The Edinburgh Canal Society is a charitable A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . The term is relatively general and can technically refer to a public charity (also called "charitable foundation," "public foundation" or simply "foundation") or a private foundation. It differs from other types of NPOs in that its focus is centered canal Smaller transportation canals can carry barges or narrowboats, while ship canals allow seagoing ships to travel to an inland port , or from one sea or ocean to another (e.g.: Caledonian Canal, Panama Canal) society on the Union Canal The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal in Edinburgh Edinburgh (pronounced /ˈɛdɪnbɹə/ ( listen), ED-in-brə or ED-in-bə-rə) (Scots: Edinburgh/Embra/Emburrie) (Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland after Glasgow and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government, Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland. The Society's main base is Ashley Terrace Boathouse A boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats. Other boats such as punts or small motor boats may also be stored at Lockhart Bridge, near Harrison Park in the Polwarth Polwarth is a mainly residential area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is bounded by Bruntsfield and Merchiston to the east and south, Gorgie and Dalry to the north, and Craiglockhart to the west area of Edinburgh.
The society was founded in 1985 and is a founder member of the Scottish Inland Waterways Association The Scottish Inland Waterways Association is a registered charity and association of canal societies and individual canal enthusiasts in Scotland.
In partnership with the Forth Canoe Club The Forth Canoe Club, founded in 1934, is Scotland's oldest surviving canoe club. It is a founding member of the Scottish Canoe Association, the Linlithgow Union Canal Society The Linlithgow Union Canal Society is a waterway society and a Scottish registered charity based at Linlithgow Canal Centre on the Union Canal at Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland. Also known as "LUCS", it was founded in 1975 by Melville Gray to "promote and encourage the restoration and use of the Union Canal, particularly in the, the Bridge 19-40 Canal Society The Bridge 19-40 Canal Society is a waterway society and a registered Scottish Charity operating community boats on the Union Canal, with bases at Winchburgh and Drumshoreland, West Lothian, Scotland, UK, the Seagull Trust Seagull Trust Cruises is a waterway society and registered charity in Scotland, UK and other canal societies on the Scottish Lowland Canals, Edinburgh Canal Society campaigned for many years to have the Union Canal rebuilt, refurbished and re-opened.
The culmination of the campaign was the joining of the Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River Carron near Grangemouth. The highest section of the by way of the Falkirk Wheel The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift located in Scotland, UK, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It is named after the nearby town of Falkirk which is in central Scotland. The two canals were previously connected by a series of 11 locks, but by the 1930s these had fallen into disuse, were filled in and the land built. Edinburgh Canal Society was one of the official Millennium Link The Millennium Link is one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken by British Waterways. The Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal were joined by a flight of locks. The Millennium Link project replaced the lock with an ingenious and unique boat lift, the Falkirk Wheel Project Partners.
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Boats and Boathouse
The society owns a wooden historical launch with Kelvin engines; the vessel had sunk in the early 1990s in Fisherrow Fisherrow is a harbour and former fishing village at Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, UK, to the east of Portobello and Joppa, and on the left bank of the River Esk harbour at Musselburgh after a violent storm. A society member happened to be passing just as the disposal lorry arrived, and the vessel was rescued. In 1999, she was removed to Mackay's boatyard in Arbroath Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785. It lies on the North Sea coast, around 16 miles (25.7 km) ENE of Dundee and 45 miles (72.4 km) SSW of Aberdeen, with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, the natural environment and cultural. The same boatyard had earlier restored Robert Scott's RRS Discovery The RRS Discovery was the last wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain. Designed for Antarctic research, she was launched in 1901. Her first mission was the British National Antarctic Expedition, carrying Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first, successful journey to the Antarctic, known as the Discovery Expedition. She is in Dundee Dundee (from the Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Dèagh) is the fourth-largest city in Scotland; fully named as Dundee City, it is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea. Obtaining the correct Kelvin engine at first seemed impossible, but by another chance encounter, a Kelvin E2 engine was obtained from a warehouse in Kuwait The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate situated in the northeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, and Iraq to the north and lies on the northwestern shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the Arabic "akwat", the plural of "kout", meaning fortress.
