Charlotte

A journey I started on 19th August I finished on Saturday afternoon.

Back in August I took a wee notion to walk the length of the Forth & Clyde Canal. Living relatively close to a stretch of the Canal, I walk parts of it frequently, and I had walked its whole length once before when, in 1999, I did over two days it as part of a charity walk. But this was always intended to be a more leisurely affair, and so it turned out to be, with me walking each part only a few miles at a time. By Monday 29th October, I only had the last part, from the Falkirk Wheel to the Kelpies, to do.

So, I took advantage of some beautiful weather on Saturday morning to complete the remaining four-mile stretch, through Camelon, Bainsford and Bankside to the point where the Canal meets the River Carron. Journey's end!

Except that it wasn't. A new length of canal, called the Queen Elizabeth II Canal and about 850 metres long, was opened by Her Majesty in 2017. This runs from the Kelpies, and parallel to the River Carron, to Lock 1 where it meets the Carron. This is also part of a new Charlotte Dundas Heritage Trail, named after William Symington's 1803 steamship of the same name and continuing to Grangemouth.

Just for the sake of completeness, then, I walked to Lock 1 (having started my journey at Lock 39) and then rewarded myself with a coffee at the Kelpies Visitor Centre.

It's a walk I might do again, but I reckon I'll set myself another little project to embark upon first. Once I get some inspiration, I'll let you know!