![EdinburghBoathouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/EdinburghBoathouse.jpg)
The Edinburgh Union Canal Society is a
charitable
The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion.
Etymology
The word ''charity'' ori ...
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
society on the
Union Canal
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The Society's main base is Ashley Terrace
Boathouse
A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...
at Lockhart Bridge, near Harrison Park in the
Polwarth area of Edinburgh.
The society was founded in 1985 and is a founder member of the
Scottish Inland Waterways Association
The Scottish Inland Waterways Association (SIWA) was a registered charity and association of canal societies and individual canal enthusiasts in Scotland.
The Association was founded in 1970 by canal enthusiasts who, after the closure of the U ...
.
In partnership with the
Forth Canoe Club, the
Linlithgow Union Canal Society
The Linlithgow Union Canal Society is a waterway society and a Scottish registered charity based at Linlithgow Canal Centre on the Union Canal at Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland. Also known as "LUCS", it was founded in 1975 by Melville Gray to ...
, the
Bridge 19-40 Canal Society
The Bridge 19-40 Canal Society is a Scottish waterway society and registered charity operating community boats on the Union Canal, with bases at Winchburgh and Drumshoreland, West Lothian.
History
The former B.U.C.H.A.N. Society, a canal socie ...
, the
Seagull Trust
Seagull Trust Cruises (formerly Seagull Trust) is a waterway society and Scottish charity.
The Trust was formed in 1978 and offers free canal cruising for disabled and disadvantaged persons and groups. The Seagull Trust was awarded the Queen's ...
and other canal societies on the Scottish Lowland Canals, Edinburgh Canal Society campaigned for many years to have the Union Canal rebuilt, refurbished and re-opened.
The culmination of the campaign was the joining of the Union Canal and the
Forth & Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...
by way of the
Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part o ...
. Edinburgh Canal Society was one of the official
Millennium Link
The Millennium Link is one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken by British Waterways. The Union Canal (Scotland), Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal were originally joined by a flight of Lock (water transport), locks. The Mill ...
Project Partners.
Boats and boathouse
The society owns a wooden historical launch with
Kelvin
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phys ...
engines; the vessel had sunk in the early 1990s in
Fisherrow
Fisherrow is a harbour and former fishing village at Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, to the east of Portobello and Joppa, and west of the River Esk.
History
There has been fishing at Fisherrow and Musselburgh since Roman times, and the pr ...
harbour at
Musselburgh
Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of .
History
The name Musselburgh is Ol ...
after a violent storm. A society member happened to be passing just as the disposal lorry arrived, and the vessel was rescued. In 1999, she was removed to Mackay's
boatyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
in
Arbroath
Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902.
It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen.
The ...
, with help from the
Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
. The same boatyard had earlier restored
Robert Scott's
RRS ''Discovery'' in
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
. Obtaining the correct
Kelvin
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phys ...
engine at first seemed impossible, but by another chance encounter, a Kelvin E2 engine was obtained from a warehouse in
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
.
![PatrickMacGill07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/PatrickMacGill07.jpg)
A replica launch was built to meet the demand for more boat trips in both directions of the Union Canal, but this has been disposed of. The society also owns a fleet of wooden
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
boats for hire or charter.
The society's
boathouse
A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...
is one of a large range of
iconic buildings and structures on the Scottish Lowland Canals. It was sited originally where the University Rowing Club's boathouse is at present. In 1987 the boathouse was dismantled and rebuilt in modified form at its present site, and it is constantly being refurbished, to the delight of amateur and professional photographers.
In 2008, the Boathouse and one of the rowing boats were a filming location for a creative documentary, commissioned in Ireland and named ''An Paísti Beo Bocht'', about the life of
Patrick MacGill
Patrick MacGill (24 December 1889 – 22 November 1963) was an Irish journalist, poet and novelist, known as "The Navvy Poet" because he had worked as a navvy before he began writing.
Personal life
MacGill was born in Glenties, County Donega ...
