Where does the Forth and Clyde Canal start and end geographically?
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Executive summary
The Forth and Clyde Canal runs east–west across Scotland from Bowling on the Firth of Clyde to the River Carron / Carron Sea Lock on the Firth of Forth near Grangemouth, a distance of about 56–57 km (35 statute miles) and historically some 35 miles in length (circa 56 km) [1] [2]. Modern guides and route descriptions consistently describe the canal as linking the Clyde at Bowling with the Forth at or near the River Carron/Grangemouth and joining the Union Canal at Falkirk via the Falkirk Wheel [2] [1] [3].
1. The two geographic bookends: Bowling (Clyde) and Carron/Grangemouth (Forth)
All authoritative summaries in the available reporting place the canal’s western terminus at Bowling, where the waterway meets the River Clyde and the Bowling Basin, and the eastern terminus at the River Carron / Carron Sea Lock near Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth [2] [1] [3]. Sources give slightly different phrasing — “connects to the River Clyde at Bowling” and “from the River Carron Sea Lock on the Firth of Forth” — but they point to the same coastal connection points [2] [1].
2. How long is it? Numbers and why they vary
Contemporary navigation and management material states the canal is about 57 km (31 nautical miles, 35 statute miles) from the River Carron Sea Lock to Bowling, and notes there are 40 locks on the route [1]. Older historical measures and some encyclopaedic descriptions cite roughly 35 miles (56 km) as the canal’s length from Grangemouth to the summit pool, reflecting slight differences in where the measurement begins and historical lock configurations [2] [1].
3. The canal’s role in coast‑to‑coast navigation
The Forth and Clyde Canal was built to provide a navigable route between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrow part of the Lowlands, enabling east–west sea‑going and inland traffic without circumnavigating Scotland [2]. Modern tourism and route guides present the waterway as the western half of a longer cross‑Scotland corridor — linking via the Falkirk Wheel to the Union Canal and, effectively, allowing navigation and walking/cycling routes between Glasgow (Clyde) and Edinburgh (Forth) [4] [3].
4. Where it meets other canals and routes: Falkirk Wheel and Stockingfield Junction
Midway the Forth and Clyde joins the Union Canal at Falkirk via the Falkirk Wheel, a modern boat lift completed as part of the canals’ regeneration; this connection is repeatedly highlighted in route literature and canal guidance [4] [3] [1]. The canal also has a Glasgow branch and junctions such as Stockingfield, which link into Glasgow’s canal network and the Monkland/Kirkintilloch corridors noted in historical descriptions [2] [5].
5. Practical route descriptions used by walkers and cyclists
Walk and cycle guides consistently route people from Bowling in the west through Glasgow’s suburbs, across central belt towns (Kirkintilloch, Bishopbriggs, Kilsyth) to Falkirk, where the towpath meets the Union Canal and continues to Edinburgh — framing the Forth & Clyde as the Bowling–Falkirk segment of the coast‑to‑coast towpath [6] [7] [3]. National Cycle Network Route 754 uses these towpaths to form a largely traffic‑free route between Glasgow and Edinburgh via the canals [8].
6. Divergent phrasing but consistent geography — read the endpoints, not the label
Some sources describe the canal as running “from Grangemouth to the east end of the summit pool” or from “the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Carron,” while others name the River Carron Sea Lock or simply “Grangemouth” as the eastern end — these are different ways to describe the same eastern junction with the Forth estuary [2] [1] [5]. On the west, “Bowling Basin,” “Bowling,” and references to Dalmuir Burnfoot or connections to the Clyde are synonymous in context [2] [6].
7. Limitations in the reporting and what’s not in these sources
Available sources do not mention precise GPS coordinates for the exact official canal gates or the detailed legal definitions of the canal termini. They also do not provide a single, uniformly worded official sentence that both names and pins the exact lock or basin used as the canonical start point; instead, reporting uses place names (Bowling, River Carron/Grangemouth) and navigational markers (Carron Sea Lock, Bowling Basin) [1] [2].
If you need precise coordinates or the legal description of the canal’s start and end, consult Scottish Canals’ navigational maps or the River Carron / Bowling Harbour authorities cited on their official pages — Scottish Canals’ skippers’ guide in the sources is the most operational reference [1].