Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
toninus Pius. Constructed 20 years after Hadrian's Wall, it was less durable, had a 3.5m high
turf rampart on a 4.3m wide stone base with a 12m wide x 4.2m deep ditch, a Military Way
road and forts every 3.2km. It was intended to keep out northern tribes at the northern ex-
tremity of the Roman Empire. It was attacked twice so the Romans abandoned it and with-
drew to Hadrian's Wall.
The feature that cannot be ignored is the Erskine Bridge of 1967-1971, one of Scotland's
major bridges, carrying the A898 300m over the canal and the river with 55m of clearance
to the canal. Despite the great height, the bridge was damaged on the underside by an oil rig
being moved downriver from UIE's Clydebank yard to the Captain field in 1996. This soar-
ing structure is, quite literally, on a different plane from the old canal buildings, which stand
around its ankles. It is an unusually light structure at 690kg/m 2 . Ferry Road swing bridge
gave approach to the older route across the Clyde.
The A814 has to be crossed at the north-west end of the Clydebank Industrial Estate by the
Dalmuir Drop Lock, built during restoration, Britain's only such lock, lowering boats 2.8m
under the road and raising them again on the far side.
Above the buildings by the A8014 can be seen a Titan hammerhead crane, 46m long and
49m high, able to lift 150t. It is on the former site of UIE Shipbuilding, now occupied by Cly-
debank College. The most remarkable reach on the canal follows. The architects have clearly
given free reign to their ideas and the setting is completely surreal. Carefully landscaped gar-
dens lead to the pedestrian Clydebank Shopping Centre with two footbridges across the canal.
McMonagles fish and chip ship (no, that isn't a typographical error) is the world's first sail-
through takeaway, an enormous boat-shaped restaurant, totally out of proportion to the size
of the canal, which is built on the bed of the cut.
The tidal basin at Bowling, adjoining the estuary of the Clyde .
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