Coast to Coast. Glasgow to Johnstone

Glasgow to Johnstone

Over the space of several weekend runs, I have been trying to jog across Scotland, a proper cross-country run. Having now run from Glasgow, across to Falkirk, then into Fife at Kincardine, via Dunfermline and Glenrothes to St Andrews, it seemed only fair to turn my face the other way and head for the Ayrshire coast. Much of this has taken me through places that I have rarely spent much time, so it has given me a chance to find out more of the local history along the way.

On running through Fife I had come across the stories of women accused of witchcraft and executed in numerous towns and villages. Sadly these same stories were played out in Paisley also. On my way between Glasgow and Falkirk I saw the memorial to The Battle of Bonnymuir, where a band of working class radicals were captured, and later executed. In Paisley, Johnstone and Elderslie again I came across the Radicals' story. Where Dunfermline had the ruins of Dunfermline Abbey, Paisley Abbey dominates the centre of the town here.

Glasgow to Renfrew

As someone who has worked and lived around Glasgow and Renfrewshire over several decades I was on more familiar territory with the stretch between Glasgow and Paisley. Also when previously researching my family history I found many generations on both my mother and father's side that lived in this area over the past 400 years. I have ancestors who were fleshers (butchers) in Johnstone, farmers and hand loom weavers in Kilbarchan, muslin weavers, pub landlords and soldiers in Paisley.

Starting in Maryhill, where I headed off towards Kirkintilloch on a previous run, I ran the 13 miles to Johnstone on a slightly meandering route. To cross the River Clyde there are three choices. The nearest bridge to Paisley is the footbridge at the Glasgow Science Centre. A slightly shorter route can be taken by going under the Clyde through the pedestrian tunnel at Whiteinch, or the most scenic way is to go via the Yoker/Renfrew Ferry, which will cost you £1.90.

The cycle path and pedestrian tunnel runs underneath the carriageway of the road for the Clyde Tunnel. It used to have a reputation for being a bit dodgy, with urban myths about fishing line being tied across the tunnel to catch unsuspecting cyclists coming down the incline at speed. There are gates at either end of the tunnel and you have to buzz to be let in/out at either end, which is monitored on CCTV, so it's all very civilised nowadays.
.

Clyde tunnel, cyclepath and pedestrian walkway

 The Yoker/Renfrew Ferry

As a child I remember getting the ferry to Renfrew from time to time. My great-uncle Andy had worked in shipyards all his days and would tell us about the mechanics of the engine if he was taking us over. Before that my great-auntie Cathy had worked in the ticket booth on the Yoker side of the river. Only the foundations still survive of her booth, from the days before the Kingston Bridge, Erskine Bridge or Clyde Tunnel were built. The ferry was running back and forth 24 hours a day at that time. In those days it was f several car ferries that made the crossings "back and furrit", with a diesel engine that pulled it along the submerged chain. This old Renfrew Ferry is now moored underneath the Kingston Bridge as a venue, doing a busy trade in nights of tribute acts.

The ferry between Yoker and Renfrew has got smaller over the years, but still goes between the two points 7 days a week, carrying pedestrians and cyclists, and offering great views up the Clyde on a clear day. Plans have been approved to build a new road bridge here, ending the need for a ferry, but objections are ongoing whilst arguments about traffic congestion and whether this would be the final nail in the coffin for Clydebank Shopping Centre are sorted out. As some large ships still pass beyond this point on the river, the new bridge would need to open to allow river traffic to pass, in order to avoid a repeat of the 1996 incident when an oil rig being towed down the Clyde struck the underside of the Erskine Bridge.  

Renfrew town hall, at the end of High Street

Renfrew is a town close to Glasgow, but very much with its own history and identity. In the 12th century a castle here was home to the High Steward of Scotland, a hereditary title that eventually became the royal Stewart family. Convoluted royal shenanigans have led to the title of "Baron of Renfrew" being bestowed upon the heir to the British throne, at present Prince Charles. In 1315, Walter Stewart married Marjorie Bruce, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, and their son became the first Stewart monarch, Robert II, a line that continued to Mary Queen of Scots (who took the French Stuart spelling) and beyond.

