Linlithgow Union Canal Society will take centre-stage in this year’s celebration of the Union Canal’s 200th anniversary, with canal challenges, local festivals, floating gardens, and even flotillas drifting down West Lothian waterways.
The events will be delivered by Scottish Canals with the Scottish Waterways for All, local authorities, community groups, economic development bodies, and tourism groups.
Part of the celebrations will see a flotilla with hundreds of canal-boats take to the Union Canal in May, stopping off at key points to celebrate with the local community; planned stopping points so far are Linlithgow, Livingston, and the Falkirk Wheel.
Celebrations will be taken online with stories centered around the canals and it’s 200-year history - like Burke and Hare helping to carve out the Union Canal tunnels, or Thomas Telford raising the level of Loch Ness by 1.2m.
Stuart Rennie from the Livingston Union Canal Society and Scottish Waterways for All said: “This really is an exciting time for all the volunteer organisations based on the canals, those who live on board, and the boaters and communities who simply enjoy the benefits that our canals bring to our health and wellbeing.
“We can’t wait to host our Union Canal 200 flotilla this May and to share the wonderful stories of Scotland’s canals with the communities they flow through.
“It’s not every day we get to celebrate a 200th anniversary, never mind two, so we’re encouraging everyone to rise to the occasion to help make 2022 a year to remember.”
Also celebrating their 200th anniversary this year were the HM Coastguard, across the country enthusiasts celebrated by flinging tow lines out to sea - the Livingston Union Canal Society joined in with what they hand on hand - throwing life rings into the canal.
The Falkirk Wheel also turns 20 this year - the iconic rotating boat lift opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.
The Union Canal connects Edinburgh to Inverness, winding through West Lothian into Falkirk and then further north.
It is also one of Scotland’s historic canal’s, built at the same time as The Caledonian Canal in the Highlands in 1822 - blazing the trail for Scotland’s industrial revolution.
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