Strathkelvin Railway Path is rail trail following the route of several dismantled railway lines extending from Gartcosh to Strathblane. It goes for 10 km from one end to another
Strathkelvin Railway Path is rail trail following the route of several dismantled railway lines extending from Gartcosh to Strathblane. It goes for 10 km from one end to another
The northern section follows the route of the Campsie Branch of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway which was extended as the Blane Valley Railway line and closed in 1951 (although some parts of the line were still used for freight into the '60s). [1] The southern section follows a branch of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway. Starting in Kirkintilloch it runs south and currently terminates at the northern tip of Gartcosh; just before the original railway junction would have split east to Bedlay Colliery and south to Glenboig.
It has been announced by Sustrans that the path will become part of the National Cycle Network and called route 755. In the future it is planned that the path will be extended to the north further following the route of the dismantled railway to incorporate part of the West Highland Way towards Drymen where it will link to National Cycle Network no. 754 (Forth & Clyde Canal) and National Cycle Network no. 7. To the south there are plans to continue the path to Drumpellier Country Park and then the Monkland Canal where it will link to National Cycle Network no. 75 in Coatbridge. [2]
The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2017, the 16,575 mile network was used for over 786 million cycling and walking trips.
Sustrans is a UK walking and cycling charity and custodian of the National Cycle Network.
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The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway was an early mineral railway running from a colliery at Monklands to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, Scotland. It was the first railway to use a rail ferry, the first public railway in Scotland, and the first in Scotland to use locomotive power successfully, and it was a major influence in the successful development of the Lanarkshire iron industry. It opened in 1826.
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