Numerous industries have come and gone in this area. The India Tyres factory at Inchinnan is now closed, and the sign outside the former employees social club on High Street is a reminder of that. Glasgow's first commercial airport was at Renfrew, on a spot that now lies under a housing estate and the M8 motorway. Its distinctive concrete terminal building was a thing of beauty, but by 1966 the runway here was too short for the new jet engine powered planes. Simons and Lobnitz shipyard in Renfrew specialised in dredgers and barges, but closed in 1964, and from 1946 until 1982 Braehead Power Station stood on the banks of the Clyde near here. 

Although these industries have all gone several large employers still rely on workers from Renfrew. Glasgow Airport now lies just west of Renfrew and Braehead shopping centre sits on the former power station site. Other large employers near here include Vascutek, BAE Systems, Diageo distillers and the European headquarters of Doosan Babcock's engineering.

M8 motorway heading to Erskine

Renfrew to Paisley

As I jogged on through town, down Paisley Road towards...eh, Paisley, the road crosses over the M8 motorway to mark the edge of Renfrew and after briefly coming though Gallowhill we approach Paisley. A cairn here marks the spot in Gallowhill where a heavily pregnant Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert the Bruce was thrown off of her horse in 1316. She went into premature labour and delivered her son Robert before dying. After the death of Robert's childless uncle David II in 1371, Robert became the first Stewart king of Scotland. With a KFC and an Esso garage one way, a McDonald's in the other direction, and a council estate behind the cairn, I suspect that Marjorie may not recognise her old stomping ground if she were to return to this spot today. Other notable former Gallowhill residents include actor Gerard Butler, and former Partick Thistle player James Grady.

Cairn in Gallowhill marking the spot where Princess Marjorie fell to her death

Further along Renfrew Road sits the former administrative headquarters of Chivas Brothers, who produce one of the world's best selling whiskies, Chivas Regal . The company is now owned by French company Pernod Ricard, who are moving all their business from here to Dumbarton. Many whisky makers have had distilleries or bottling plants in the Paisley and Renfrew area, but global companies lack sentimentality and many changes have happened here in recent years.

Chivas headquarters

Chivas no more, despite the sign

Coming down Renfrew Road to...eh, Paisley, Scotland's largest town comes into view with the towers of Paisley Abbey, the town hall and Walneuk North Church visible in the photo below. The local football team take their name from St Mirin, the Irish monk who in the sixth century established a religious community that became Paisley Abbey. His statue stands outside St Mirin's Roman Catholic Cathedral in the town, waving on the Buddies.

Paisley skyline on approach from the Renfrew

Statue of Saint Mirren/ Saint Mirin in Paisley

In 1245 the priory at this site was raised to status of abbey, and with  the royal patronage of the local Stewarts, it grew in wealth and influence. It is believed that William Wallace was educated by the monks at Paisley Abbey and after Princess Marjory Bruce fell off her horse and died, she was buried in the abbey. As the mother of the first Stewart monarch, Queen Victoria provided an ornate cover for the tomb of her ancestor. 

In 1560 the monastery was disbanded with the Reformation, and much of it fell into ruin, a section being maintained as the local parish church. Extensive restoration over the past 150 years has returned it to some of its former glory. My favourite part of the restoration is among the gargoyles. As many had decayed away, in the 1990s stonemasons had to recreate them from scratch. They sneaked in a version of the xenomorph from the film Alien, who seems to fit in perfectly on a 12th century abbey.

Paisley Abbey

An Alien gargoyle in Paisley

With hand loom weavers from the early 1700s and then 100 years later with the start of shawl production in the town, Paisley has been synonymous with weaving, and with the distinctive teardrop of the Paisley pattern. The early shawl weavers were copying Kashmiri designs brought back from the British Empire. By 1850 there were 7000 weavers in Paisley, and the town became the biggest producer of these distinctive, expensive shawls. As fashions changed and cheaper versions became available from elsewhere, by 1870 shawl production fell away. 

