This helped keep the canal extant when public opinion was for filling it all in. And jump on a bus for a few minutes and you could be going for a stroll along the Union Canal, a stretch of water which had a huge part in Edinburgh’s growth in the 1800’s. Next, you’ll cycle along the wonderfully calm towpath of the Union Canal, through the towns of Broxburn, Linlithgow and Falkirk. Once unknown to all but the local waterway aficionados, the Edinburgh terminus of the Union Canal, is now an attractive place to meet friends, eat and drink, or take a canalside stroll and watch the colourful … The bridge was installed around 1906 where Fountainbridge crossed the canal replacing a previous bridge built in 1869. The trial trenching located the eastern canal wall and a … A report published in the year 2000 had suggested fixing it permanently open, but the decision wa… So, fancy a stroll? Leamington Lift Bridge is the only surviving example of an electrical lifting bridge on the Union Canal. The site is now closed. Or a cycle? Part 1 of 3. The tragic one involves Georke Meikle Kemp, the designer of the Scott Monument (the Gothic looking, red-ish, Eiffel Tower-ish construction that dominates  the east end of Princes Street). Founded by an American in 1856 on the site of the Castle Silk Mills on the north side of the canal, the large manufacturer produced goods such as shoes, boots and hosepipes, and employed over 3000 local people. The Edinburgh Canal Festival is a not-for-profit community event co-ordinated by Re-Union Canal Boats, who work with a wide range of community groups and local businesses. Recommended option. Already under … The canal continues for 32 miles as far as the Falkirk Wheel. Edinburgh Quay. The trail is primarily used … ft) Flat for sale - 2 bedrooms 2 2 1 770 sq. The designer, Hugh Baird, followed the idea (unique for Scotland canals) , of using the same contour throughout its length, thereby making it cheaper to construct and maintain as there would be no locks, except for the link with the Forth and Clyde Canal. Opened in 1822, the Union Canal runs 32 miles from Falkirk to Edinburgh. By 1842 the railway had taken much of the transport of passengers and the passenger barges, known as swifts, ceased to run. Richard Allen. The Scottish housing charity, which has over 30 sites around the country, is … The Eastern end of the Union Canal Standing unused and unloved for more than half a century, it wasn’t until 2000 and the Millenium Link project (featuring the awesome engineering marvel that is the Falkirk Wheel – basically a giant Ferris Wheel for boats) that the Union Canal was once more connected to the Forth and Clyde Canal. The Union Canal Running from Fountainbridge in Edinburgh, through the historical royal borough of Linlithgow, to the Falkirk Wheel; the Union Canal consists of 32 miles (52 kilometres) of … CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. It looks like Edinburgh's otter population has found a new haunt. 1906, not at this site but at Fountainbridge … From there you can walk or cycle as far as your legs can take you. It was designed by Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth of Newcastle for the canal owners, the North British Railway, and installed in ca. Our Roseburn to Union Canal Active Travel Route and Greenspace Improvement project aims to fill a ‘missing link’ in the walking and cycling network by connecting Roseburn path to Fountainbridge via a … With the advancement of the railways the canal … Over the past 2 centuries it was home to two of … Also on the north side was the McEwan Fountain brewery which, after the combination with the brewing firm of William Younger to form Scottish Brewers (later Scottish and Newcastle), was looking to expand its production, and took over the NBR site after 1971. The canal, seen from the Viewforth Bridge. Bus • 7 min. The Roseburn to Union Canal active travel route is intended to encourage commuters to walk or cycle to work. The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile (50.7 km) canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal. Another lucrative line was passenger traffic, which allowed passage between the two main cities in 13 hours. The northern part of the site comprises an infilled section of the Glasgow to Edinburgh Union Canal, and this formed the focus of the trial trenching. Route 754 starts in Fountainbridge, near the centre of Edinburgh. