The Clyde, a river of change.

From the Kingston Bridge we continued down the River Clyde towards the Clyde Arc bridge. It was completed in 2006 by Halcrow. It is a tied bowstring arch of steel box section, which supports a precast reinforced concrete deck. From this view, the Glasgow Tower (beyond the bridge) looked like an arrow set for launch from the Arc's bow!

The Arc crosses the Clyde at an angle and is therefore, quite logically, better known by its alternative name: the "Squinty Bridge". It was built to service the growing media centre which has developed on the south bank of the Clyde.

The tower of the University of Glasgow can be seen from the now empty Finnieston Quay. At one time it would have been lined with rows of ships, several deep, which would also have extended into the now filled in Queen's dock.

The Finnieston crane now stands motionless above the river. It is the furthest upstream of several Titan cantilever cranes on the Clyde. It was used to load steam railway locomotives from the Springburn locomotive works onto ships. At the height of its industrial power, Glasgow manufactured 25% of the World's railway locomotives.

The tower was built by Cowans, Sheldon of Carlisle, on piles by Sir Willam Arrol of Glagow and the cantilever was by the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company.

Continuing down the north bank and Finnieston Quay, we approached the Clyde Auditorium, which you will be unsurprised to learn, is popularly known as the "Armadillo". It was designed by Foster and Partners and built on the site of the now filled in Queen's dock.

The Glasgow Harbour Tunnel was built in 1896 and connects Finnieston Quay on the north to Plantation Quay on the south.  Two rotundas provided a lift down to two vehicle and one passenger tunnels. This is the Plantation rotunda the Finnieston rotunda is just to the east of the crane. The vehicle tunnels were closed in the mid 20th century but the passenger tunnel remained open until 1980. The tunnel was never a financial success as it faced strong competition from the Finnieston Ferry, which had an unusual lifting vehicle deck so that it could load and off load at a vertical quay side, regardless of the height of the tide. It started service in 189o and operated until 1966.

Plantation Quay on the south bank has been renamed Pacific Quay and is now the centre of Glasgow's Digital Media Quarter. This is the Scottish Television building.

Pacific Quay is now linked to Finnieston by two footbridges. The first, Bell's Bridge, was built in 1988 to service the Glasgow Garden Festival which took place on the filled three arms of Princes Dock, which lay behind Pacific Quay. Bell's Bridge was engineered by Crough and Hogg and its two main spans are supported by cable stays from a rotating pointed tower, which opens the bridge and allows bigger ships to pass through. Until 2001 the paddle steamer Waverley regularly went through the bridge to her berth at the Broomielaw but she now berths below the bridge at Pacific Quay.

Once through Bell's Bridge, our view of Pacific Quay was dominated by the BBC Scotland building, the Glasgow Science Centre and the Glasgow Tower. At 127m high, it is Scotland's tallest building. It has a teardrop cross section and rotates 360 degrees, so that its slimmest outline faces into the wind.

The curious bulbous building behind the Science Centre is Glasgow's IMAX cinema. So far it has avoided being called the "Glasgow Blob".

We now passed under the most recent of the City centre bridges. It is the Millennium Bridge completed in 2002 and engineered by MG Bennet Associates. It is built of steel lattice supporting a sheet steel deck. Hydraulic rams lift the two centre spans to allow vessels to get further up the Clyde.

One thing is for sure, this river city has changed out of all recognition over the last 3 decades and it is changing still!

Famous for not being able to walk in a straight line.

Below the King George the Fifth bridge, the north side of the Clyde is bounded by Broomielaw quay. This was the main Glasgow terminal for passenger ships and it was from here that the World's first commercial paddle steam ship started in 1812. In later years generations of Glaswegians took their holidays "doon the water" by taking a steamer from the Broomielaw to the Clyde resorts. Now it is the home of Glasgow's International Financial Services District.

On the south bank, the Tradeston district has not fared so well. This sad old three storey Georgian villa at One Tradeston Street is the only survivor of a long terrace.