The main output of the large mills in the town was cotton thread. First at the Clarks Mill founded in 1812, and then later Coats in 1826 (who took over the Clarks' works in 1896) they produced thread for clothing factories and domestic use all around the world. 

Former Coats Mill in Paisley, on the White Cart

Statue of the weaver poet Robert Tannahill

Two other things that Paisley is associated with are poets and radicals, and above is the statue of "Weaver Poet" Robert Tannahill (1774-1810) outside Paisley Abbey. 

Poetry and radical ideas come together in Radical Renfrew an anthology of poems collected by Tom Leonard. When working as a writer-in-residence at Paisley Library Tom gathered the works of over 60 poets from their archives to demonstrate that "anyone can use the public library to reclaim and reconstruct their own past". In the book he ties the local history to the poems, and gives fascinating brief biographies of the writers. There are concrete poems and political poems, laments and epitaphs, songs and rants. 

After the collapse of a weavers' strike in 1813, wages plummeted. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars destitution and poverty was widespread and some men returning from the war wanted to take up arms against the government. In England the military broke up a demonstration in 1819 calling for parliamentary reform, killing 11 people at Peterloo Fields near Manchester. A month before the 'Peterloo Massacre' 30,000 people had gathered at Meikleriggs outside Paisley. With Radicals organising across the country, Paisley was seen as a potential flashpoint. Curfews were imposed after rioting followed several meetings, and 1000 troops descended on the town to break it up. 

In 1820, again revolt was in the air, but despite a planned insurrection there was no mass rising across the country. When Baird and Hardie attempted to march on Falkirk, and James Wilson led the Strathven Radicals marching in the Cathkin Braes, they were quickly rounded up and the leaders later executed. In Woodside Cemetery in Paisley, lower down the hill from the monuments to members of the Coats family, a memorial was erected in 1867, to the memory of the executed radicals. The poem carved on the side of it reads 

Our heath-clad hills and lonely mountain caves

Are marked by battle-fields and martyrs' graves,

This stone records the last embattled stroke

Which Scotchmen struck at vile oppression's yoke.

At Bonnymuir, they trod their native heath,

And sought a warrior's or a martyr's death,

Sad choice! for their they found their enterprise

To claim or force Reform, by arm'd surprise,

Was circumvented and betrayed by spies,

And, thus ensnared in Treason's feudal laws,

Their personal honour in the people's cause

Compelled the fight which claims our pity and applause.

I don't copy that down here because of any great poetic quality, but because it illustrates how much this whole uprising, or insurrection, in Scotland in 1820 has so fallen from the public consciousness. Writing in 1969 in the foreword to a book on the subject, Hugh MacDiarmid complained that the people of Scotland knew nothing of the country's radical history, neither of John MacLean in the 20th century, nor of the radical uprising of 1820. He complained that "...in Scotland, where owing to the educational system scarcely anything of value in relation to our literature, history, national biography, or economic facts gets through the filter." In 1867 it merited a memorial, raised by ordinary people, but on the 200th anniversary barely a whisper. This is particularly surprising after the bloody events that followed the uprising, outside a prison in Greenock, when troops fired into an unarmed crowd, killing several people, but more on that as I head into Greenock on the next stage. 

Martyrs Memorial, to the Radicals executed after the 1820 uprising

There are numerous interesting memorials and sculptures in this Paisley cemetery, including to Covenanter martyrs, and to Belgian refugees who came to Paisley during World War 1. A particular favourite of mine is the one below with an organ carved atop, which I imagine being played on certain moonlit nights.

Memorial stone in Paisley cemetery

Paisley to Johnstone

On a day that had me sheltering from hailstones one minute, and shading my eyes from the sun the next, I got back on track with my route to Johnstone. I ran along the Sustrans "Lochs and Glens North" cycle path to Johnstone, and as this route uses A-roads to get to Largs beyond there, I plan to switch along to Route 75 which stays off road all the way to Greenock.

