LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

Continuing with my adventure towards John o' Groats, I drove to Allandale Village where I parked the car in Antonine Gate off the B816 Main Road near Banknock. I walked east along the main road to the first bus stop and caught the bus X37 to Falkirk Town Bus Station, Scotland. After leaving the bus in the Bus Station I walked south west through the town centre towards High Station via St. Crispin's Place B8080 & Cow Wynd B803. I approached the Union Canal in the opposite direction from when I left the canal on the previous section of the walk. This time I turned right to walk along the canal towards Banknock, at first north for approximately 200 metres (200 yards), then west for approximately 1.25 Km (1250 yards), until I reached my first lock on the canal. This was a double lock that had two locks end to end, which has to be treated as one lock for navigation. This ensures the bottom lock has sufficient water to operate safely which means a boat travelling from west to east, or east to west has to complete both locks before another vessel can use the locks. As always when using a lock, the water level in the lock has to be correct before operation. From the basin at the bottom of the locks, the canal turns north for a short distance to Roughcastle Tunnel South Portal. The tunnel is virtually straight for 180 metres (180 yards), which is under the course of the 'Military Way' and The 'Antonine Wall'. This may seem a short distance but when there is only minimum lighting with a low barrier between the towpath and the canal, extra care is required to negotiate the towpath with uneven surfaces in places which cannot be seen without a torch. I learnt the hard way. No, I didn't fall into the canal, but I did have a few hairy moments. I strongly recommend a torch, especially if meeting other walkers moving in the opposite direction. When I was about half way through the tunnel a narrow boat passed me travelling in the opposite direction, which was another strange and first experience. As I reached the North Portal of the canal I was greeted with a fine view of the top section of the Falkirk Wheel, with its hoops to support the canal bed. When I reached the first hoop I enjoyed the scenery all around and then slowly descended the embankment to reach the miniature models of The Kelpies. I was surprised to see The Kelpies but admired the quality of the two models. I must admit that after seeing the real Kelpies, the models were a little disappointing, but if the situation had been reversed I would have been impressed twice. After admiring the Wheel from all angles I decided to visit the path of the 'Antonine Wall' and the Site of the 'Roughcastle Roman Fort'. I followed the John Muir Way up the slope to the sites, which had a big area to walk around. I must admit I was disappointed with lack of anything concrete to observe, only the earthworks, but I was impressed with the numerous small information boards describing each area. I did think that in view of the many thousands of visitors every year, it would be a good idea to include at the site a small area of a full size replica of the present day best estimate for the actual Wall and Fort. Continuing I reached the track at the west end of the site and decided to follow the lane into Bonnybridge Village, so keeping to the John Muir Way which followed Bonnyside Road until Bonnymuir Place where the Way passed under the canal via a small tunnel to the towpath on the north bank of the canal and via the B816 at Bridge Street. When I reached the Millennium Lift Bridge, I was pleasantly surprised to see the traffic was stationary and the bridge was in operation. I stayed around the bridge and waited for a small sailing vessel with a very tall mast, which was obviously laid flat, to pass under the bridge. After the boat had passed, the bridge section was lowered to allow the waiting traffic to pass. The bridge section was raised horizontally on four legs, with each leg controlled automatically in time with the other three legs. I continued my walk along the canal towards the south west until I reached the next lock number 17, which looked like a mini waterfall from a distance. To my surprise the lock had an old half demolished Warehouse on the towpath side of the canal and a large car park on the opposite side, connected by a small footbridge. The warehouse looked like it was of the same design as a previous old warehouse I had passed earlier on the Union Canal. Onwards on the good tarmac towpath I soon reached the bridge carrying the lane of Cumbernauld Road just before the M80 motorway. I turned left and walked south on the lane to the B816, where I turned left again into Allandale Village and soon reached the car parked on the right, in Antonine Gate. This was yet another excellent day on my adventure, with lots of surprises which in my view is highly recommended, especially if the weather is good. If time allows take a trip on a tourist pleasure boat through the experience of the Falkirk Wheel and/or visit the nearby Kelpies. You will be impressed I'm sure. Have fun.

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, - Start: at Falkirk - High Railway Station .
Finish: at Allandale Village - Antonine Gate .