Glasgow Bridge is the site of a road bridge over the

Forth and 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 allow ...

; it is also the site of a Roman

fortlet A ''castellum'' in Latin is usually: * a small Roman fortlet or tower,C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War; 2,30 a diminutive of ('military camp'), often used as a watchtower or signal station like on Hadrian's Wall. It is distinct from a , which is a ...

, on the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall () was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south ...

, halfway between the

Roman forts ''Castra'' () is a Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.. Included is a discuss ...

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; ; ) is a town and a Burgh of Barony (The Baron of Kirkintilloch) in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. Historically ...

and

Cadder Cadder (Scottish Gaelic: ''Coille Dobhair'') is a district of the town of Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is located 7 km north of Glasgow city centre, 0.5 km south of the River Kelvin, and approximately 1.5 km nor ...

The Road Bridge

The road bridge was built as a swing bridge. It now allows road users on the A803 to cross the canal. The bridge links Cadder and Kirkintilloch and has undergone repairs over the years. When the canal was closed, the water at the bridge was run through a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...

. The bridge was reinstated in 1990, for the re-opening of the canal. Just west of this bridge, a basin allows boats to launch from a slip. This bridge is halfway between

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Kilsyth Kilsyth (; ) is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in North Lanarkshire, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland. The estimated population is 10,380. The town is famous for the Battle of Kilsyth and the religi ...

and is marked on the first six-inch-to-the-mile (approximately 1:10000) OS map.

The Stables

Horses were often used on the canal tow path. Their work on the canal is celebrated at its eastern extension at The Helix with two unique equine sculptures known as

The Kelpies ''The Kelpies'' are a pair of monumental steel horse-heads between the Scottish towns of Falkirk and Grangemouth. They stand next to the M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorway and form the eastern gateway of the Forth and Clyde Canal, which meets ...

. The 'Stables' bar and restaurant was developed from the stables which supported the horses which serviced the canal work. The road sign outside informs drivers of the location of Craft daft (on a raft).

The Roman Fortlet

The fortlet can sometimes be seen in photographs taken from aircraft which have been taken at various times since 1955. Nothing identifiably Roman can be seen at the site anymore. There have been no excavations to date. Aerial photography has however highlighted an area of around 20 m square, which could have been secured with the help of the turf rampart with its ditch. It has been speculated that a bridge, across the ditch, may have granted admission to the frontier. The site of the fortlet is just east of the bridge over the Forth and Clyde Canal which carries the A803. Kirkintilloch is east of the site with Low Moss to the south. There is a temporary Roman camp at Easter Cadder about away. This is on a raised piece of ground approximately mid-way between the Glasgow Bridge fortlet and the main Roman fort at Kirkintilloch. If walking west, the line of the Wall changes course after the site of Glasgow Bridge Fortlet.

References

{{reflist Forts of the Antonine Wall History of East Dunbartonshire