National cycle path number 7 near Paisley Canal train station

Cycle path from Paisley to Johnstone

One more quick detour took me off the cycle path to the busy junction between Maxwelltown Street at George Street. This inauspicious site marks a dark episode in Paisley's history. Like the women accused of witchcraft I came across on running through Fife, the west coast fell under the same madness. Peaking in the 17th century well over 3000 people, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft in Scotland, and many of them tortured and executed. In Paisley one famous trial resulted in seven people being found guilty of witchcraft, and executed. 

Paisley Witch Trial

In 1696, three years after the Salem witch trials in America, the eleven year old daughter of local landowner the Laird of Bargarren accused a servant of stealing a drink of milk. On being dismissed the servant cursed at the girl, Christian Shaw. A few days later she developed mysterious seizures and trances. When no medical explanation could be found and the child's behaviour persisted week after week the servant, Catherine Campbell, was accused of witchcraft. Shaw's accusations ballooned and eventually 35 people were accused. Of these seven were found guilty at trial and condemned to death. They were four women and three men, the youngest aged eleven and fourteen years old. One of them hanged himself in prison, the rest were publicly garroted at Gallow Green, their bodies burned and their ashes buried. Even after death they were defamed. To prevent post-mortem witchcraft they were buried at a crossroads, where sacrifices could appease the devil (Maxwelltown Cross at the bottom of Gallow Green) and a horseshoe laid to mark their grave, another lucky charm. 

After roadworks led to it being removed in the 1960s the horseshoe was relaid in 2008. A new memorial citing "Pain Inflicted, Suffering Endured, Injustice Done" marks the burial spot of the Paisley witches. I risked life and limb to have a quick look at it, the very brief green man at the traffic lights not designed for any lingering, but I can't help feel there may be a better way to commemorate this injustice.

The Paisley Witches Memorial, sits in the middle of a busy road junction

Horseshoe at the burial site of the Paisley "witches". Remembered with lucky charms

Elderslie

Leaving Paisley the cycle path ran briefly alongside a train line before skirting the north of Elderslie. Elderslie is known as the birthplace of William Wallace. Born around 1270 he went on to lead the Scottish forces in the Wars of Independence against England in the 13th century. After defeat in 1298 at the Battle of Falkirk he evaded capture for several years before being caught, and taken to London where he was tried for treason. After execution his head was placed on a pike at London Bridge. 

Cycle path to Elderslie

I did not know that there was a monument to Wallace in Elderslie so I veered off my path to follow the brown tourist signs that brought me to it. No tourist trail flags up the former site of the Stoddart's carpet factory, which was a later arrival to Elderslie than William Wallace. They produced the carpets for the Cunard liners built at John Brown's in Clydebank; The Queen Mary, The Queen Elizabeth and the QE2. My great uncle Andy worked on all three of them, and any suggestion that my granny's hall carpet came from this Elderslie factory is pure speculation.

Building remains at the site of William Wallace's birth

The memorial to William Wallace was erected in 1912, modeled like a Mercat Cross with panels at the base showing episodes in the life of Wallace. Archaeological investigations at this spot have shown evidence of an early castle being here, with ditches and suchlike uncovered. From the 15th century Wallace has been viewed as a national hero. The writing at that time by "Blind Harry" of The Wallace, a long poem extolling his virtues written 170 years after his death, has given us a romantic, idealised version of Wallace that lives on to this day in popular imagination, and in Hollywood depiction. An ancient oak at this spot is described in the poem as a place where Wallace hid from his enemies, and the oak was still standing in 1839 when it was depicted on an engraving. "The Wallace Yew" is the olde tree that still stands here, protected by a wee fence, although it is believed to be only about 300 years old. Unfortunately due to an arson attack in 1978 and subsequent storm damage and a fungal infection, it is slowly dying. The foundations beside the memorial are from a 17th century building, so about the same age as the yew.