The Tradeston pedestrian  bridge was opened in 2009 with the idea of injecting some life into the area. According to Glasgow City Council, "It links the successful International Financial Services District (IFSD) with newly developing Tradeston area on the south bank and was built along with a new riverside public realm project on both banks to provide a new destination on the river". So there!

It is a steel cantilever bridge and was engineered by Halcrow.

Of course us Weegies don't call it the Tradeston bridge. Oh no, it's the Squiggly Bridge. Apparently the gentle double curve allows enough rise in the centre of the bridge for barges to pass below, without the need for steps, that the locals might trip over. It's just as well Weegies are famous for not being able to walk in a straight line.
 

Further downstream  we came to the 1970 Kingston Bridge, which carries 10 lanes of the M8 motorway, right into the heart of Glasgow. The design, which I believe is called brutal modernism, was implemented by W A Fairhurst & Partners  and is a cantilevered prestressed concrete construction. The span is 18m above the river because when it was built, the Clyde was still dredged up to the King George the Fifth bridge. Indeed, I remember redundant oil tankers being berthed upstream of the bridge in the 1970's oil crisis.

By 1990 the supporting piers were collapsing into the Clyde and, by the end of the millennium, a major engineering project was required to repair the bridge.  The deck was lifted by 20mm on huge hydraulic jacks to allow the construction of new piers without interrupting the traffic. I know the bridge quite well, I have crossed it about 12,000 times, but I hadn't seen it from this angle before.

Berthed below the Kingston Bridge is the sad remains of the old Renfrew Ferry which crossed the Clyde 8km downstream from here. It's now an entertainment venue where local bands play...

...but it used to rock to the clanking of chains by which it dragged itself across the strong currents in the Clyde. It made its last crossing in 1984.

All Greatness Stands Firm in The Storm.

Downstream of the suspension bridge we approached the Glasgow Bridge (or Jamaica Bridge because it is at the bottom of Jamaica Street). It was built in 1899 by Blyth and Westland.

It replaced an earlier bridge built by by Thomas Telford in 1833 and is of similar design but some 20 feet wider. The Telford bridge replaced an earlier bridge built in 1772.
 

There were unexpected arches through the piers...

...it was a stunning location, looking across the river through these many arches within arches.

We emerged from Glasgow Bridge  to be met by the first and second Caledonian Railway Bridges which were built to carry many rail tracks into Central Station. The first Caledonian Railway Bridge dates from 1878. The wrought iron bridge deck carried four tracks and was supported by great pillars of Dalbeattie granite. The deck was removed in 1967.

There are inscriptions in Greek and English on the side of the redundant pillars that face upstream. The English text reads "All Greatness Stands Firm in The Storm". It looked as if it had been inscribed by the builders of the bridge as a Neoclassical Victorian statement of confidence in Glasgow's future.

However, there is a very interesting story behind these inscriptions, they are surprisingly recent. They were carved in 1990 to a design by artist Ian Hamilton Finlay who won a commission from the New Works for Different Places; Four Cities Project organised by Television South West Arts. Finlay explicitly omitted any plaque with his name or any explanation, or even suggestion, that it was an art work. He also intended that it could only be viewed from the river.

We certainly appreciated this surprising discovery on these now apparently purposeless pillars.

Next we paddled under the second Caledonian Railway Bridge which was built in 1905 and carried nine rail tracks into Central Station. It was engineered by Mathieson and Barry using steel lattice girders supported by granite piers.

Immediately downstream of the railway bridges, we came to the George the Fifth Bridge. This was built in 1928 by Considere Construction using reinforced concrete box girder construction, which was faced with decorative granite masonry. For many years the George the Fifth Bridge was the lowest crossing point on the River Clyde. It was not until 1970 that the completion of the Kingston Bridge removed that honour from this fine bridge. The Kingston Bridge proved to be the start of a second phase of bridge construction on the Clyde and we were about to discover whether these new bridges  could match the interest of the old....