A replica launch was built to meet the demand for more boat trips in both directions of the Union Canal, but this has been disposed of. The society also owns a fleet of wooden rowing Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water. The sport can be both recreational, focusing on learning the techniques required, and competitive boats for hire or charter.
The society's boathouse A boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats. Other boats such as punts or small motor boats may also be stored is one of a large range of iconic A cultural icon can be a symbol, a logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized, and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group. A representation of an object or person, or that object or person may come to be regarded as having a special status as buildings and structures on the Scottish Lowland Canals. It was sited originally where the University Rowing Club's boathouse is at present. In 1987 the boathouse was dismantled and rebuilt in modified form at its present site, and it is due for refurbishment in 2009 / 2010.
In 2008, the Boathouse and one of the rowing boats were a filming location for a creative documentary, commissioned in Ireland and named An Paísti Beo Bocht, about the life of Patrick MacGill, the Irish journalist A journalist collects and disseminates information about current events, people, trends, and issues. His or her work is acknowledged as journalism, author An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work and poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary greatly in different cultures and time periods, nicknamed "The Navvy Poet" due to his earlier occupation as navvy on the canals.
In 2009, members of the Society and others were involved in the setting up of the first Canal Festival to take place between Edinburgh Quay and the society's boathouse at Harrison Park.
Journeys and Rallies
Kelvin Diesel engine Dredger passing the boathouse Language students chartering rowing boats Boathouse and rowing boats- 17 May 2001 Kelvin's first trip beneath Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, to the east of the Forth Road Bridge, and 14 kilometres west of central Edinburgh. It is often called the Forth Rail Bridge or Forth Railway Bridge to distinguish it from the Forth Road Bridge. The bridge connects Scotland's capital city with Fife, and from Port Edgar
- 24 May 2001 Port Edgar to Carron The River Carron is a river in central Scotland. This river has given its name to towns in Falkirk, a variety of regional features, a type of cannon, a line of bathtubs, two warships and an island in the Southern Hemisphere Sea Lock, Opening of Forth & Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River Carron near Grangemouth. The highest section of the
- 25 May 2001 Carron The River Carron is a river in central Scotland. This river has given its name to towns in Falkirk, a variety of regional features, a type of cannon, a line of bathtubs, two warships and an island in the Southern Hemisphere Sea Lock to Lock 15
- 26 May 2001 Camelon Camelon was the site of a flight of locks until the Falkirk Wheel joined the Union Canal with the Forth and Clyde Canal to Auchinstarry Basin
- 27 May 2001 Auchinstarry to Temple A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out on the ground by the augur. Templa also (Lock 27)
- 28 May 2001 Temple to Bowling Bowling is a sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a bowling ball along a flat surface, usually a wooden or synthetic surface, either into pins or to get close to a target ball. There are many forms of bowling, with one of the most recent being ten-pin bowling. Primitive forms of bowling may have existed in ancient times as Basin
- 25 August 2001 Wester Hailes to Leamington Bridge; Formal Opening of Wester Hailes section of Union Canal
- 20 May 2002 Harrison Park to Falkirk Wheel The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift located in Scotland, UK, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It is named after the nearby town of Falkirk which is in central Scotland. The two canals were previously connected by a series of 11 locks, but by the 1930s these had fallen into disuse, were filled in and the land built for Official Opening by HM The Queen on 20 May 2002.
- 2 October 2002 Wester Hailes Gala Day
- 28 March Formal opening of Speir's Wharf
- 1 and 2 April 2003 Glasgow Glasgow (pronounced /ˈɡlæzɡoʊ/ ; Scots: Glesga Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu) is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian, which is also the name of the local dialect to Falkirk Wheel to Linlithgow Linlithgow (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Iucha, Scots Lithgae) is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. The town's coat of arms shows a black dog, chained to an oak tree, which grows on an island. Linlithgow's patron saint is Saint Michael and its motto is St. Michael is kinde to strangers
- 17 to 23 April 2003 Leamington Bridge via Falkirk Wheel, Glasgow (Speir's Wharf), Bowling Basin, River Clyde The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire, Carron Sea Lock, to Port Edgar via Inverkeithing The name is of Scottish Gaelic origin, Inbhir Ceitein. Inbhear mean 'confluence, inflow' thus 'mouth of the Keithing/Ceitein' or Inverkeithing. The Keithing is the name of a small river/burn that runs through the southern part of the town.