Wallace Memorial, Elderslie

"The Wallace Yew"

The Wallace oak gets a mention in the history of the Radicals in this area. On 1st November 1819 the Radicals rallied in Johnstone against the government in London. Contemporary newspaper reports tell that they were led by bands, and carrying banners proclaiming "For a nation to be free, it is sufficient that it wills it", "Liberty the object, reason our guide" and "Against tyranny and oppression our lives we'll spend our rights to gain". William Wallace, thistles and Irish harps featured in banners and it is clear that many saw independence from England as the route to gain their rights.

The demonstration marched to Elderslie, where they halted beneath the "Wallace tree". The band played Scots Wha Hae and people fired pistols into the air and marched onwards to Paisley, probably along the cycle path as it avoids the busy A761. The authorities in Paisley were ready for them, with cavalry stationed on the High Street, sabres drawn. When news reached the Radical leaders of this, the crowd spread down the side streets of Paisley and dispersed.

Johnstone 

Former art deco cinema in Johnstone

Johnstone was established as a planned town in 1782 by the Houston family, who owned the land here. Coal mining, and then cotton industries grow up in the town, with mills powered by the Black Cart Water which runs to the north of the town. One of the prominent companies was WM Paton Ltd, a shoelace and twine manufacturer. Paton's mill was possibly the first machine factory mill in the world, pre-dating the mills at New Lanark by four years. The factory stood until very recently, demolished to make way for a drive-through Starbucks. There is a wee local history museum which is proclaimed as the world's only history museum housed within a supermarket (Morrisons on Napier Street if you are interested).

At the end of my day's run I headed to the station to catch a train back to Glasgow, only to find we were having a train-replacement-bus day. The bus which just left the car park as I came into the station. Excellent. Hopefully the trains will be running when I return to continue onwards to Port Glasgow and Greenock. 

Johnstone "train" station

That'll be the train replacement bus heading off...

(The books referenced above are pictured below. The one on the Scottish Insurrection was first published in 1970, and little has been produced on the topic since. This year with it being the 200th anniversary of the 1820 uprising a couple of new books have emerged, although I haven't had the chance to read them yet. Kenny MacAskill has just produced a book called "Radical Scotland: Uncovering Scotland's Radical History", and Maggie Craig has "One Week In April: The Scottish Radical Rising of 1820" coming out in April 2020.

• Radical Renfrew. Poetry from the French Revolution to the First Wold war. Edited by Tom Leonard
• The Radical Rising. The Scottish Insurrection of 1820, by Peter Berresford, Ellias and Seumas Mac A'Ghobhain

Glasgow to Culross - Part 2. Kirkintilloch to Falkirk

At the end of last year I spent a few weekends running The Fife Pilgrim Way, a new long distance footpath from Culross to St Andrews. I enjoyed the challenge, particularly as it took me away from running my usual jogging routes again and again. So this year, to explore the rest of Central Scotland I plan to complete my run across Scotland, from the Ayrshire coast to the Fife coast at St Andrews.

This middle section takes me from the River Clyde in Glasgow to Culross on the banks of the River Forth.

Glasgow to Culross - Part 2 - Kirkintilloch to Falkirk

Last weekend I ran from Glasgow to Kirkintilloch along the tow path of the Forth and Clyde Canal. This week I continued upon my very literal cross country run, from Kirkintilloch to Falkirk. From Glasgow I hopped on the train at Queen Street, which takes about 10 minutes to get to Lenzie, and then jogged down to the centre of Kirkintilloch to rejoin the canal.

St Mary's Parish Church by the canal, Kirkintilloch

Kirkintilloch to Twechar

Soon leaving Kirkintilloch, the canal meanders through the countryside all the way to the River Carron at Grangemouth, just beyond Falkirk. The canal just out of Kirkintilloch is accompanied by the River Kelvin, which lies just to the north for about the next 5 miles. Beyond that can be seen the Campsies, a gently rolling range of hills that was formed from lava flows 300 million yeas ago. The Campsies have long been an easily reached rural escape for the people of Glasgow, and was where I first went camping with my school friends. The wee dusting of snow today is a hint of the Campsie Fells place in Scottish skiing history, where William Naismith made the first ever skiing expedition in Scotland, in 1890.

