Trips along the Canals of Scotland

The Scottish Lowland Canals were restored to celebrate the new millennium. Centre piece to them is the magnificent and unique Falkirk wheel which lifts boats 115 ft – the equivalent height of eight double-decker buses. The wheel will lift loads of 600 tonnes, but is so perfectly balanced that it only needs the power of 3 electric kettles to do so.

The Scottish canals are also unusual in that all the locks are worked for you by British Waterways staff. The easiest route is to Edinburgh on the Union Canal . From the Drifters Members' base at Falkirk , you go through one lock before arriving at the wheel. Having gone up the wheel you then go though a tunnel under the Antonine wall and through a further two locks. After that it is lock free to Edinburgh . You pass over the magnificent Almond Aqueduct and through villages such as Linlithgow and Ratho to the terminus at Edinburgh Quay. This is very close to the centre of Edinburgh , being around 5 minutes walk from Princes Street . This route takes around 12 hours travelling each way.

For the more adventurous this can be combined with a trip to Glasgow as well. Again, this is around 12 hours cruising from Falkirk this time on the Forth and Clyde . This route has more locks and swing bridges and meanders through splendid scenery and villages such as Auchinstarry and Kirkintilloch. The terminus of the canal is still undergoing restoration, but you can moor at the BW yard which is around 10 minutes walk from the centre of the city.

Drifters members on these canals are Alvechurch Waterways Holidays & Black Prince Holidays.