, the Irish
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
,
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
, nicknamed "The Navvy Poet" due to his earlier occupation as
navvy
Navvy, a clipping of navigator ( UK) or navigational engineer ( US), is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects and occasionally (in North America) to refer to mechanical shovels and eart ...
on the canals.
In 2009, members of the Society and others were involved in the setting up of the first Edinburgh Canal Festival between
Edinburgh Quay and the Society's boathouse at Harrison Park. This event is now an annual one and will take place again in 2012.
In July 2015 the Society had to cease hiring out rowing boats when its boathouse was declared unsafe, pending major repairs.
Journeys and rallies
![Boathouse and rowing boats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Boathouse_and_rowing_boats.jpg)
* 17 May 2001 Kelvin's first trip beneath
Forth Bridge
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...
from
Port Edgar
Port Edgar is a marina on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, immediately west of the Forth Road Bridge and the town of South Queensferry, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally a naval base, HMS ''Lochinvar'', Port Edgar is now a busy marina ...
* 24 May 2001 Port Edgar to
Carron Carron may refer to:
Rivers
* River Carron, Forth, a river in Central Scotland
* River Carron, Wester Ross
* River Carron, Sutherland
* Carron River (Queensland), a river in Australia
* Carron Water, Aberdeenshire, a river that flows into the Nort ...
Sea Lock, Opening of
Forth & Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...
* 25 May 2001
Carron Carron may refer to:
Rivers
* River Carron, Forth, a river in Central Scotland
* River Carron, Wester Ross
* River Carron, Sutherland
* Carron River (Queensland), a river in Australia
* Carron Water, Aberdeenshire, a river that flows into the Nort ...
Sea Lock to Lock 15
* 26 May 2001
Camelon
Camelon (; sco, Caimlan, gd, Camlann)
is a large set ...
to
Auchinstarry
Auchinstarry is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK, near to Kilsyth. It is the site of a Roman fort.
Auchinstarry Basin is on the Forth and Clyde Canal, and a £1.2M regeneration project has created a mooring basin for boats with 56 p ...
Basin
* 27 May 2001 Auchinstarry to Temple (Lock 27)
* 28 May 2001 Temple to
Bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
Basin
* 25 August 2001
Wester Hailes
Wester Hailes is an area in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Wester Hailes borders on Kingsknowe and Longstone to the east. Bankhead Industrial Estate and Sighthill Park lie to the north.
History
Although named after a large private ho ...
to Leamington Bridge; Formal Opening of Wester Hailes section of Union Canal
* 20 May 2002 Harrison Park to
Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part o ...
for Official Opening by
HM The Queen on 20 May 2002.
* 2 October 2002 Wester Hailes Gala Day
* 28 March Formal opening of Speir's Wharf
* 1 and 2 April 2003
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
to Falkirk Wheel to
Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...
* 17 to 23 April 2003 Leamington Bridge via Falkirk Wheel, Glasgow (Speir's Wharf), Bowling Basin,
River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
, Carron Sea Lock, to Port Edgar via
Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing ( ; gd, Inbhir Chèitinn) is a port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV in the 12th century. It was an impo ...
.
* 23 May and 13 August 2003
Harrison Park Harrison Park may refer to:
* Harrison Park (Leek), a stadium in Leek, Staffordshire
* Harrison Park (New Jersey), a former baseball ground in Harrison, New Jersey
* Municipality of Harrison Park, a rural municipality in Manitoba
* Harrison Park, a ...
to
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
Top Lock
* 25 Sept. 2003
World Canals Conference The World Canals Conference (WCC) is an annual conference about canals and other waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending ...
, Wester Hailes
* 23 March 2004 Falkirk Wheel Lower Basin to Carron Sea Lock
* 4–6 April 2004
Kincardine Kincardine may refer to:
Places Scotland
*Kincardine, Fife, a town on the River Forth, Scotland
**Kincardine Bridge, a bridge which spans the Firth of Forth
*Kincardineshire, a historic county
**Kincardine, Aberdeenshire, now abandoned
**Kincardi ...
Pier to Craigforth
Weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
,
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
to Carron Sea Lock
* 16 April 2004
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
to
Ratho
Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Statio ...