Sea kayaking the River Clyde: Glasgow Green to the Merchant City.

On our voyage down the tidal River Clyde by sea kayak from Glasgow Green, the first bridge we came to was the riveted wrought iron Albert Bridge, built in 1871 by Bell and Millar. Through the arches, the next one downstream is the City Union Railway Bridge built in 1899.

Just downstream of the Albert Bridge, the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies is appropriately situated right on the south bank.

We paddled below the City Union Railway Bridge. It was the first steel bridge on the Clyde and carried 4 tracks into the now demolished St Enoch's station. It is a very low bridge because it was built under a now demolished higher bridge so that there would be no disruption to the rail service.

The Merchant City, an old part of Glasgow, lies north of the river here. Many of the old steeples have characteristic blue clock faces. This is the Merchants Steeple, which was built in 1665. It is all that remains of the Merchants Guild Hall and Hospital which was built from 1659 but demolished  in 1817. The merchants could watch for their ships coming up the Clyde from its high balconies. In 1873, the Briggait Fish Market was built on the site round the steeple.

We next paddled under the 1854 Victoria Bridge, which is now Glasgow's oldest surviving complete bridge. It replaced the Bishop's Bridge, which was built in 1345. This in turn was built on the site of the first recorded Glasgow bridge, the wooden "Glaskow Bryg", which was built in 1285.

On the south bank the Clyde lies the area known as the Gorbals. The imposing Georgian Carlton Place was built in the early 1800's as a speculative  attempt to create a wealthy suburb for the city's merchants on the south of the river. It failed as the city grew so quickly that the surrounding land was used to build cheap tenement slums. These housed the hordes of workers that flocked here from the impoverished Highlands and Ireland. The merchants moved west of the city as the prevailing westerly winds meant they smelled the Gorbals less frequently.

The South Portland Street Suspension Bridge is downstream from Carlton Place. It was completed in 1853 by George Martin but only the stone towers are original. the deck and hangers  were renewed in 1870 and 1926.

Behind the suspension bridge on the north bank, the Victorian Riverside House on Clyde street now stands alone, surrounded by modern buildings.

You can find out more about the Clyde from Clyde Waterfront Heritage.

Sea kayaking from a dear green place.

The following kayak posts are about sea kayaking from Glasgow Green, in the heart of the City of Glasgow, down the tidal River Clyde to Port Glasgow at the head of the Firth of Clyde.

This morning we met at the Newark Castle car park in the upper Firth of Clyde. We then ran a shuttle on the M8 motorway into the heart of Glasgow, the "dear green place".

We were bound for Glasgow Green, the oldest of the city's many parks.

It marks the upper limit of the tidal River Clyde. Above the tidal barrage is the preserve of several rowing clubs.

Below the barrage there is a solid railing fence to discourage the locals from going for a swim, especially if they are pished.

You can drive a car and park at the West Boat House. The best entrance to Glasgow Green is off Ballater Street on the "north" bank of the Clyde. There is a "no entry approved vehicles only" sign. Assume you are approved and drive through the park at 5mph with your hazard lights on (local bye-law). On a winter Sunday,  I left my car here until 17:30, well after dark, with no problem. At 09:00, when we arrived, there were about 5 rowers' cars, mine was the only one left in the evening. From talking to the rowers, they would not leave a car here after about 10pm, due to the local nocturnal wildlife.

Downstream of the barrage, there is a locked pair of yellow gates. In the past you could only paddle down the Clyde as part of a large organised group, on a specific day and an annual paddle has been held for several years now. Recently the Scottish Canoe Association has negotiated access for individual kayakers to put in below the barrage and to paddle the Cldye through Glasgow harbour to the Firth of Clyde. You can contact them for the combination for the padlock. Directly below the gate the bank is steep into deep water but 60m downstream you can launch here...