- 23 May and 13 August 2003 Harrison Park to Falkirk Falkirk (presumably referring to a church building built of many-coloured stones) is a town in central Scotland lying to the north west and north east of the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively. According to a 2007 estimate, the population of the town is 34,071. However, the wider Falkirk area, which includes nearby towns such as Top Lock
- 25 Sept. 2003 World Canals Conference The World Canals Conference is an annual conference about canals and other waterways worldwide. The first conference took place in 1988, and the 2008 conference will be the twenty-first. People with an interest in canals gather together to learn more about them, to exchange views, and to enjoy and celebrate successful canal restoration projects, Wester Hailes
- 23 March 2004 Falkirk Wheel Lower Basin to Carron Sea Lock
- 4–6 April 2004 Kincardine Pier to Craigforth Weir A weir , also known as a lowhead dam, is a small overflow-type dam commonly used to raise the level of a river or stream. Weirs have traditionally been used to create mill ponds in such places. Water flows over the top of a weir, although some weirs have sluice gates which release water at a level below the top of the weir. The crest of an, Stirling Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth. Historically it was strategically important as the "Gateway to the Highlands", with its position near the boundary between the to Carron Sea Lock
- 16 April 2004 Falkirk Falkirk (presumably referring to a church building built of many-coloured stones) is a town in central Scotland lying to the north west and north east of the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively. According to a 2007 estimate, the population of the town is 34,071. However, the wider Falkirk area, which includes nearby towns such as to Ratho Ratho is a village in the west of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Newbridge and Kirkliston are other villages in the area. The Union Canal passes through Ratho. Edinburgh Airport is situated only 4 miles away, Edinburgh Edinburgh (pronounced /ˈɛdɪnbɹə/ ( listen), ED-in-brə or ED-in-bə-rə) (Scots: Edinburgh/Embra/Emburrie) (Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland after Glasgow and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government
- 1 May 2004 Kelvin TWO launched at MacLean's Yard, Renfrew Renfrew is a town, located 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Glasgow in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland
- 18 to 30 May 2004 Lancaster Canal The Lancaster Canal is a canal in the north of England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria . The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, and much of the southern end leased to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, of which it is now generally considered part via Preston Preston (pronounced /ˈprɛstən/ ) is a city in Lancashire, England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble. It forms part of the larger City of Preston local government district which was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The settlement of Preston has a, Bilsborrow, Garstang Garstang is a town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is ten miles north-northwest of the city of Preston and eleven miles south of Lancaster, and has a total resident population of 4,074, Galgate, Hest Bank, Glasson Dock, Lancaster, Bolton-le-Sands, Carnforth and Tewitfield.
- 28–30 May 2004 Kelvin Rally, Shardlow, Trent & Mersey Canal
- 15 June 2004 Ratho
- 9 Aug 2004 Kelvin 1 and Kelvin 2 at Winchburgh
- 22 March 2005 Edinburgh Quay Official Opening
- 22 May 2006 Falkirk Top Lock to Harrison Park
- Start of regular Sunday Shuttles from ECS boathouse to Edinburgh Quay and return
References
"Adrift in Caledonia", by Nick Thorpe; publ. Little, Brown, ISBN 0316726885
External links
- Official Website of Edinburgh Canal Society
- Kelvin Diesel Engines
- City of Edinburgh Council publication, ref. to ECS on the Union Canal
- Official entry on waterscape.com
- Article in The Scotsman on 2007 Canal Week
- Zazou Cruises
See also
| UK Waterways portal |
Categories: 1985 establishments | 1985 in Scotland | Charities based in Scotland | Organisations based in Edinburgh | Clubs and societies in Scotland | Transport in Edinburgh | Canals in Scotland
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