,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
* 1 May 2004 Kelvin TWO launched at MacLean's Yard,
Renfrew
Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...
* 18 to 30 May 2004
Lancaster Canal
The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria (historically in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, a ...
via
Preston,
Bilsborrow
Bilsborrow is a village on the A6 road and the Lancaster Canal, in the Wyre District, in the English county of Lancashire. The village population at the 2011 census was 632. It is approximately east of Myerscough. Bilsborrow was a civil par ...
,
Garstang
Garstang is an ancient market town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north of the city of Preston and the same distance south of Lancaster.
In 2011, the parish had a total resident population of 4,268 ...
,
Galgate
Galgate is a village in the City of Lancaster, just south of Lancaster University, and about south of Lancaster itself in the English county of Lancashire.
Etymology
The name ''Galgate'' is from ''Galwaithegate'', a road that continues nort ...
,
Hest Bank
Hest may refer to:
* Ari Hest (born 1979), American singer-songwriter
* Greg van Hest (born 1973), Dutch runner
* ''Hest'', an album by the Norwegian band Kakkmaddafakka
See also
* Hest Bank
Hest may refer to:
* Ari Hest (born 1979), American ...
,
Glasson Dock
Glasson Dock, also known as Glasson, is a village in Lancashire, England, south of Lancaster at the mouth of the River Lune. In 2011, it had a population of around 600.
History
Glasson was originally a small farming and fishing community (whic ...
,
Lancaster,
Bolton-le-Sands
Bolton-le-Sands is a large village and civil parish of the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. The parish had a population of 4,098 recorded in the 2001 census, increasing to 4,127 at the 2011 Census.
Referred to as ''Bodeltone'' in the ...
,
Carnforth
Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...
and
Tewitfield
Tewitfield is a hamlet in Lancashire, England, near Borwick and Carnforth, and in the parish of Priest Hutton.
History & details
Tewitfield Locks is the current terminus of the navigable Lancaster Canal. In 2008, the Lancaster Canal Trust, t ...
.
* 28–30 May 2004
Kelvin
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phys ...
Rally,
Shardlow
Shardlow is a village in Derbyshire, England about southeast of Derby and southwest of Nottingham. Part of the civil parish of Shardlow and Great Wilne, and the district of South Derbyshire, it is also very close to the border with Leicestersh ...
,
Trent & Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...
* 15 June 2004 Ratho
* 9 Aug 2004 Kelvin 1 and Kelvin 2 at
Winchburgh
Winchburgh is a village in the council area of West Lothian, Scotland. It is located approximately west of the city-centre of Edinburgh, east of Linlithgow and northeast of Broxburn.
Prehistory and archaeology
Archaeological excavations in ...
* 22 March 2005
Edinburgh Quay Official Opening
* 22 May 2006 Falkirk Top Lock to Harrison Park
* Start of regular Sunday Shuttles from ECS
boathouse
A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...
to
Edinburgh Quay and return
References
"Adrift in Caledonia", by Nick Thorpe; publ. Little, Brown,
External links
Kelvin Diesel Engines
See also
{{Portal, United Kingdom, Transport
*
Areas of Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
*
World Canals Conference The World Canals Conference (WCC) is an annual conference about canals and other waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending ...
*
Falkirk Helix
The Helix is a land transformation project to improve the connections between and around 16 communities in Falkirk Council, Scotland, including the eastern end of the Forth and Clyde Canal, and to regenerate the area near where the canal joins t ...
*
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government with responsibility for the regulation of charities in Scotland.
OSCR is the independent regulator and registrar for more than 24,000 Scottish ch ...
1985 establishments in Scotland
Charities based in Edinburgh
Clubs and societies in Edinburgh
Transport in Edinburgh
Canals in Scotland
Organizations established in 1985
Waterways organisations in Scotland