If you are going west you need to book a time to have Bonnybridge road
lift bridge opened (British Waterways Tel: 0845 676 6000). Leave your telephone
/ mobile number if the line is busy, as the BW staff person is probably
already on the phone. Remember, after you have sorted yourself and your
luggage out on the boat, it will take us about 30 minutes to go through
the handover procedures and then 35 minutes to travel west along the Forth
and Clyde to Bonnybridge road lift bridge where BW staff will be waiting
to meet you, take you through the bridge and up through the four locks
that follow shortly after.It is important to keep to the time you have
booked, or you may be delayed.
So for example your timetable might be: Arrive at Falkirk Wheel visitor
centre car park 2.30pm. Load personal gear onto boat. Boat show round 2.55pm.
Book Bonnybridge lift bridge passage for 4.00pm. Leave our base 3.25pm
at latest.
If you are GOING WEST on the Forth and Clyde Canal, BW staff will see
you through Bonnybridge road lift bridge and locks 17 - 20. You are then
on the summit reach and there are no more locks between here and Glasgow,
but there are two more bridges. If you want to celebrate the start of your
holiday with a restaurant meal, we would recommend you moor on the towpath
side immediately you come out of lock 20. Glenskirlie House which won a
Restaurant of the Year award a few years back - is a 10-minute walk away
on the towpath side. Follow the road to the T-junction and turn right there
and about 100 yards along the restaurant is on the left. Book well in advance
01324 840201 - to eat in the restaurant.
Bar meals are also available at lunchtime. If the weather is warm, don
t miss the garden at the rear. You can stay at lock 20 overnight if you
wish. At lock 20 let the BW staff know where you intend to stop for the
night, what time you plan to leave the following morning and how far you
intend to go that day. This will save you a phone call in the morning -
but make sure you stick to your departure time next day to get through
those two road bridges.
By the way, you can travel from Falkirk to Glasgow in about 9 hours. (Glasgow
to Bowling will take you a day). If you plan to go into Glasgow, which
is the place to stop the night, even if you are going down to Bowling the
following day, you need to take the left fork when the canal splits. This
is Stockingfield Junction. You can moor at one of two places The first
is at BW headquarters at Applecross Street. Your BW key on the key ring
will allow you to open the gate surrounding the BW premises and get back
in when you return. It is a 15-minute walk across the canal down into the
city centre.
There is a watchman on duty throughout the night at Applecross Street.
The other alternative is Spiers Wharf. To stop here you need to have phone
BW in advance, as you come into Glasgow, on 0845 676 6000 to get the bascule
bridge at Applecross Street opened for you and you need to be here by 5.00pm
at the latest. Plenty mooring space at Spiers Wharf.
If you are GOING EAST up through the Falkirk Wheel and along the Union
Canal towards Edinburgh, as soon as your showround has been completed we
will place you in any queue their might be for the Wheel. We will open
the pedestrian bridge for you and once you have passed through this bridge,
turn immediately into the lower lock, which should be set for you. Have
your mooring ropes (bow and stern) coiled in advance and pass the entire
coils once round the poles that run the entire depth of the lock and then
once round the cleat on the front of the boat and also hold the stern in.
This will allow you to hold your position whilst the lock fills. When the
lock has filled and the gates have been opened, the BW staff will tell
you when to proceed across and into the wheel gondola.
Even though the green traffic light is showing, wait for their instruction.
If there is a wind blowing, usually from the
west, you need to make allowance for it when crossing the wheel basin.
Enter the gondola and both someone at the bow and stern should go onto
the walkway and tie off the boat. Everyone should get back onto the boat
whilst the wheel turns. The thing of interest to watch for here is over
the stern as the baffles rise from the water, the water is drained from
between them, and the securing bolts are withdrawn. Then the wheel begins
to turn. When you have completed your cycle, your crew in the bow can watch
the same thing happening in reverse. BW staff will tell you when to leave
the gondola.
