Restoring navigation to the canals is more than just removing blockages and building spectacular new engineering works. It is also a case of repairing and upgrading original canal features, such as bridges, locks and towpaths, and creating new facilities and access points. This page will illustrate this side of the regeneration.

Before: bridge 9 at Hermiston before restoration. As with many of the original Union Canal bridges, the parapet has collapsed into the canal and not been properly repaired.

After: bridge 9 after restoration, taken 28/1/2000. All the Union Canal's stone bridges are being restored as part of the Millennium Link project, bridge 9 being one of the first. Gone are the days when the stone bridges were patched up messily with bricks or whatever was available - now a great effort is being made to use materials which match the original stone and mortar. In fact, wherever possible, the stone which has fallen off the bridges is being reclaimed and reused. In some cases it has been necessary to enlist the help of divers to rescue stone from the canal.

This picture shows the spot just to the west of the M8 crossing where the towpath upgrading operation had stopped for the weekend on 29/1/2000. Much of the towpath on the route, especially on the Union Canal, becomes a quagmire in wet weather, making walking or cycling extremely difficult and unpleasant. The situation was made even worse in recent years when fibre optic cables were laid along the towpath and stretches of path were not put back properly, so the current upgrading work will be welcomed by many.

Locks 26 to 36 (the Boghouse, Clobberhill and Temple flights) on the Forth and Clyde Canal are being restored so that they will be ready for use once the obstructions on this section of canal are removed. The photo, taken 22/3/99, shows lock 26 at Temple with its new gates installed. Since the Maryhill Locks 21-25, Dalnotter Lock 37 and the two Bowling locks are already operational, all the locks on the western side of the canal will be working once the current work is complete. Over on the eastern side, the 13 locks in Falkirk are being restored but will not be completed for a while yet.

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