The Linlithgow Union Canal Society is a

waterway society A waterway society is a society, association, charitable trust, club, trust or "Friends" group involved in the restoration, preservation, use and enjoyment of waterways, e.g. a canal, river, navigation or other waterway, and their associated ...

and a Scottish

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

based at Linlithgow Canal Centre 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 ...

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 ...

West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

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 ...

. Also known as "LUCS", it was founded in 1975 by Melville Gray to "promote and encourage the restoration and use of the Union Canal, particularly in the vicinity of Linlithgow".

History

From 1970, Mel Gray had started to clear the

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport ...

with the help of boys from

HMYOI Polmont His Majesty's Young Offenders Institution Polmont is the largest of its kind in Scotland. HMP Polmont first opened as a Borstal in 1911 in the buildings of the former Blairlodge Academy. The Academy had been forced to close in 1908 due to financ ...

, a

Young Offenders Institution His Majesty's Young Offender Institution (or HMYOI) is a type of prison in Great Britain, intended for offenders aged up to 18, although some prisons cater for younger offenders from ages 15 to 17, who are classed as juvenile offenders. Typically t ...

. This was followed by the first boaters' Rally at Linlithgow Canal Centre, organised by 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 ...

and the

Scottish Civic Trust Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

in 1972. In 1975 the Society acquired an old

dredger Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

from the (then)

British Waterways Board 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, Scotland a ...

, now

Scottish Canals Scottish Canals is the Scottish Government body responsible for managing the country's inland waterways. Formerly a division of British Waterways, it became a stand-alone executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government on 2 J ...

. In the Seventies and Eighties, other canal societies began to be formed on 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 ...

, including

Edinburgh Canal Society The Edinburgh Union Canal Society is a charitable canal society on the Union Canal in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Society's main base is Ashley Terrace Boathouse at Lockhart Bridge, near Harrison Park in the Polwarth area of Edinburgh. The society ...

, Forth Canoe Club,

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 so ...

and others. Persistent campaigning resulted in the restoration of the Scottish Lowland canals through the Millennium Link Project of which Linlithgow Union Canal Society was an official Partner. The Link connects the Union and Forth & Clyde canals by way of the unique

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 ...

boat lift A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock. It may be vertically moving, like the Anderton boat lift in England, rotational, like ...

. Linlithgow Union Canal Society hosted a Scottish Inland Waterways Association (SIWA) Rally in 2008, and it participates in the annual Linlithgow Folk Festival. Mel Gray, the founder, died in March 2006 .

Linlithgow Canal Centre

The Society administers the Linlithgow Canal Centre and operates boat trips, a tearoom and the new Mel Gray Education Centre. Provision for schools includes boat trips to teach children water safety and other related topics, and the Education Centre is able to cater for all age groups. Further boats were purchased in 1987 and 1995 and are taking visitors to Linlithgow or the

Avon Aqueduct The Avon Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Union Canal over the River Avon, near Linlithgow, Scotland. History The aqueduct was built to a design by Hugh Baird, with advice from Thomas Telford, in tandem with the aqueducts ...

; constructed by Hugh Baird with advice from

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...

, it is the second longest aqueduct in the UK and the longest and highest in

. The trip boat "Saint Magdalene" is named after the

St Magdalene distillery St. Magdalene distillery was a producer of single malt Scotch whisky that operated between 1798 and 1983. History St. Magdalene was established at least by 1798 (and possibly as early as 1765). During its early life, it was known as "Linlithgow" ...

. The Canal Museum was created in 1977. It had started life as a stable for the boat horses and is now a resource centre for the study of the history of the UK canal system.

Photo gallery

Image:Linlithgow Canal Centre.jpg Image:Linlithgow Tripboat.jpg Image:LUCS plaque.jpg, Tourist Board plaque Image:Linlithgow Canal Tearoom.jpg Image:SIWA Rally 2008.jpg

References

* "Canal & Riverboat" Magazine, April 2005, article by Ian Mitchell

External links

*
Scottish Inland Waterways Association website

National Archives of Scotland

West Lothian Council website

{{coord, 55.9749, -3.5982, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Museums in West Lothian Transport museums in Scotland Canal museums in the United Kingdom Waterways organisations in Scotland Organisations based in West Lothian Charities based in Scotland 1975 establishments in Scotland Organizations established in 1975 Linlithgow

History

Linlithgow Canal Centre

Photo gallery

See also

References

External links