Starting Point for the Walk:
At the end of Dalsholm Road which is past the Dawsholm Recycling Centre – OS Reference NS 557 696. There is free on-street parking.
Getting there: 2 miles/ 10 minutes
From the Byres Road junction with the Great Western Road turn left. Turn right at the second set of traffic lights into Cleveden Road. Keep straight on at a roundabout and down a steep hill to cross the Forth and Clyde canal. Having crossed the canal, take the first exit (Dalsholm Road) at the roundabout and cross over the railway line. Continue on Dalsholm Road, ignoring the road coming in from the left. However, be careful. Whilst you have the right of way those coming from the left may not think so! Continue onwards (past the Dawsholm Recycling Centre on the left) to the end of the road.
The Walk: Glasgow Waterways and Sighthill – 9.3 miles (15 km)
The walk follows the River Kelvin south and at the Kelvin Aqueduct joins the Forth and Clyde canal and goes eastwards towards Stockingfield Junction. Admire the impressive new bridge. Explore the site and observe the massive concrete whale which will be tiled during the next few years by tiles designed by Glasgow school children. Continue on down the Forth and Clyde canal spur towards Firhill. Toilets are available at the Tesco store on Maryhill Road opposite Ruchill Street, which is a short distance from the canal.
Picking up the canal spur again, go south towards the city. Continue past Firhill, of Partick Thistle fame, in the direction of Port Dundas (the end of the canal). Note the impressive lock system and then marvel at the Victorian ingenuity of building major docks in the centre of the city – now reduced to a Water Sports Centre. It is now possible to continue on into Sighthill Park (which has been moved from its original location) and reconstructured further away from the town. The stone circle has also been moved to be a centre piece for the North Bridge housing complex. Lunch can be taken here and the park can be explored further for anyone who wishes to do so.
Retrace the route back to Port Dundas and then return via the other side of the canal as far as possible. Then cross the canal again and continue on the west side. Continue up the canal to the Stockingfield Junction and turn left back onto the Forth and Clyde canal. At the Kelvin Aqueduct leave the canal and follow the Kelvin River northwards back to the starting point.