...in the corner of the Albert Bridge.

Before setting off, you should contact Clyde Estuary Control on VHF channel 12, tel: 01475726221 who will inform you of any shipping movements or whether seaplanes are expected to land/take off and warn of areas to avoid, which side of the river to follow etc..

You can download the Clydeport Marine Leisure guide from their website.

You should also contact Clyde coastguard on channel 16, tel: 01475729988 and contact them again once you are off the water. You need to carry a VHF and listen for warnings on channels 12 and 16. You also need to leave your VHF call sign with the coastguard.

Another consideration, before paddling this route, is the water level in the Clyde. In periods of heavy rain or thaw the Clyde can rise dramatically. The week before we paddled this route there was a major thaw and at Daldowie, 11km upstream of the barrage, the level was 1.4m compared with a base level of 0.2m. Down at the barrage the water was going straight over the top, creating a nasty stopper and at high tide launching would have been very dangerous down a steep bank into deep fast flowing water.

We put on when the level at Daldowie was a much more reasonable 0.4m and had little difficulty. You can monitor Clyde river levels p to 24hours previously at the Sepa website.

There is a risk of a serious bacterial infectious disease called leptospirosis or Weil's disease, which can be caused by coming in contact with fresh water contaminated by infected rats' urine. Running through a city, the Clyde has an ample share of rats so you should take precautions. Don't paddle if you have an open blister or cut. Don't let any river water get near anything you are going to eat or drink. (We normally paddle with drink bladders/tubes on deck, we didn't this time. Don't put your hands near your mouth or nose if they have been in contact with water or with grass or soil on the bank. We used alcohol gel to clean our hands before eating. You should also avoid licking your lips if water splashes on your face. We decided it would be prudent not to practice rolling in the Clyde!

The incubation period of leptospirosis is about 3 days to 3 weeks after exposure. If you develop some or all of the following: high temperature, severe headache, muscle pain, nausea, red eyes, skin rash, you should see a doctor as an emergency and say you have been paddling in the Clyde and are worried about leptospirosis.

We believe we are the first small group to make use of this new concession and it was with some anticipation that we set off below the Albert Bridge. What would we find? Some of our friends did not come fearing pollution and urban decay.

Sea kayaking to Lochgoilhead from Arrochar, Loch Long

A 25km day trip from Arrochar at the head of Loch Long to Lochgoilhead at the head of Loch Goil.

Entering Loch Goil from Loch Long.



Hunched by the cold, a long, long way from the open sea.

Sea kayaking in the mountains with torpedoes and invisible ink.

Sea kayaking in search of the lost Ark.

 HMS Ark Royal, final voyage to Scotland.

Two million barrels of crude in Loch Long.

The mark of a good bothy

War and peace at Carraig nan Ron.

Carrick castle and the leading lights of Loch Goil.

A hall of mirrors in Loch Goil.

Photo album map.

Seakayaking in the shade of mountains.

The beach at the mouth of Glen Sannox usually has a deep covering of silvery granite sand, which has been washed down from the mountains. Recent storms have stripped much away and it was a rough landing on the exposed boulders. We were now in the chilly shade of the mountains.

We paddled down the east coast of Arran below rocky ridges that rose high into the blue vault of the sky. A couple of paragliders were soaring above the windward slope of Goatfell.

We emerged into the sunshine again as we approached Merkland Point, which guards the north entrance to Brodick Bay. The silhouette of Holy Island reminded us of another great sea kayaking destination in the Clyde.

The sun began to set behind the beautiful mixed woodland, which grows right down to the shore at Merkland Point.

Unfortunately the resident otters were nowhere to be seen, so we paddled out...

...into the broad expanse of Brodick Bay. The sun was now well below our horizon but high above us, the A'Chir ridge and Goatfell still caught the dying rays of the sun. It was now only a short paddle to the ferry terminal. We were in good in time for the 16:40 ferry to Ardrossan and a welcome hot meal aboard.