Strathkelvin Strathkelvin () is the strath (valley) of the River Kelvin in west central Scotland, lying north-east of Glasgow. The name Strathkelvin was used between 1975 and 1996 for one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region. Hi ...

Railway Path is

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

following the route of several dismantled railway lines extending from

Gartcosh Gartcosh () is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The village lies about east of Glasgow, and about northwest of the town of Coatbridge. According to a 2012 estimate, the population of Gartcosh was 2,130 people. Expansion of the village ...

Strathblane Strathblane (, ) is a village and List of civil parishes in Scotland, parish in the registration county of Stirling, situated in the southwestern part of the Stirling (council area), Stirling council area, in central Scotland. It lies at the foo ...

. It goes for 10 km from one end to another

History

The northern section follows the route of the

Campsie Branch The Glasgow to Aberfoyle Line was a railway line in Scotland, built in stages, leaving the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Lenzie. Tourist traffic was a dominant part of the motivation for building the line, and road tours to the Trossachs fro ...

of the

Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and ...

which was extended as the Blane Valley Railway line and closed in 1951 (although some parts of the line were still used for freight into the '60s). The southern section follows a branch of the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway. Starting in

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; ; ) is a town and a Burgh of Barony (The Baron of Kirkintilloch) in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. Historically ...

it runs south and currently terminates at the northern tip of

; just before the original railway junction would have split east to Bedlay Colliery and south to

Glenboig Glenboig (Scottish Gaelic: An Gleann Bhog) is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland lying north of Coatbridge and to the south east of Kirkintilloch and is approximately from Glasgow, Glasgow City Centre. According to a estimate, the popula ...

Future Plans

It has been announced by

Sustrans Sustrans ( ) is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United ...

that the path will become part of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

and called route 755. In the future it is planned that the path will be extended to the north further following the route of the dismantled railway to incorporate part of the

West Highland Way The West Highland Way () is a linear Long-distance trail, long-distance route in Scotland. It is long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William, Highland, Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking i ...

towards

Drymen Drymen (; from ) is a village in the Stirling district of central Scotland. Once a popular stopping place for cattle drovers, it is now favored by visiting tourists given its location near Loch Lomond. The village is centred around a village gr ...

where it will link to National Cycle Network no. 754 (Forth & Clyde Canal) and National Cycle Network no. 7. To the south there are plans to continue the path to Drumpellier Country Park and then the

Monkland Canal The Monkland Canal was a canal designed to bring coal from the mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. In the course of a long and difficult construction process, it was opened progressively as short sections were completed, from 177 ...

where it will link to National Cycle Network no. 75 in

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

References

External links

Sustran Glasgow & West Central Scotland maps

Strathkelvin Railway Path (North)

Strathkelvin Railway Path (South)
{{coord, 55.9482, N, 4.1524, W, region:GB, display=title National Cycle Routes Cycleways in Scotland Rail trails in Scotland Footpaths in East Dunbartonshire Footpaths in North Lanarkshire Footpaths in Stirling (council area)

History

Future Plans

See also

References

External links