9 minute read
silver Propeller challenge
Exploring the far-fl ung reaches of the network is now even more rewarding
BOATING NORTH OF THE BORDER
All pictures by Jonathan Mosse.
Jonathan Mosse joined the winner of Scotland’s Millennium Link Award on her quest to reach the four locations across the Lowland canals, which also form part of IWA’s Silver Propeller Challenge
The IWA Silver Propeller Challenge, when applied to Scotland, is just that: challenging. Boat-owners om south of the Border with a good number of destinations already under their belts are not likely to crane their pride and joy onto a wagon and head for the hills. It’s therefore fortunate that IWA’s fl exible approach accommodates all cra , om trailboats to canoes, in the challenge.
The Lowland Canals Association – a corporate member of IWA – launched its own competition, the Millennium Link Award, in 2021 which focussed on the four Sco ish destinations listed in IWA’s UK-wide challenge. In acknowledgement of two very di cult years for the waterways due to the ongoing Covid situation and its a endant uncertainties, it was decided to introduce this event to bring activi and water travel back to the Forth & Clyde and Union canals, the idea being suggested by IWA Sco ish Representative, Richard Davies.
At just over 30 miles each you might be forgiven for thinking that navigating the two Lowland canals would be the boating equivalent of a walk in the park. But the reali is that, to a greater or lesser degree, cruising in Scotland is never without its own intrinsic challenges.
The four locations are: Bowling Basin at the western terminus of the F&C, Port Dundas (pronounced slightly di erently to its Kennet & Avon cousin) at the end of the Glasgow Branch, the Kelpies (or Carron Sea Lock) at the eastern terminus of the F&C, and Lochrin Basin in Edinburgh at the end of the Union Canal. A bonus of completing this trip is the opportuni to experience a turn on the Falkirk Wheel – the only means of transferring boats between the two waterways.
Award-winner
Morag Brown, aboard wide-beam Donovan, was the fi rst to visit all four destinations and is the worthy winner of the Millennium Link Award. Her prize is a ee navigation licence for 2022 om Sco ish Canals. Morag (universally known as Mo) thought the idea of the challenge was “a great way to encourage movement along the canals”, and she was delighted to win fi rst prize.
A short time before her departure, water levels on the F&C started dropping like a stone following the interruption of the main feed via the disused Monkland Canal, and for a while it looked like there would be no chance for Mo to participate in the challenge. However, the problem was resolved in the nick of time and, in company with Niven Brown (no relation) aboard narrowboat Aidendale, Mo headed east up the 17 locks to Maryhill on Glasgow’s northern outskirts.
Bowling and Port Dundas
Based in Bowling, Morag could already tick one of the four locations o the list. On se ing o , her fi rst port of call was to be Speirs Wharf, close to the centre of Glasgow (accessed via the Glasgow
View from Bowling Harbour.
A g bro W n mor
Bowling Basin.
Mo’s wide-beam craft, Donovan.
Branch) and jumping-off point for Port Dundas, via Speaker Martin Lock (an arrangement necessitated by the construction of the M8 motorway). Between the junction of the branch with the main line and the terminus, there are now three footbridges, one recently completed. And therein lies the rub!
The first footbridge still lay in the hands of the contractor, so was not yet boater-operated. That hurdle overcome, one might be forgiven for thinking that access to the Wharf was a given, both for Mo and subsequent challenge contestants. Sadly, this was not the case and no one was allowed past Applecross, the remaining two footbridges (for reasons unknown) remaining firmly closed throughout the summer.
As for arriving at (and negotiating) Speaker Martin Lock, this was clearly never going to happen. Just as it hasn’t in the couple of decades since it was completed at a cost well north of £6m. It’s true that, in the past, sheet piling in the channel above the top gates (subsequently cut down to 2ft or so below the water level) has prevented (and now limits) navigation but IWA has offered to look into removing it altogether.
However, at the time of writing there is no access into Port Dundas for any vessel, so a large area of prime, city-centre waterspace is used only by Pinkston Paddlesports and a water-ski lookalike propelled from an aerial ropeway.
Always the optimist, Mo seemed unfazed by having her (water) wings metaphorically clipped by these shortcomings, preferring instead to major on the very positive meetings she enjoyed while forcibly halted a tantalising ¼-mile or so short of her intended destination. She said: “This has been a magical summer, providing chances to meet loads of lovely people and opportunities to spend time on my own. On reflection, it has also meant that I’ve built up my general confidence and boat-handling skills as a solo boater.”
