 | |
  Location within West Lothian | |
| Established | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Location | Linlithgow |
The Linlithgow Union Canal Society is a waterway society and a Scottish registered charity [1] based at Linlithgow Canal Centre on the Union Canal at Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland. Also known as "LUCS", it was founded in 1975 by Melville Gray to "promote and encourage the restoration and use of the Union Canal, particularly in the vicinity of Linlithgow".
From 1970, Mel Gray had started to clear the towpath with the help of boys from HMYOI Polmont, a Young Offenders Institution. This was followed by the first boaters' Rally at Linlithgow Canal Centre, organised by the Scottish Inland Waterways Association and the Scottish Civic Trust in 1972. In 1975 the Society acquired an old dredger from the (then) British Waterways Board, now Scottish Canals.
In the Seventies and Eighties, other canal societies began to be formed on the Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal, including Edinburgh Canal Society, Forth Canoe Club, Bridge 19-40 Canal Society and others. Persistent campaigning resulted in the restoration of the Scottish Lowland canals through the Millennium Link Project of which Linlithgow Union Canal Society was an official Partner. The Link connects the Union and Forth & Clyde canals by way of the unique Falkirk Wheel boat lift.
Linlithgow Union Canal Society hosted a Scottish Inland Waterways Association (SIWA) Rally in 2008, and it participates in the annual Linlithgow Folk Festival.
Mel Gray, the founder, died in March 2006 .
The Society administers the Linlithgow Canal Centre and operates boat trips, a tearoom and the new Mel Gray Education Centre. [2] Provision for schools includes boat trips to teach children water safety and other related topics, and the Education Centre is able to cater for all age groups.
Further boats were purchased in 1987 and 1995 and are taking visitors to Linlithgow or the Avon Aqueduct; constructed by Hugh Baird with advice from Thomas Telford, it is the second longest aqueduct in the UK and the longest and highest in Scotland. The trip boat "Saint Magdalene" is named after the St Magdalene distillery.
The Canal Museum was created in 1977. It had started life as a stable for the boat horses and is now a resource centre for the study of the history of the UK canal system.
The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowed navigation from Edinburgh on the east coast to the port of Glasgow on the west coast. The canal is 35 miles (56 km) long and it runs from the River Carron at Grangemouth to the River Clyde at Bowling, and had an important basin at Port Dundas in Glasgow.
The Avon is a river largely in the Falkirk council area of Scotland.
The canal network of the United Kingdom played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network which, at its peak, expanded to nearly 4,000 miles in length. The canals allowed raw materials to be transported to a place of manufacture, and finished goods to be transported to consumers, more quickly and cheaply than by a land based route. The canal network was extensive and included feats of civil engineering such as the Anderton Boat Lift, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Worsley Navigable Levels and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.
The Union Canal, full name the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal, is a canal in Scotland, running from Falkirk to Edinburgh, constructed to bring minerals, especially coal, to the capital. It was opened in 1822 and was initially successful, but the construction of railways, particularly the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, which opened in 1842, diminished its value as a transport medium. It fell into slow commercial decline and was closed to commercial traffic in 1933. It was officially closed in 1965. The canal is listed as three individual scheduled monuments by Historic Scotland according to the three former counties, Midlothian, West Lothian and Stirlingshire, through which it flows.
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role of recreational boating. Despite a period of abandonment, today the canal system in the United Kingdom is again increasing in use, with abandoned and derelict canals being reopened, and the construction of some new routes. Canals in England and Wales are maintained by navigation authorities. The biggest navigation authorities are the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, but other canals are managed by companies, local authorities or charitable trusts.
The Peak Forest Canal is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is 14.8 miles (23.8 km) long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1946 to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations.
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.
A summit-level canal is an artificial waterway connecting two separate river valleys. The term refers to a canal that rises to cross a summit then falls down the other side. The summit pound is a level stretch of water at the highest part of the canal, contained by two locks that prevent the water from flowing downstream in both directions. Since water flows out when locks open to admit boats, the summit pound must have a water supply.
The Millennium Link is one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken by British Waterways. The Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal were originally joined by a flight of locks. The Millennium Link project replaced the locks with a boat lift, the Falkirk Wheel.
The Edinburgh Union Canal Society is a charitable canal society on the Union Canal in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Society's main base is Ashley Terrace Boathouse at Lockhart Bridge, near Harrison Park in the Polwarth area of Edinburgh.
The Scottish Inland Waterways Association (SIWA) was a registered charity and association of canal societies and individual canal enthusiasts in Scotland.
The Avon Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Union Canal over the River Avon, near Linlithgow, Scotland.
The Bridge 19-40 Canal Society is a Scottish waterway society and registered charity operating community boats on the Union Canal, with bases at Winchburgh and Drumshoreland, West Lothian.
Seagull Trust Cruises is a waterway society and Scottish charity.
The Peter Le Marchant Trust is a waterway society, a charitable trust and a registered charity number 1151117, based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, UK.
The Bonnington Aqueduct is an aqueduct on the Union Canal, to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Stockingfield Junction is a canal junction which lies between Maryhill and Ruchill in Glasgow, Scotland. It opened in 1777, and closed in 1963, followed by restoration and a re-opening in 2022. At first a terminus it formed the junction for the Port Dundas branch off the Forth and Clyde Canal main line from 1777.