The River Kelvin and the Campsies, viewed from the Forth and Clyde Canal outside Kirkintilloch

The Forth and Clyde Canal was opened in 1790. It became a popular route for sea-going craft to get coast-to-coast, avoiding the treacherous seas around the north of Scotland. It was also used to transport cargo (woven cloth, timber, coal, pig iron, sandstone, and agricultural produce) across the country, and to and from sea ports, at a time when the roads were poor. With the arrival of the railways in the 1830s, and then over time improved road transport, the canal soon became an uneconomic way to travel.

Especially in Glasgow, there is still lots of evidence of the former industrial buildings that huddled by the canal, but coming along this way it is all now open countryside, a few former lock-keepers cottages and derelict buildings hinting at the former activity on the canal. The canal was closed to traffic in 1962 and when I used to live overlooking it in Maryhill in the 1970s it had basically become an open refuse tip. After much work it was re-opened to barges and boats in 2001 but there are ongoing battles still to maintain the funding to keep it open.

Derelict building beside the canal

Reaching Twechar I veered off to the right to take a short diversion to the local Roman fort. Twechar was a mining village. The first substantial pits here were dug in 1860 and mining continued until 1968. For at least 50 years much of the coal was transported away via the canal.

The Antonine Wall, marking the northernmost extent of the Roman Empire in Britain runs across Scotland from Old Kilpatrick in the west to Bo'ness in the east, and therefore runs alongside the canal for much of its route. Constructed around 142AD it was built, occupied and then abandoned by the Romans over a period of just 20 years. To the north of the wall was dug a ditch, 5 metres deep in parts, then the wall constructed with layers of turf on a stone foundation, with some possible wooden palisades on top. Along the length of the wall were built 17 major forts, plus additional "fortlets" which accommodated about 7000 men. South of the wall ran a military way, a road allowing soldiers and supplies to move swiftly along the wall. 

Bar Hill Fort at Twechar is the highest fort on the Antonine Wall, with impressive views east and west along the line of the wall. Although it is hard to imagine today the impact the arrival of the Roman garrison here had on the people living hereabouts, the buildings would have been unlike anything the locals had ever seen before. The headquarters building here, the principia, had rows of stone pillars and iron window grilles housing glass windows. These can all be seen at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. 

The principia at Bar Hill Fort, Twechar

Columns taken from Bar Hill Fort, now on display in Glasgow

The soldiers manning the fort at Bar Hill were initially Baetasian soldiers from Rhineland, and then later Hamian archers from western Syria. Among some of the archaeological finds were discovered north African style pottery, and it may be that some African soldiers had been recruited to the Baetasian ranks during their time fighting the Mauretanian War in modern day Morocco, before being transferred to modern day Twechar.

Gravestone of Salamanes

The gravestone above, now in the Hunterian Museum, was from Bar Hill. It is dedicated by a father to his fifteen year old son, Salamanes, a Semitic name, revealing the middle Eastern origins of this family. It is thought that his father was a merchant who had traveled here from his homeland to a civilian settlement adjoining the fort. Below is part of a gravestone from Bar Hill, a reclining man with what looks like a dog. 

Roman gravestone

The bath house at Bar Hill Fort is shown below, where soldiers would relax and play board games. Other objects from Bar Hill Fort that can be seen at The Hunterian are beautiful leather shoes from a man, woman and child (400 leather shoes have been found here on excavations), and a wine barrel with a bung hole in the side found in a rubbish pit, with its owner Januarius' name scrawled on the side. 