Sadly, going on past form, I suspect that the cows will be well and truly home (and dry) before Speaker Martin Lock sees further operation and Port Dundas fulfils its enormous potential as a city-centre marina and Silver Propeller destination.
The Kelpies
Donovan’s next destination was the Kelpies, at the eastern extremity of the F&C where it meets the Firth of Forth via a short stretch of the tidal River Carron. This was to be a delightful sojourn, taking in the majesty of the unique structures, and offered Mo the chance to share some relaxed, quality family time, with displaced members of her ‘clan’ even travelling from as far afield as Herefordshire.
It was here that I, in August, intercepted the voyage and enjoyed a memorable evening meal, basking in the glow from the shimmering stainless steel of the Kelpies’ outer coats, as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon formed by the distant Ochil Hills. It should be noted here that as Niall – Mo’s partner and crew – is a chef, all meals aboard Donovan are memorable! He’s even shaping up to be an excellent helmsman as well.
Departing the Kelpies involves a return trip up the locks of the F&C’s eastern extremity from Grangemouth to the point where the Falkirk Wheel can be accessed, forming the connection with the Union Canal and a 32-mile run into Edinburgh. These locks, in common with those on the western end of the F&C are not user-operated; the lack of ground paddles and the very
Festival time at Speirs Wharf.
The Falkirk Wheel.
fierce and unbaffled gate paddles – in conjunction with the surplus water that constantly weirs over the top gates regardless of the time of year – form a not inconsiderable hazard for all but the very experienced boater.
Instead, social enterprise Go Forth & Clyde has the contract to operate the locks on the eastern end of the navigation, a duty that its volunteers perform with good humour, enthusiasm and panache. This is a get-back-to-work scheme: effective and fun in equal measure… and one that clearly does make a difference.
Once past Lock 16, Mo, Niall and Donovan made their way onto the Falkirk Wheel (an unforgettable experience however many times you do it) and, having negotiated the slightly forbidding new staircase lock, were soon on their way to Edinburgh.
Lochrin Basin
The only way to navigate the Union Canal is in a relaxed fashion – in terms of throttle opening, ‘less’ is very definitely ‘more’ if any significant forward progress is to be made. Built to a depth of 3ft 6in and reputed to fill in at the rate of 1in a year from field run-off, this lockless contour navigation – much of it built into side cuts – processes in a somewhat erratic fashion, hemmed in by mile upon mile of reeds, and in many places barely managing to maintain a depth of 2ft 6in.
Donovan’s stately progress should be set against the backdrop of boat movement being something of a rarity on the Lowland Canals, with charity and hire-boats providing nearly all of the activity between them. It’s not that these waterways are in any way crowded: the projected 600 craft that were anticipated when Millennium funding saw their reopening 20 years ago has so far amounted to a reality of fewer than half that number. It’s more a case that, in the absence of events such as this one, there is little or no encouragement for boats to move.
As a further example of this, Mo was unable to enter Lochrin Basin – the Union’s Edinburgh terminus – as the navigation authority was unable or unwilling to raise Leamington Bridge once again, technically preventing Donovan from reaching another of the Lowland Canals’ extremities. While Scottish Canals enthusiastically signed up to the idea of the Millennium Link Award, it seemingly wasn’t prepared to allow boats to go that extra few 100 yards to reach the final goal.
Future challenges
Despite being unable to boat to the precise locations for two of the four challenge destinations, Mo successfully cruised to the nearest possible points, bagging herself the Millennium Link Award and ticking off all of the Scottish sites from the list for the IWA Silver Propeller Challenge to boot.
In future years, destinations for the more adventurous could well involve some tidal boating. For instance, up the Clyde to Glasgow, where the city council put in some excellent floating pontoons several years ago, since virtually unused, and to Stirling, close to the River Forth’s tidal limit, where recently installed (and fully serviced) visitor moorings are already beckoning.
While Scottish Canals stepped up to the plate with its not ungenerous prize of a year’s free licence (a flat rate of £214), it now needs to put some effort into making the actual canal extremities more readily available to native and visiting boaters alike.