If it is windy at the top, keep a reasonable amount of throttle open so
you are not pushed into the leeward bank. Pass through the tunnel under
the Antonine Wall if you keep your eyes on one side of the boat and make
sure you keep a roughly constant space from the towpath, you will keep
straight. If you look to the front of the boat, an optical illusion will
suggest you are not going straight. Once you leave the tunnel, turn to
the left and into the first of two locks in series. Same procedure as in
the lower lock with only BW operating them. If the lock gates are not open,
moor at the bollards on your left until the lock has been emptied and the
gates opened.
Once you have cleared these locks you have no more obstacles between you
and Edinburgh, which is 10 and a half hours cruising away. However, you
will pass through the Falkirk Tunnel, which usually has a water spout coming
through the roof at the west end on the towpath side. It is easily avoided.
Best place to stop for your first night is Linlithgow (just through the
bridge at Manse Road basin, where the Linlithgow Union Canal Society have
their boats), which is three hours from the locks. If you would like to
have a bottle/s of wine delivered to the boat when you arrive at the basin,
phone Linlithgow Wines (Tel: 01506 848821) after clearing the locks, place
your order and tell them you will be there in three hours.
It is only five minutes walk to the High Street in Linlithgow and a good
selection of restaurants and take aways. Again, if you would like to start
your holiday with a restaurant meal you might want to try Livingston's
in the High Street 2AA rosette award. But ring (Tel no. 01506 846565) and
book several weeks in advance for Saturday nights. If you want to stop
earlier, the best thing is to go through the Falkirk Wheel and the two
locks above it and then moor up. You can then walk back to your car and
have access to Falkirk.
If you are cooking on board and don t want to travel very far once you
have cleared the top locks, moor up in front of the door into the Seagull
Trust boathouse just before the Falkirk Tunnel. This is a good spot if
you have a dog, as there are acres of parkland right beside you. Not a
good place if you plan a long lie, as the Seagull Trust people may want
to shift you about nine in the morning so they can get their boat out.
Subsequent movements through the Falkirk Wheel - If you are coming from
the west along the Forth and Clyde Canal, you should phone to book the
Falkirk Wheel when you pass under Bonnybridge road bridge. Similarly, if
you are coming from the east along the Union Canal, you should phone the
Falkirk Wheel when you have cleared the Falkirk Tunnel and before the Seagull
Trust boathouse.
Movement on the Forth and Clyde Canal if coming through the wheel off
the Union Canal - advise British Waterways (Tel: 0845 676 6000) the DAY
BEFORE you want to start moving west on the Forth and Clyde. Tell them
the name of the boat, what time you will be at Bonnybridge road bridge
(or where you will be setting off from the following morning and at what
time) and how far you wish to go that day. There is little point going
east on the Forth and Clyde Canal from our base, other than down to lock
16 where there is a turning place and the Union Inn (good spot for a meal
in their conservatory restaurant (To book tel: 01324 623578). From here
it is just a series of locks down to the sea.
Locks and bridges on the Forth and Clyde Canal are also currently operated
by BW staff and a 'phone will allow you to contact them and arrange passage
at your convenience. The reason for this is that some of the lock gates
are still very stiff after having lain virtually unused for over 30 years.
BW staff welcome your assistance with lock operation.
WHICH
DIRECTION - Decide which direction you wish to travel first when
you set out in your narrowboat on
Saturday afternoon from our base at the Falkirk Wheel - east through the
Falkirk Wheel and onto the lock free Union Canal towards Edinburgh, or
west along the Forth and Clyde Canal towards Glasgow.
EAST - You do not need to book passage through the Falkirk Wheel. As soon
as you are ready to leave, we will put you in any queue there might be
for the Wheel. The wheel closes at 7.00pm in June/July and August and from
March to May and September and October at 7.00pm on Fri/Sat/Sun and 6.00pm
Mon Thu.
WEST - If you wish to go west on the Forth and Clyde Canal first on your
departure Saturday, about a
week before your departure date you MUST 'phone British Waterways on 0845
676 6000 and tell them what time you intend to be at Bonnybridge lift bridge.
Allow 30 minutes to load your luggage onto the boat and settle in. It will
then take us about 30 - 40 minutes to complete the handover and 35 minutes
for you to cruise from our base to Bonnybridge. So allow 1 hour 45 minutes
between arrival and bridge booking time.
BW staff may ask to vary your time slightly depending on other craft in
transit.