Bar Hill Fort bathouse

Roman shoes found at Bar Hill

Old wine barrel found in a rubbish pit at Bar Hill Fort

On an increasingly blustery February morning I imagined those shivering Baetasians or Hamians waking up for another day on patrol in this remote outpost of the Roman Empire as I jogged on east along the wall. Before getting back to the canal I followed a path from here that leads to Castle Hill, a rocky lump that was once home to an Iron Age fort 500-700 years before the Romans arrived. Getting back on track, I headed along the route of the Military Way, which lies just south of the Antonine Wall, and then via forestry roads to a path signposted for Auchinstarry. 

The Military Way leaving Bar Hill Fort, the Roman road behind their wall

Path down to Auchinstarry

Twechar to Bonnybridge

Getting back on the canal path I arrived at Auchinstarry which lies between Croy and Kilsyth. It is now home to a marina but it is also where Auchinstarry Quarry is found, a popular rock climbing spot. Just east from here on the canal was previously found Craigmarloch Basin. Now overgrown with weeds it is hard to spot, but from the 1890s until 1939 this was the terminus for pleasure cruises from Port Dundas in Glasgow. Steam ships such as the Fairy Queen and the Gipsy Queen. A tearoom here catered for the day-trippers, who could visit the putting green, play in the swingpark or take a picnic up the short walk to Croy Hill behind the tearoom. Nothing now remains, although plans are being submitted to try to restore the nearby canal stables, which date back to 1820.

Boats at Auchinstarry Marina

Pleasure boats at Craigmarloch Basin on the canal 100 years ago

I took a short diversion off to the left here to follow the River Kelvin to its source near the hamlet of Kelvinhead, 22 miles away from where the river joins the Clyde in Glasgow. Here it is little more than a babbling burn. I have no proof of the fact, but the Kelvinhead local community website claims that the village was the place where the first potatoes were grown in Scotland, the beginning of a long love affair between Scotland and the starchy tuber. 

Shortly after the Kelvin veers away from the canal we come to something that hasn't been passed on the canal since leaving Maryhill in Glasgow; a lock gate. The flat summit of the canal comes to an end here and we start to slowly descend towards Falkirk. The former lock-keeper's cottage, and stable block and inn across the canal have been converted here into private houses. 

The mighty River Kelvin near to its source, at Kelvinhead

Wyndford lock-keeper's cottage

Canal bird spotting. Cormorant, traffic cone, oyster-catchers and gulls.

Bonnybridge to Falkirk

Continuing east along the canal path you soon go under the M80 motorway near to the Castlecary arches, and with the handsomely named Bonny Water to the north of the canal instead of the River  Kelvin, we soon come into Bonnybridge. I had never been to Bonnybridge before, and unfortunately only knew it as the UFO-spotting capital of Scotland. Also I cannot help but pronounce its name in the style of "Stoneybridge" from the TV show Absolutely. A village has existed near the river crossing here for several centuries, but it was in the 19th century that it increased in size with people coming to work in the sawmill, paper mill and iron foundries that were being established.

In 1820 the last armed uprising on British soil took place, a year after the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester. A week of strikes and unrest led to workers marching in Strathaven, and another group marched towards the Carron Ironworks in Falkirk, intent on seizing weapons. This group , armed with a handful of muskets and pistols and homemade pikes, were led by John Baird, a weaver from Condorrat, and Andrew Hardie a weaver from Townhead in Glasgow. Both men had been soldiers in the recent Napoleonic Wars. On the outskirts of  Bonnybridge this small group of men rested in a field, at a place called Bonnymuir. The radicals had been heavily infiltrated by spies and agents provocateurs and the government forces knew of their plans. At Bonnymuir a detachment of Hussars on horseback attacked them in a sabre charge. Realising that it was a fight they could not win, the Radicals surrendered. Several men were injured and rumours of others being killed circulated widely. The captured Radicals were taken through a tunnel under the Forth and Clyde Canal here and marched to imprisonment in Stirling. The "Battle of Bonnymuir" took place on 5th April 1820, almost exactly 200 years ago.

