The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the sea-going vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. It is 35 miles (56 km) long and it runs from the River Forth near Grangemouth to the River Clyde at Bowling, and had an important basin at Port Dundas in Glasgow.
Successful in its day, it suffered as the sea-going vessels were built larger and could no longer pass through. The railway age further impaired the success of the canal, and in the 1930s decline had ended in dormancy.
The M8 motorway in the eastern approacches to Glasgow took over some of the aligment of the canal, but more recent ideas have regenerated the untility of the canal for leisure use.
Read more about Forth And Clyde Canal: Geography, Origins, Contemporary Description, Passenger Traffic, Construction, Changes of Ownership, Run Down and Revival, Locks
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