Clyde & Forth Canal, Clydebank and Glasgow

9 miles / 14 km

A long walk but still pretty easy walk up the canal locks and bends to Maryhill and then on the short canal to Glasgow and Glasgow Buchanan Street bus station. The towpath has some good tarmac and the walk is mostly flat with some short climbs up the canal locks to Maryhill. The scenery is pretty impressive at Maryhill Locks. Bring lots of drinks. Good footwear is an advantage on this walk.

Pretty Easy

The walk is long but mostly flat with some short climbs past the canal locks and a pretty awkward descent under the M8 to the end of the walk at Buchanan bus station.



Train to Clydebank railway station from Glasgow/Partick 4 times an hour.

Walk from the Clydebank railway station through either the shopping mall or up the Kilbowie Road to the Clyde & Forth Canal. At the canal, turn to the right on the canal in the direction of Glasgow past some warehouses and commercial premises. The path is a good tarmac path and easy going. The towpath is meandering it's way through some lazy bends before the first locks.



It is easy to fall into a good rhythm here as the landscape is a bit dull but still not uninteresting here. Just remember to drink on a regular basis. The Clyde & Forth Canal is like an oasis in the middle of Glasgow, this big city. Parts of the canal is also tranquil and surprisingly peaceful.



The canal goes into some more sharper bends before it enters the very impressive Kelvin Aquaduct. An aqueduct that takes the canal over River Kelvin. The views over this river is very impressive from this aqueduct. It was built more than 200 years ago and it is one of the biggest feats of civil engineering in Scotland. It is a shame it is more or less an unknown marvel. It deserves to put on the tourist maps. It is also impossible to give it any justice on a photo. The photo below is from the start of Kelvin Aquaduct.



At the end of the aqueduct, the canal climbs through Maryhill Locks up to Maryhill and then crosses the main road on another aqueduct before it meets the Clyde & Forth Canal coming from Kirkintilloch/Falkirk in a canal crossroad. This is one of the two crossroads on this canal. The second is the Falkirk Wheel on the other side, 20 miles / 30 km away. This crossroad is flat though and on marked by some white footbridges and artworks. It is still pretty impressive.



This walk now take the subsidiary canal going over to Glasgow. This canal is 2 miles / 3 km long. It is not a particular interesting walk (it can be shortened by taking the bus from Maryhill down to Glasgow), but it leads the walk through some bends down past Firhill Stadium to the end of the canal.



At the end of the canal, and after rightly congratulating yourself for reaching the end of this canal, take the signposted path down the hill, under the M8, through Cowcaddens and down to either Glasgow Buchanan Street bus station where this walk ends. Or you can head down the hill to Queen Street or Central Station train stations.
Bus from Buchanan Street bus station home again

Enjoy the walk !!