The former A801 blockage just east of Polmont, now a bridge. There is a new car park and picnic area here

Stonework repairs to banks and bridges have been carried out east of Polmont, and bridge 53 is now in a much better state than it was before

Swans with newly hatched cygnets near Polmont. British Waterways take birds' nesting into consideration when carrying out dredging or engineering work

The canal still looked fairly run-down around the Polmont area when this picture was taken, but major cleaning up work was done on this section as part of the Millennium Link project, so it is now much improved

The deep wooded cutting as the canal approaches the Falkirk Tunnel has demanded some impressively high bridges at Glen Village

Falkirk Tunnel east portal. The tunnel was reopened for navigation in 1988 and the towpath runs right through, so it is possible to walk or sail through the tunnel

Falkirk Tunnel east portal from the inside. Scotland's only canal tunnel is cut for nearly half a mile through the solid rock of Prospect Hill, Falkirk

The Seagull Trust have a new boathouse at Bantaskin, Falkirk, from which the Govan Seagull gives her passengers an exciting cruise through the Falkirk Tunnel

The remains of the top lock in the flight which linked the two canals are still visible here by the Union Canal

The Union Canal came to a very abrupt end at Greenbank, Falkirk. It has now been extended by about a mile to Tamfourhill, where the spectacular Falkirk Wheel is being built to reconnect it to the Forth and Clyde Canal

One of eleven old lock chambers which once linked the two canals has been exposed just to the south of the Union Canal