Bowling ( sco, Bowlin,
gd, Bolan) is a village in

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter to ...

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 ...

, with a population of 740 (2015). It lies on the north bank of the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

, between the towns of

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling and Milton beyond) to the west, and the Yoker and Drumchapel ...

and

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

. It is west of Old Kilpatrick which is at one end of the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', 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 ...

and therefore represents the extreme limit of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

on the west coast of the island of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

Forth and Clyde Canal

Bowling is the location of the western terminus of 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 allowe ...

, opened in 1790, and it is the western gateway to the Lowland canals. In 2008,

British Waterways British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotlan ...

Scotland, in conjunction with

Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business. The body covers the eastern and central parts of Scotland whilst similar ...

Dunbartonshire, completed a £1.4 million regeneration programme at Bowling Basin to provide additional moorings and improved facilities. At the time there were plans for future use of an area of of land adjacent to Bowling, in conjunction with Clydeport. In June 2008, Lord Provost Denis Agnew, joined local schoolchildren and community groups to celebrate the completion of a £163,000 project to improve seven kilometres of towpath on the Forth & Clyde Canal from Bowling Harbour to Whitecrook in

. In 2007, Bowling welcomed the "

Vital Spark The ''Vital Spark'' is a fictional Clyde puffer, created by Scottish writer Neil Munro (writer), Neil Munro. As its captain, the redoubtable Para Handy, often says: "the smertest boat in the coastin' tred". Background Puffers seem to have been ...

", one of only five surviving

Clyde puffer The Clyde puffer is a type of small coal-fired and single-masted cargo ship, built mainly on the Forth and Clyde canal, and which provided a vital supply link around the west coast and Hebrides of Scotland. Built between 1856 and 1939, these stu ...

s, and the first of its kind to sail into Bowling Harbour for more than 40 years. The Forth & Clyde Canal is regarded as the birthplace of the puffers, which had to be small enough to negotiate the Crinan Canal. The archetypal puffer, the Vital Spark, appeared in the " Para Handy" books by Neil Munro and two television series of the same name.

Shipbuilding in Bowling

Bowling has been long associated with shipbuilding and ship repairing. The opening of the Forth and Clyde canal at Bowling in 1790 increased the number of vessels passing through the small village on their way to Glasgow. The first shipbuilding name in Bowling is that of Thomas MacGill, originally from Glasgow. He rented the Graving dock in 1800, for which he paid £25 in the first year. McGill and two of his sons built vessels at Bowling until 1843 when the yard was forced to close due to an extension of the Forth and Clyde Canal basin. In 1834 George Mills and Charles Wood entered into partnership, opening a shipyard at Littlemill in Bowling, at the other end of the bay from Thomas MacGill. This partnership did not last long, as Charles Wood left to set up a shipyard in Dumbarton on his own. In 1840/1 George Mills retired from shipbuilding and the shipyard closed. In 1851 a new partnership was formed at Bowling between Thomas MacGill's two sons, David and Thomas, and James Scott, whose father owned land at Littlemill. The company was known as Scott & MacGill. The shipyard was located on ground known as Frisky Hall Orchard and this small yard built wooden sailing vessels until, in 1874, it built its first iron vessel. In 1876 Thomas MacGill retired from the firm, leaving James Scott on his own and the name of the company was changed to Scott and Company. A partnership was formed in 1892 between James Scott and his two sons, Charles Wood Scott and James Scott Junior. The firm's name was changed again, to Scott and Sons. The firm continued to prosper well into the twentieth century, building in excess of 450 vessels, many of these being passenger vessels and coasters for Gardner & Stewart. In 1958, following the retirement of James W. Scott, the firm became a limited company, trading under the name Scott Sons (Bowling) Limited. In June 1965, the company was taken over by

Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, often referred to simply as Scotts, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Greenock on the River Clyde. In its time in Greenock, Scotts built over 1,250 ships. History John Scott fo ...

of Greenock. In 1979 the decision was taken to close the shipbuilding yard. The last vessel to leave the yard was the Laggan built for Forth Tugs Limited of

Grangemouth Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkir ...

. *MV Panagiotis One well-known ship built by Scott was the ''MV Saint Bedan'', launched in January 1937. After several changes of ownership and name, it became

MV Panagiotis The ''Panagiotis'' ( el, Παναγιώτης) is a shipwreck lying in the white sands of an exposed cove on the coast of Zakynthos, which is among the southernmost of the Ionian Islands of Greece. Navagio ("Shipwreck"), the spot where she l ...

and allegedly spent its later life as a smuggling ship in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...

. It ran aground at

Navagio Navagio Beach (Greek: Παραλία Ναυάγιο, ), or Shipwreck Beach, is an exposed cove, sometimes referred to as "Smugglers Cove", on the coast of Zakynthos, in the Ionian Islands of Greece. Navagio Beach was originally known as Agio ...

Beach on the Ionian Island of

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Z ...

(Zante) in 1980, becoming one of the most picturesque and well-visited shipwrecks in the world.

Glenarbuck House

Glenarbuck House is a

Category B listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

in Bowling. It was built in 1804 for the merchant Gilbert Hamilton (1744–1808) who was the first president of the

Glasgow Humane Society The Glasgow Humane Society was founded in 1790. It is the oldest continuing lifeboat service in the world. The aims and objectives of the Society are: *Preservation of human life in and around the waterways of Greater Glasgow. *Provision of lifeb ...

, a founding member of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Glasgow's Lord Provost in 1792. Later owners included the

Duke of Sutherland Duke of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833 for George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford. A series of marriages to heiresses by members of the Leveson-Gower family made th ...

and the Scott family of the shipbuilders Scott and Sons.

Rail transport

Bowling railway station opened in 1850 when the

North Clyde line The North Clyde Line (defined by Network Rail as the ''Glasgow North Electric Suburban'' line) is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail Trains. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathga ...

ran via

to Balloch. In 1858 the line was extended to progress to

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 popu ...

to the east, and

Helensburgh Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local gove ...

to the west. Between 1896 and 1951, the village was also served by a second station, on

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...

's Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway line. Its former trackbed now forms a footpath and cycleway through the village. Today

ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise ...

services call at Bowling, two trains per hour each direction.

Bowling today

Bowling is in the same parish as Old Kilpatrick Church and the former church in Bowling has been converted into housing. The village has an annual Gala Day in June, at which a girl is crowned Queen for a day. The ceremony starts at Bowling Memorial Park and continues to Bowling Hall. Bowling also has an annual cheese running competition where locals chase rolls of cheese down the Kilpatrick hills. The winner is awarded with a giant roll of cheese and has the village hall named after them until next years cheese race. Steven Donnachie is currently the record holder winning the cheese race 6 times.

References

External links

National Archives entry for Bowling Working Mens Club, 1884-1949: minute books, rolls of members, accountsBowling Harbour - Clyde Waterfront HeritageVideo and narration - Bowling Basin and Harbour Complex
{{authority control Villages in West Dunbartonshire Ports and harbours of Scotland