Vale of Leven
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The Vale of Leven (
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of
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 town ...
,
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 ...
, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of
The Lennox The Lennox ( gd, Leamhnachd, ) is a region of Scotland centred on The Vale of Leven, including its great loch: Loch Lomond. The Gaelic name of the river is ''Leamhn'', meaning ''the smooth stream'', which anglicises to ''Leven'' (as Gaelic ' ...
, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ''field of the Leven''. ''Leamnha'' is thought to mean elm-water. Geographically the valley of the Vale of Leven runs from
Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...
in the north to
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 ...
in the south. However, the term "Vale of Leven" or just "The Vale" is commonly used locally to refer to the urban area towards the north of the valley that consists of a number of communities. These were historically separate villages but have expanded into one
conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
. The largest of these communities is the town of
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, which sits on the west bank of the Leven. Alexandria is connected to the village of Renton to the south and to the village of Balloch in the north. Across the river from Alexandria Is
Bonhill Bonhill ( sco, B'nill; gd, Both an Uillt) is a town in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is sited on the Eastern bank of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven, on the opposite bank from the larger town of Alexa ...
which is connected to Jamestown to the north. The combined population of these areas in 2020 was approximately 22000. The area's name lends itself to Alexandria's local football club,
Vale of Leven F.C. Vale of Leven Football Club are a Scottish Association football, football club based in the town of Alexandria, Scotland, Alexandria, in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed ''the Vale'' and formed in 1939, they play at Mil ...
; the secondary school,
Vale of Leven Academy Vale of Leven Academy is a non-denominational secondary school in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The school serves the surrounding towns of Alexandria, Balloch, Bonhill, Jamestown, and Renton. The current school building, opened in June 2009 ...
; the
Vale of Leven District General Hospital Vale of Leven District General Hospital or simply the Vale of Leven Hospital is a district general hospital in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. History ...
and other local organisations.


Geography

The Vale of Leven is the valley of the River Leven between
Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...
in the north and the
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 ...
at
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 ...
in the south. To the east are the
Kilpatrick Hills The Kilpatrick Hills are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching from Dumbarton in the west to Strathblane in the east. Strathblane divides the Kilpatricks from the Campsie Fells to the east, while to the north is part of the Loch Lom ...
. The western hills form a minor off-shoot of the
Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
, comprising Ben Bouie, Mount Mallow and Carman muir. The valley was shaped by
glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
action associated with the last glacial period in Britain, th
Loch Lomond Readvance


History

Carman Hill is a large
hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
sitting west of Renton. Despite its impressive size, a lack of detailed archaeological investigations make the timing of its inhabitation and many other basic details uncertain, but its close geographical proximity to the major fortress of Alcluith at
Dumbarton Rock 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 ...
(sited where the River Leven meets the River Clyde) suggests a relationship with this important
iron age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
centre. After incorporation of Alcluith's successor state, Strathclyde, into the kingdom of Scotland, the Vale of Leven became the political centre of the
Earldom of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first earl ...
. By the 13th century nearby Dumbarton was centrally controlled by the crown as a
royal burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...
, however the Vale of Leven remained a relatively wild area. As an example, in 1230 when the Earl of Lennox granted valuable fishing rights on the River Leven to local monks, he had to promise them protection to enable them to work there. After the
Wars of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...
,
Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
purchased land in Cardross and the Vale of Leven. He lived and ruled from there until his death in 1329. There is a smal
King Robert the Bruce Heritage Centre
situated at the train station in Renton. The Vale of Leven was an area of small farms and relatively low population until industrialisation started with the establishment of a bleach-field at Dalquhurn, Renton in 1715. Both dyeing and bleaching industries were attracted to the area by the reliable and fast flowing waters of the River Leven. By the 1830's dye works had spread along the river from Renton to Balloch. Individual works included those at Dalquhurn, Cordale, Bonhill, Alexandria, Milton, Dalmonach, Dillichip, Ferryfield and Levenbank. People emigrated from the Highlands, from Ireland and from northern England to staff this industry, and the five villages of The Vale grew. In 1897 several of these works amalgamated as the United
Turkey Red Turkey red is a color that was widely used to dye cotton in the 18th and 19th century. It was made using the root of the rubia plant, through a long and laborious process. It originated in India or Turkey, and was brought to Europe in the 1740s. ...
Company. The last dyeworks in the area was the British Silk Factory which closed in 1980. Current notable employers include Loch Lomond Distilleries, Chivas Brothers distillers, and Aggreko Generators. The tourism and hospitality industries are also important local employers.


