Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal

The Union Canal runs for 31 miles from Falkirk to Edinburgh, skirting the edge of the capital’s built-up south-western districts. It was built as a contour canal, hugging the 73-metre contour line so that no locks were needed. Three fine aqueducts carry the waterway over the Water of Leith, the River Almond and the River Avon, the last being the second-longest in Britain. The canal’s Edinburgh end was once Port Hopetoun basin near Lothian Road, but the final mile was filled in and the modern terminal is Lochrin Basin beside Fountainbridge. The canal was designed by Thomas Telford and others to carry coal and lime from Lanarkshire to Edinburgh. It opened in 1822 after four Acts of Parliament and a share capital that grew from £240 000 to £400 000. Among the early subscribers were the Lord Provost of Edinburgh and local landowners such as Sir William Forbes. The canal company also had to compensate Edinburgh and Linlithgow for lost road tolls, and pay a penny per ton on goods unloaded at its wharves. Today the waterway is used for leisure. Walkers and cyclists follow the towpath, while narrowboats cruise past stone bridges whose keystones carry bridge numbers and the arms of Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Slateford Aqueduct arches over the Water of Leith, and the Avon Aqueduct soars 25 metres above its river. At Lochrin Basin visitors can watch boats turn in the basin or stroll beside the water towards Tollcross.