Glasgow Bridge is the site of a road bridge over the Forth and Clyde Canal; it is also the site of a Roman fortlet, [1] on the Antonine Wall, halfway between the Roman forts at Kirkintilloch and Cadder. [2]
Glasgow Bridge is the site of a road bridge over the Forth and Clyde Canal; it is also the site of a Roman fortlet, [1] on the Antonine Wall, halfway between the Roman forts at Kirkintilloch and Cadder. [2]
The road bridge ( 55°55′51″N4°11′14″W / 55.9308°N 4.1871°W ) was built as a swing bridge. It now allows road users on the A803 to cross the canal. [3] The bridge links Cadder and Kirkintilloch and has undergone repairs over the years. When the canal was closed, the water at the bridge was run through a culvert. The bridge was reinstated in 1990, for the re-opening of the canal. Just west of this bridge, a basin allows boats to launch from a slip. This bridge is halfway between Glasgow and Kilsyth and is marked on the first six-inch-to-the-mile (approximately 1:10000) OS map. [4]
Horses were often used on the canal tow path. Their work on the canal is celebrated at its eastern extension at The Helix with two unique equine sculptures known as The Kelpies. [5]
The 'Stables' bar and restaurant was developed from the stables which supported the horses which serviced the canal work. [6] The road sign outside informs drivers of the location of Craft daft (on a raft).
The fortlet ( 55°55′53″N4°11′03″W / 55.9314°N 4.1842°W ) can sometimes be seen in photographs taken from aircraft which have been taken at various times since 1955. [7] Nothing identifiably Roman can be seen at the site anymore. [8] There have been no excavations to date. Aerial photography has however highlighted an area of around 20 m square, which could have been secured with the help of the turf rampart with its ditch. It has been speculated[ ambiguous ] that a bridge, across the ditch, may have granted admission to the frontier. The site of the fortlet is just east of the bridge over the Forth and Clyde Canal which carries the A803. Kirkintilloch is east of the site with Low Moss to the south. [9] There is a temporary Roman camp at Easter Cadder about one-half mile (one kilometre) away. This is on a raised piece of ground approximately mid-way between the Glasgow Bridge fortlet and the main Roman fort at Kirkintilloch. [10] If walking west, the line of the Wall changes course after the site of Glasgow Bridge Fortlet. [11]
Summerston is a residential area of Glasgow, Scotland. With most of the housing constructed in the 1970s, it is situated in the far north of the city and is considered to be part of the larger Maryhill district, but has a different postcode; other nearby neighbourhoods are Gilshochill to the south and Cadder to the south-east. With open farmland to the north-east, Summerston is separated from the southern parts of the town of Bearsden to the north-west by the River Kelvin and a golf course.
Old Kilpatrick, is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 4,820. It belonged to the parish of Old Kilpatrick which itself was only a few thousand people strong.
Cadder is a district of the town of Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is located 7 km north of Glasgow city centre, 0.5 km south of the River Kelvin, and approximately 1.5 km north-east of Bishopbriggs town centre, sited on the route of the Forth and Clyde Canal. There is a Glasgow council housing scheme of a similar name, generally pronounced Cawder, in the district of Lambhill some 3 miles (5 km) to the south-west along the Canal, which was built in the early 1950s. Similarly, within Cadder, there is Cawder Golf Club, which also uses that original pronunciation.
Twechar is a small former mining village historically in Dunbartonshire and administered by the council area of East Dunbartonshire, Scotland close to the boundary with North Lanarkshire. It lies between the larger towns of Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch. The Forth and Clyde Canal runs close to the village to the north, and closely follows the line of the Antonine Wall. There are visible remains of the wall on Bar Hill and the Roman Fort is a local tourist attraction.
Torrance is a relatively affluent village in East Dunbartonshire, formerly Stirlingshire, Scotland, located eight miles north of Glasgow city centre. Torrance used to mainly consist of farmland. The village was once famous as a resting place for workers on their way to the Campsie Fells four miles north. The Forth and Clyde Canal has a wharf nearby at Hungryside, and the A807 runs along its southern edge. The village has an active community charity whose aims are to improve the village facilities.
Dullatur is a village near Cumbernauld, Scotland. Like Condorrat, Castlecary and Luggiebank, it predates the new town of Cumbernauld, and of those only Condorrat was officially included in the designated area. Its name is anglicised from the Gaelic Dubh Leitir, which means "dark slope". The route of the Antonine Wall passes just to the north of Dullatur. Two Roman temporary marching camps were located at Dullatur between the forts at Croy Hill and Westerwood. The camps have been excavated several times by archaeologists following aerial photography and proposed housebuilding. Both camps have now been built over, and no visible remains can be seen on the ground today. Digital reconstructions of the larger and the smaller of the camps have been created. When building the nearby Forth and Clyde Canal in the 18th century a number of finds were made in Dullatur Bog. Thomas Watson recorded: "a number of swords, pistols, and other weapons were dug out; also the bodies of men and horses, and what seems somewhat marvellous, a trooper, completely armed, and seated on his horse, in the exact posture in which he had perished." It was supposed that the man was escaping the Battle of Kilsyth which is due north of Dullatur Bog.