In the following months 88 people were tried for treason. Many were deported to Australia. James Wilson of Strathaven was executed in August 1820, and upon 8th September 1820 John Baird and Andrew Hardie were executed in Stirling. Hanged and then posthumously beheaded. A small plaque at Stirling Tolbooth, and a monument in Paisley commemorate their deaths.

Radical Pend, Bonnybridge

The passageway, or "pend", that the prisoners were taken through on their way to Stirling Castle was renamed "Radical Pend" in 1981, and a plaque above the arch was unveiled by Winnie Ewing to mark the occasion. It is one of the oldest tunnels under the canal still in use, constructed in 1780. After running through this I tried to find the hillside known as Bonnymuir. Unfortunately I ended up on the wrong side of the railway tracks here and had to take a circuitous route to it, but I got there in the end. It did let me run past some fields filled with Highland coos, and barnacle geese, which was nice.

Memorial stone to the Battle of Bonnymuir

Is this the Radical Dyke?

A memorial stone at the side of the B816 now marks the spot where the "Radicals took cover behind a 5 foot high dry-stane dyke...later known as The Radical Dyke". I wandered into the field trying to find that radical dyke. I don't know if I saw it, or just a pile of stones, but I am glad that Andrew Hardie and John Baird are not forgotten. I have seen James Kelman talk several times, at book launches and the like, and he almost inevitably manages to get the topic of conversation around to our lack of knowledge in this country of our working class radical history. In fact he has previously written a play about these events "Hardie and Baird - The Last Days". It surely is due a revival on the bicentenary of this Radical Rising, Scottish Uprising or Radical War. The events of that year go by many names but I would hope to see them investigated more fully and taught more widely.

Once I had found Bonnymuir I was so far away from the canal that I finished my run into Falkirk along the John Muir Way. This path goes from Helensburgh to Dunbar, John Muir's birthplace, and their website has lots of useful information on the various attractions along the route.

Finishing my day on the Antonine Wall I passed through Rough Castle. Little remains above ground from the excavations from the last century of the fort, but the rampart and ditch here are more obvious that at other parts of the wall. 

Antonine Wall at Rough Castle, near Bonnybridge

The site of Rough Castle, little of it remains at the site

Continuing along the path eastwards out of Rough Castle, after a short distance I arrived at the mighty feat of engineering known as the Falkirk Wheel. The world's only rotating boat lift takes vessels between the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal. Due to a maintenance issue I understand that the Union Canal is not navigable from here to Edinburgh at present, but plans are in place to repair it this year. In the meantime you can still take short boat trips up and down the Falkirk Wheel if you fancy.

The Union Canal where it connects to the Falkirk Wheel

Falkirk Wheel

Falkirk Wheel and visitor centre, viewed from the locks that lead to the Forth and Clyde canal

I am delighted that the canal network across Scotland has been re-opened, and provides green corridors for people to enjoy. At present it is a struggle to finance the necessary maintenance to keep the canal safe and navigable, but I think that it is of benefit to the common good and worth preserving. Maybe I am just biased because until I was 11 years old my bedroom window, looked down into the canal and Maryhill Road. Running along it today I enjoyed learning about the people that have worked, played, fought and rebelled along this quiet strip of greenery, and I have almost made it from Glasgow to the east coast now without stepping on tarmac for very long, or dodging any cars. Next for me is to find a route from Falkirk to Culross.

Antonine Wall at Watling Lodge, Falkirk

After a roll and square slice and a mug of coffee at the Falkirk Wheel visitor centre I jogged on to Falkirk High train station, passing another impressive bit of Antonine Wall at Watling Lodge, where the deep ditches of the wall are very obvious. One last Roman find to end on. At Bar Hill fort many statues to Silenus were found. He is usually depicted as an older man, a drinking companiion to Bacchus, and sometimes described as the god of drunkenness. It seems that he was a popular character with the soldiers. This wee statue of him below, which can be seen in The Hunterian Museum, describes him as having "an extended middle finger to ward off the evil eye." 

A 2000 year old statue from a Roman fort in Scotland that seems instantly recognisable.