Forth & Clyde Canal Boats at Wharf at the Western End of Southbank Road, Kirkintilloch

The Forth & Clyde Canal. The first section of the Forth & Clyde Canal to open was the stretch from the Forth to Kirkintilloch in 1773, when, it is claimed, Kirkintilloch became “Scotland’s First Inland Port” and a wharf there was used for transhipment of goods to and from towns and villages throughout west central Scotland. The canal was subsequently extended westwards, reaching the Clyde at Bowling in 1790. Kirkintilloch lost its key transhipment function but retained its special relationship with the canal. People have questioned its claim to be considered “Scotland’s Canal Capital’ and with the Big Wheel and now the two Kelpies the claims of Falkirk are perhaps greater at the present time. However, in broad historical perspective Kirkintilloch’s claims remain strong.


Closure and Revival. Eventually trade on the canal declined in the face of competition from the greatly improved road transport options that came into being during the twentieth century. It was closed by Act of Parliament with effect from 1 January 1963, when all rights of navigation were extinguished. Very soon afterwards campaigns to reopen the canal began and despite the provisions of the Act boats were reintroduced to the canal by the Forth & Clyde Canal Society, the Seagull Trust and other interests, especially in the Kirkintilloch area.

Canal Boats at Kirkintilloch. The icing on the cake came in 2001 when the Forth & Clyde Canal was opened from sea to sea under the Millennium Link project. In anticipation of this event a range of ‘new’ boats was introduced, notably the Sea Witch (later renamed Harmony Row) by local enthusiast David Waterston in October 1999. Strangely, this vessel had actually been ‘built’ (or prefabricated) in Kirkintilloch, by James Sim Ltd in 1981, at a time when navigation through Kirkintilloch was non-existent. It is seen here at Joe Holland’s Wharf at the western end of Southbank Road, Kirkintilloch, which became a focus for local boats during the years before Kirkintilloch Marina opened in 2008. Harmony Row is the blue-hulled boat in the centre of the group. Extreme left is the Wee Spark, also introduced at this time. For obvious reasons the boats moored at Holland’s Wharf came to be known as ‘The Dutch Navy’.

Further Reading
Back issues of the Forth & Clyde Canal Society’s Canal News, especially Issue No.92 (January 2000).
Also The Forth & Clyde Canal: a Kirkintilloch View (Second Edition, 1985) by Don Martin.

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