The Forth and Clyde canal pathway runs between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde and is a 106-kilometre-long (66 mi) footpath and cycleway that runs across Scotland, between Bowling, west of Glasgow, and Lochrin Basin in Edinburgh. The path runs on the towpaths of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals and is entirely off road. The path is well maintained and its surface is generally good, although there are some stretches particularly between Falkirk and the outskirts of Edinburgh where wet weather leads to muddy conditions unsuitable for road intended bicycles. It is well used by walkers and cyclists, and designated as one of Scotland's Great Trails by NatureScot. It also forms part of the National Cycle Network, being designated as Route 754. Sustrans advises that the path is best followed from the Clyde to the Forth because the prevailing wind is from the south west. Much of the path is also suitable for experienced horseriders, although in some places low bridges, narrow aqueducts and gates may restrict access for horses.
Camelon is a large settlement within the Falkirk council area, Scotland. The village is in the Forth Valley, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) west of Falkirk, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) south of Larbert and 2.6 miles (4.2 km) east of Bonnybridge. The main road through Camelon is the A803 road which links the village to Falkirk. At the time of the 2001 census, Camelon had a population of 4,508.
The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as Vallum Antonini, was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south, and intended to supersede it, while it was garrisoned it was the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire. It spanned approximately 63 kilometres and was about 3 metres high and 5 metres wide. Lidar scans have been carried out to establish the length of the wall and the Roman distance units used. Security was bolstered by a deep ditch on the northern side. It is thought that there was a wooden palisade on top of the turf. The barrier was the second of two "great walls" created by the Romans in Great Britain in the second century AD. Its ruins are less evident than those of the better-known and longer Hadrian's Wall to the south, primarily because the turf and wood wall has largely weathered away, unlike its stone-built southern predecessor.
Bothwellhaugh Roman Fort is a site now located within Strathclyde Country Park in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is east of where the South Calder Water flows into Strathclyde Loch. The fort is a scheduled monument.
The Luggie Aqueduct carries the Forth & Clyde Canal over the Luggie Water at Kirkintilloch, to the north of Glasgow. It is a Category A listed building.
Bar Hill Fort was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It was built around the year 142 A.D.. Older maps and documents sometimes spell the name as Barr Hill. A computer generated fly around for the site has been produced. Lidar scans have been done along the length of the wall including Bar Hill. Sir George Macdonald wrote about the excavation of the site. Many other artefacts have also been found at Shirva, about a mile away on the other side of Twechar.
Croy Hill was a Roman fort, fortlet, and probable temporary camp on the Antonine Wall, near Croy, to the north east of the village in Scotland. Two communication platforms known as ‘expansions’ can be seen to the west of the fortlet. Alexander Park excavated the site in 1890-1891. Sir George Macdonald wrote about his excavation of the site which occurred in 1920, 1931, and 1935. At Croy Hill, the ditch in front of the rampart was not excavated by the Romans. It is likely that hard basalt and dolerite of the hill was virtually impossible to shape with Roman tools. This is the only place along the Wall where the ditch wasn't dug. There is a bath house just outside one fort. A video reconstruction of the site has been produced.
Auchendavy was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. Much of the site archeology was destroyed by the builders of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Between Bar Hill and Balmuildy the wall roughly follows the southern bank of the River Kelvin. The site of the fort is north of Kirkintilloch's northern border. It can be seen as a mound mid-way between the Forth and Clyde Canal and the road.
Cleddans is the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. Its postulated existence was confirmed by trial trenching in 1979. Evidence of building work on Cleddans and on the Wall by units of both the sixth and the twentieth legions has been found in the area.
Watling Lodge was a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It was located near what is now Lock Sixteen on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Falkirk with neighbouring forts at Rough Castle to the west and Falkirk to the east. There was also a fort at Camelon to the north. There was also a Roman temporary camp found a short distance south of the site.
Seabegs Wood was the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.
Castlehill was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.
Balmuildy is the site of a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It is one of only two forts on the Antonine Wall to have been found with stone ramparts; the other is Castlecary. A digital reconstruction of the fort has been created.
Wilderness Plantation was the site of a Roman fortlet on the Antonine Wall in Scotland.