along the river bank and soon in front of us we can see the Avon Viaduct which carries the main Edinburgh to Glasgow train line over the River Avon. The 400-metre bridge with 23 arches was built between 1839 and 1841 by John Miller.

We turn right off the path into Kettlestoun Mains, the site of a sand and gravel quarry between 1992 and 2000 which provided building material for local construction projects. Since extraction ceased in 2000, the site has been restored to create different habitats for wildlife and includes wetlands, grassland and woodland. We walk past the Avon Lagoon, before heading in a south-easterly direction and cross the A705. We walk up past Linlithgow Leisure Centre back to the Union Canal, and head eastwards until we reach a bridge where we turn up Preston Road. There is a walkway alongside the road which takes us up the hill into Hillhouse Wood. This was planted towards the end of the 1990s and has transformed the area which was widely quarried and mined for limestone. From a large open area in the woodland there are great views to the east, towards Edinburgh and the Forth Bridges. At the top of the wood, we reach a strip of beeches alongside the road and cross into Beecraigs Country Park.

This country park is over 370 hectares of woodland, meadow and farmland. At one time this was all farmland with the only trees in hedgerows and shelterbelts. In 1914, the reservoir, now called Beecraigs Loch, was built by German Prisoners of War by damming the Riccarton Burn. This was finished by 1918 and served as a local water supply for over 50 years. Trees started to be planted in 1922 but the main wood we see today was planted in the early 1970s. By 1975, West Lothian Council had taken over the reservoir and constructed a trout fish farm beside the loch and started a red deer farm, as well as introducing waymarking walking routes. There are many outdoor activities which can be undertaken in the park, including fishing, orienteering, rock climbing, archery and mountain biking. It was also used as an ‘Outlander’ filming location for Season 4.

A good extra walk is to climb up Cockleroy. The summit is at 278 metres and, at the top, there is a trig point and view indicator, as well as a late Bronze Age hillfort known as Wallace’s Bed. From the summit there are superb views over the Forth Valley. Also, nearby in the Bathgate Hills is the Korean War Memorial and Cairnpapple. The Korean War Memorial is in Witchcraig Woodland, an 8-hectare site combining a memorial garden and a hilly, woodland environment with walking routes. At the entrance of the site sits the Korean War Memorial Garden which, in its centre, has a Korean style wood and slate crafted pagoda between 2 grass mounds. On the mounds are 110 Korean fir trees and around 1100 Scottish trees, representing the servicemen who were killed in the Korean War. The site opened on the 20th June 2000 marking the 50th anniversary of the war’s commencement.

Cairnpapple, in contrast, is a henge dating from 3500 BC. It was used and reused as a major ritual site over about 4000 years. Neolithic rituals began about 3500 BC with precious objects left on the hill. About 3000 BC, a henge monument was built as a great oval earthwork enclosure. It had a bank 60 metres across, surrounded by a broad ditch which enclosed a ring of 24 timber posts. There were 2 entrances to the henge directly opposite each other. Although it ceased to be used for ceremonial purposes about 4000 years ago, it has subsequently been used for burials.

From Beecraigs, we return down the hill to Linlithgow, whose name means ‘place by the lake in the damp hollow’ in the ancient Brythonic language. It was made a Royal Burgh by King David I in 1130 and, by the end of the 1200s the town was home to a number of mills, and tanning was also an important industry. It also established itself as an important trading centre, exporting and importing via its port at Blackness. To this day Linlithgow still marks the Burgh’s boundaries on Marches Day, held on the first Tuesday after the second Thursday in June.

When we reach Linlithgow, we turn right along a road called Dark Entry which is closed to vehicles. At the end of this road, we turn left and head down Manse Road, turning left at a sign to the Carmelite Friary. Walking down past the site of the friary we reach Rosemount Park.