News from Scotland’s canals
SCOTTISH Canals has been working with Scottish Waterways for All and the Lowland Canal Association to enable volunteers to operate weed cutters.
The small, amphibious Truxor weed cutters are ideal for volunteers, enabling them to work with Scottish Canals staff on larger weed cutters and supporting their efforts to reduce weed on the Lowland Canals. Volunteers will receive full training and must hold a Helmsman certificate.
Generally, weed is less of a problem on the deeper and more acidic Crinan and Caledonian canals. However, invasive
New Zealand pygmy weed has appeared on the Caledonian
Canal. Scottish Canals is leading the development of innovative management techniques to control the spread of this non-native plant which could cause significant problems if left unchecked.
Meanwhile, on the Forth & Clyde Canal, remote monitoring will be installed on locks 17-19. The Smart canal in Glasgow, a digital surface water drainage system, already allows remote monitoring of water levels in the summit pound of the Forth & Clyde and the new work will extend this remote tracking eastwards, a step toward extended opening hours.
Townhead and Hillend reservoirs will be improved and the dam spillways (the structures that manage floodwater in a safe and controlled way when a reservoir is full) upgraded, following lessons learned by Canal & River Trust after the emergency at Toddbrook Reservoir. Hillend Reservoir dates from 1799 and was at one time the largest man-made reservoir in the world.
It supplies water to the Forth & Clyde and Monkland canals. Townhead Reservoir also dates from the 18th century and was constructed on the site of the Battle of Kilsyth, 1645, one of the largest battles fought between Scottish Royalists and government troops. Scottish Canals will also continue with upgrading water management structures across the Union Canal.
Nature reserve official opening
The Claypits nature reserve, on the banks of the Forth & Clyde in north Glasgow, was officially opened at the end of July. Visitors were invited to try paddleboarding, courtesy of Glasgow Paddleboarders Co, given chance to identify butterflies and visit a narrowboat to learn what it’s like to live on the water. This reserve’s position to the north of the city offers fantastic views across Glasgow’s skyline.
As Francesca Osowska, chief executive of NatureScot, observed: “The Claypits gives locals a lovely place to enjoy and is just the kind of nature-based solution needed right now to help combat climate change.”
A new bridge at nearby Garscube has provided improved access to and from the canal, part of a larger project of regeneration in the north of the city, to create safe pedestrian and cycle links between the centre and north Glasgow. The site includes artworks from the late Glasgow-born writer and artist Alisdair Gray, each highlighting the importance of making a place for nature and protecting the environment and the natural world.
New trishaws at the Kelpies
At the other end of the Forth & Clyde, Canal Encounters, a free month-long celebration of the canal as part of Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 20/21, featured a four-mile activity trai l along the canal between the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel.
As part of the Canal Encounters cycle week, Cycling Without Age Scotland (CWAS) launched its Helix Chapter (branch) with two new trishaws. Based at the Helix, the greenspace alongside the Forth & Clyde Canal between Falkirk and Grangemouth and home to the Kelpies, the trishaws have been named after the horses that originally inspired the Kelpies – Duke and Barron – and will increase access to the canal for everyone. A 10-strong trishaw group rode the route between the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel to celebrate the new venture.
CWAS aims to enhance and enrich lives by providing free rides for the elderly and disabled, giving access to the outdoors through trishaw rides. The cargo bikes used are accessible for people with walking difficulties or who need to be lifted into the trishaw using a hoist. Each bike has seatbelts, an optional harness, retractable hood and waterproof blanket.
The new trishaws were funded by Communities Along the Carron Association and Falkirk Common Good Fund. The Helix Chapter is the 53rd branch in Scotland and joins five active chapters already serving communities in Falkirk and the surrounding area.
Scottish Canals has long wished to have trishaws based permanently on the canal network to help make the canals accessible for everyone. Trishaws at the Kelpies, within Helix Park, is the first of CWAS’ Trishaws in Iconic Places project, which aims to provide access to visitor attractions for people with limited mobility.