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. Route 754 links with the Forth & Clyde Canal … The Union Canal was built to link the centre of Edinburgh to the Forth and Clyde at Falkirk, between 1817 and 1822.This allowed first coal and then other goods to be brought into Edinburgh from Central Scotland. Completed in 1822 the canal was built to connect Edinburgh to the Forth and Clyde Canal to allow coal and other goods to be brought into the city by boat. Two of the animalswere spotted playing on the banks of the Union Canal in Fountainbridgeon Friday. He drowned in the canal just a few months before the completion of his masterpiece in 1844 when the Edinburgh Haar (fog) caused him to lose his footing and fall in. The monument known as the Union Canal, Fountainbridge to River Avon comprises that stretch of the inland waterway 9.6 miles (15km) long, forming part of the Union Canal falling within the boundary of … Flat for sale in Lower Gilmore Bank, Union Canal Basin/ Fountainbridge, Edinburgh EH3 Fixed price £320,000 (£416/sq. ... A relaxing cycle along the Union Canal from Fountainbridge to Broxburn. This was a great benefit to travellers as the road route was extremely poor and subject to the vagaries of the weather. A half-hour bike trip along the Union canal takes you to Edinburgh's outer limits (the city bypass). Plans to create four dedicated moorings for houseboats on the Union Canal in the centre of Edinburgh, at Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, were announced in July 2005. If you’re at the Quay, no doubt you’ll see the Edinburgh Printmakers building It’s well worth wandering over to have a look. Getting to Fountainbridge – Buses 1, 34, 35 for Dundee Street or it’s a 10 minute walk from Haymarket station. It was built to connect to the eastern end of the Forth and Clyde Canal so goods could be … Well, for a short time anyway. Fountainbridge. Well I've been struggling a … The Canal was still much needed to transport heavy bulky loads into the centre of Edinburgh, and continued in this role until after World War 1, but always in competition with the railways, who had taken over ownership of the canal in 1845. Jump in a car and in minutes you’re in the Pentland Hills. Chris Dobson tweeted a … The 31 ½ mile route started at Fountainbridge where three basins were constructed to facilitate the trade that - it was hoped – would pass along the canal. The murderous one involves one of the Irishmen who migrated to Edinburgh to work on the canal while it was being built. Sep. 20. We look … Public opinion and town planning saw the restriction in recreational use of the canal, with the cutting and culverting of the route at Wester Hailes as part of the new housing scheme. The McEwans brewery opened in Fountainbridge … The canal has now a number of pleasure facilities (some dating back to the 19th century) such as the boating clubs and the Forth Canoe Club; there is also a thriving fleet of pleasure and residential barges. It fell out of use by the 1960s, but as part of the Millennium Linkproject to restore the Union Canal, it required to be restored at least to allow boats to pass. Among the many Irish who came seeking work was William Hare, one half of notorious Edinburgh serial murderers Burke and Hare. The canal is 31.5 miles long from Edinburgh … The Edinburgh Canal Society Boat House. Today its main trade is leisure boats taking passengers from Edinburgh to Glasgow. This was a millennium project which replaced the defunct lock system which had joined the Union Canal to the Forth and Clyde Canal. ft* Re-Union Canal Boats and FCI (Fountainbridge Canalside Initiative) are joining forces to form a new Development … When the canal was shortened in 1922 to make Lochrin Basin the terminus it was moved to its present site to replace a wooden drawbridge. And the route, which partly uses former railway land, has even been compared to … The Union Canal is currently closed to transiting between The Falkirk Wheel and Edinburgh following a breach at Muiravonside in August 2020 and various improvement projects along the canal. Help us shape our new organisation – Fountainbridge Blue Green Community Trust. Already under discussion in the late 1780s, it was not completed until 1822, making it one of the last canals to be built in Scotland. Fountainbridge is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, a short distance west of the city centre, adjoining Tollcross with East Fountainbridge and West Port to the east, Polwarth to the west and south, Dalry … There are 3 ways to get from Edinburgh