Politics

The area is traditionally industrial, based particularly on the dyeing industry, but with the decline of manufacturing in Scotland has had to look to new areas for employment. The area had exceptionally high levels of
unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...
in the 1920s and 1930s, which gave it a radical reputation, with
Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and
Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
being popular political philosophies in particular. During that time it was known as one of the "
Little Moscow Little Moscow was a term for towns and villages in capitalist societies whose population appeared to hold extreme left-wing political values or communist views. The places so named were typically in working class areas, normally with strong trade ...
s" in Britain i.e. an area where the
Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...
had exceptional strength. The Vale of Leven District Council (which disappeared in the
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
reorganisation of the 1970s) could have had the distinction of being the only local council in Great Britain where the Communist Party were ever the largest single party, although unlike most of the "little Moscows" it was not a
coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
area. The Communist Party went into serious decline locally in the 1950s under the influence of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, more quickly than in some other "little Moscows". However, there was an important industrial struggle during the early 1970s when the
Plessey The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compani ...
factory experienced a lengthy sit-in, objecting to its proposed closure. In recent years the Labour Party and the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
have been the dominant parties in the area, though
Jim Bollan Jim Bollan (born c. 1950) is a councillor in West Dunbartonshire, representing the West Dunbartonshire Community Party. Until 2016 he was a member of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), having been the only elected representative from that party ...
of the
West Dunbartonshire Community Party The West Dunbartonshire Community Party is a minor political party involved in local government elections in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The party was formed in 2015 to contest the 2017 West Dunbartonshire Council election. History In 2015 ...
and formerly the
Scottish Socialist Party The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP; gd, Pàrtaidh Sòisealach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Socialist Pairtie) is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scotland. The party was founded in 1998. It c ...
has been a councillor for the Leven ward of
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 town ...
council since 2007.


Sport

The Vale of Leven was a hotspot for the early development of Scottish football. This relatively small area gave birth to numerous football clubs, of which the most successful were Vale of Leven FC and Renton FC. Neither is currently a senior team, but by 1888 the 2 clubs had won 5
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,


Walking and cycling

Two major walking and/or cycling routes cross the Vale of Leven. National Cycling Network route 7 (
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 Balloch) runs along the length of the River Leven and the
John Muir Way The John Muir Way is a continuous long-distance route in southern Scotland, running from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute in the west to Dunbar, East Lothian in the east. It is named in honour of the Scottish conservationist John Muir, who was ...
crosses the northern end of the valley. There are also many local hill walking routes leading to
Cardross Cardross (Scottish Gaelic: ''Càrdainn Ros'') is a large village with a population of 2,194 (2011) in Scotland, on the north side of the Firth of Clyde, situated halfway between Dumbarton and Helensburgh. Cardross is in the historic geographical ...
,
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 governm ...
and
Glen Fruin Glen Fruin ( gd, Gleann Freòin) is a glen in Scotland, adjacent to Loch Lomond. It contains the Fruin Water which flows into the loch, and a road, now the A817 road, known as the Glen Fruin Haul Road, which goes from the A82 up the glen and ov ...
to the west and into the Kilpatrick hills to the east.


Transport

Train links to Glasgow with railway stations at Balloch, Alexandria and Renton. Bus links to Glasgow via Dumbarton and
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, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...
. Also bus routes to
Drymen Drymen (; from gd, Druiminn ) is a village in the Stirling district of central Scotland. Once a popular stopping place for cattle drovers, it is now popular with visiting tourists given its location near Loch Lomond. The village is centred arou ...
, Helensburgh, and
Luss Luss (''Lus'', 'herb' in Gaelic) is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, on the west bank of Loch Lomond. The village is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. History Historically in the County of Dunbarton, its origina ...
. The A82 trunk road from Glasgow to Fort William runs through the Vale of Leven.


References


External links


The Vale of Leven History Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vale Of Leven Geography of West Dunbartonshire