North Calder Heritage Trail (Sykeside-Calderbank)
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(not chosen)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This trail will take you on a nice walk along one of 2 remaining sections of the Monkland Canal. This is a multicache route. There are 3 caches along the length of the walk. Co-ordinates take you to the 1st cache, I've checked these a few times and 2 out of 3 times got the same co-ords, so there's a chance you might be out by a few feet due to tree cover. However, I think it should be fairly obvious when you get to that vicinity!
Co-ords to 2nd cache can be picked up here and co-ords for 3rd and final cache are collected at the second box. Allow an hr to walk in and out depending on your ground speed!
After completing the cache, you can turn around and come back the way you came. Alternatively, you can continue into Calderbank, turn left into the village and keep walking. Turn left and left at each of the roundabouts you reach, following signs for Carnbroe. This circular route will take you right back to parking point.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It may not be as large and impressive as the Forth and Clyde, or as technically innovative as the Union, but the Monkland Canal was actually the only really successful Scottish canal. Unfortunately, most of it is now gone, filled in beneath the M8 motorway. But two of the original sections still remain, one at Drumpelier Country Park, the other to the south of Airdrie stretching from Cairnhill to Calderbank.
In the late eighteenth century in Britain, canal fever was in the air. City magnates and tobacco barons in Glasgow decided to build a canal to the extensive coalfields of Monklands and bring much needed cheap coal to the city.
James Watt, the famous engineer and inventor, was commissioned to build the Canal. Work began at Sheepford, Coatbridge, in 1770 but after a couple of years money ran out and the whole project was nearly abandoned.
Progress only really came in the late 1780’s when Andrew Stirling, a Monklands landowner and entrepreneur, took control of the Canal. He struck a deal with Forth and Clyde Navigation to join the two canals together in Glasgow and to extend the Monkland Canal eastwards to North Calder Water and Calderbank.
The canal route (using todays placenames) was from Calderbank, through Faskine, Palacecraig, Coatdyke (Sheepford) near the B&Q, Coatbank Way, South Circular Road, crossing under the road to run parallel with Main Street and King Street, through Drumpelier, Cuilhill to Easterhouse, Ruchazie, Riddrie, Blackhill, Blochairn and on to Townhead. The M8 motorway was built on the canal route from near Easterhouse to Townhead.
***Congratulations to zackyboy4 on FTF***
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
1. N fvta vf abg nyy vg frrzf.
2. Znxxncnxxn jbhyq yvxr guvf bar. Obggbz zvqqyr bs obhyqref.
3. Ng onfr bs gerr haqre pnabcl.