to Union Canal by bus, taxi or foot. Boy I’d hate to be the person who hadn’t heard of the railways and thought it’d be a great idea to invest heavily in ferry boats in the 1820’s. Pitt Street Market – Edinburgh’s best street food, The Best Places to Try Haggis in Edinburgh, The Best Stuff To Do On a Rainy Day in Edinburgh, The Water of Leith Walkway – the history bit, How to Have a Very ‘Merry’ Edinburgh Christmas 2019, Edinburgh’s Best Secret Shortcuts and Side Streets. By the 1930’s the Union Canal was no longer used for any kind of transportation. One of the things I love about Edinburgh is that the outdoors is right at your fingertips. Union Canal - Fountainbridge To Broxburn. They did not all use the canal directly for transport, but did use its waters for production purposes. The building would sit on the southern bank of the Union Canal where it ends at Lochrin Basin, and would replace several low-rise commercial and residential buildings. The clever use of the contour system gave the canal its nickname “the Mathematical”The canal took the waste from Edinburgh’s many stables out to the surrounding farms, in addition to the traffic in stone and coal into the city. Download this stock image: The Edinburgh basin of the Union Canal at Fountainbridge in central Edinburgh Scotland - FY10BY from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, … Although by the mid twentieth century many of the foundry and boatbuilding works were closing, the area was the home to the North British Rubber Company. Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2rio's travel planner. Jump on a bicycle and in minutes you could be on one of the many scenic bike paths. Much of the surrounding and supporting housing and shops was demolished, particularly in the 1970’s, as the City planners continued to seek improved facilities for the people of Edinburgh. The cattle markets and slaughterhouses in central Edinburgh closed after WW1, and the main Edinburgh basin (Port Hamilton) was closed in 1921. Unfortunately, a mere 20 years later saw the opening of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in 1842. The canal continued working but in much reduced capacity, until closed to commercial traffic in 1933. Very close to the start of the canal at Edinburgh Quay is Bike Trax who have hybrid bikes for hire. After much lobbying by interested groups and local communities, the link was restored during the 1990s to join up with the Falkirk Wheel. © 2018 I Stuff Edinburgh I All rights Reserved, All original content on these pages is fingerprinted and certified by. and. The Union Canal: an outline history The Union Canal was designed to complete the link between Edinburgh and Glasgow, by meeting the existing Forth and Clyde Canal at Falkirk. Coal, lime, wood, stone, sand and brick were ferried to Edinburgh, and was needed in abundance by the many new industries in the thriving city. Our registered office and postal address: Re-Union Canal Boats Ltd Narrowboat Gosling Lower Gilmore Bank Edinburgh EH3 9QP Telephone 0131 261 8529 Email: info@re-union.org.uk Company Registration No: 265866 Charity Registration No: SC035342 How to find our boat: Edinburgh Quay can be accessed at the junction of Fountainbridge … Take the bus from Edinburgh, Princes Street to Fountainbridge… The speed of this new form of transportation pretty much made the canal obsolete. In the 19th century, many industries were set up alongside the canal, particularly at Fountainbridge. The nearest houseboats currently are berthed at the Edinburgh Canal Centre, Bridge Inn, Ratho, about six miles to the west of the centre of Edinburgh. The festival is sponsored this … The Union Canal was designed to complete the link between Edinburgh and Glasgow, by meeting the existing Forth and Clyde Canal at Falkirk. Union Canal Towpath: Kingsknowe to Fountainbridge is a 5.7 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland and is good for all skill levels. For visitors to Edinburgh it’s probably easiest to start off in Edinburgh Quay in Fountainbridge at the Lochrin Basin where the canal starts (or stops). Today the Union Canal is predominantly used by residents out for a walk or schools and universities practicing their rowing, but in the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution saw Edinburgh boom, the Union Canal was of immense importance. 'S otter population has found a new haunt, until closed to commercial traffic in.. 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