Clyde & Forth Canal

9 miles/ 15 km

The final part/day of the whole Clyde & Forth Canal walk for those who walk it west to east, end to end.

Pretty Hard

Mostly easy, but still a long walk on a pretty wide towpath along the canal. The path descend through Falkirk to the sea at The Kelpies. Good shoes and some soft drinks are recommended. There are not many shops along the canal as the canal is situated on the back of Falkirk city centre. A taxi is required to get from The Kelpies to the bus or train station, the nearest one is Falkirk High train station on the Edinburgh - Glasgow line. A nice walk but not the finest walk/day on the Clyde & Forth Canal. The Kelpies are a great area and worth the effort.



To get to the start of the walk is a bit tricky..... Take the Midland Bluebird X37 Falkirk bus (once an hour) from Glasgow Buchanan Street bus station, stance 43, and ask the bus driver to be let off just after the Castlecary Interchange. I have done this twice and the bus drivers have always been very helpful and let me off at the gravel road leading down to the canal.
In the worst-case scenario, there is a bus stop in Allandale and you have to walk back 150 meters on a good pavement along the road to the start of the walk. The bus journey takes around one hour and is not very exciting. Make sure you are awake and alert. The map on the mobile phone should be turned on after 45 minutes of the bus journey.

Look for the blue walk/cycling signpost and head down the gravel road to and over the bridge at Cumbernauld Road. A now disused road. You are now on the left side of the canal and ready to start the walk.
The canal descends through some locks on the way down to Bonnybridge. The towpath/canal is going through some farmlands and has good views towards the Ochil Hills on the other side of the Forth River.




Bonnybridge is a small town with a Tesco Express close to the canal. But check opening times before you rely on this shop for extra food and soft drinks for this walk.
The canal is now pretty close to the big canal crossroad, the Falkirk Wheel, where the Union Canal starts it's way to Edinburgh. See my walks along the Union Canal somewhere else on ClydeWalks.



A small detour up to the very impressive Falkirk Wheel and the shops there is a must unless you are saving this up for later, meaning, a walk on the Union Canal.
The Clyde & Forth Canal continues down towards Falkirk. Farmlands are being replaced by houses and urban developments. The canal now enters some locks.




The towpath and the canal now goes through Falkirk. The Falkirk - Stirling railway line means the towpath crosses over a bridge in some staircases up and down before you the towpath rejoins the canal 100 meters further down the canal. The walk on the towpath through the outskirts of Falkirk is not particularly pleasing/interesting.


At the end of the town, the canal get more rural again for the final, long stretch before a left turn takes the canal down to The Kelpies and the end of the canal at River Carron, the end of the walk. Yes, there is a canal going down a further 1 mile towards Forth River. But this is a new canal and not the real Clyde & Forth Canal. Enjoy an ice cream at The Kelpies and take a well-earned rest.< br>



There is no public transport between The Kelpies and the two local railway stations. A taxi from The Kelpies taxi rank at the car park, the 1.5 miles to Falkirk Grahamstown (train to Glasgow one time an hour) or the 3 miles to Falkirk High train stop on the Edinburgh - Glasgow line (fast train 4 times an hour) is a necessity.

Enjoy the walk !!