Riding out of Nottingham on the A612 along the Colwick Loop Road for 12 miles towards destination East Bridgford feeling every bump in the road makes you wonder whether there is any investment in road repairs these days. That and whether any one ever cleans the pavements as the pedestrian/ cycle friendly wide pavements are peppered for miles with crumbs of glass bottles. Luckily though they sparkle in the sunshine which helps to navigate a path through. The verges are also littered with pop bottles, fag packets, sandwich and sweet wrappers. Quite disappointing and gives Nottingham a passing sense of shabbiness. Warm sunshine though threw a golden glow on fields being harvested as I pedaled past which reminded me of a Sting song. Out for tea at the excellent Bridge & Bayleaf situated in the old toll house for the now missing toll bridge across the Trent at Gunthorpe. Excellent curry, over did it with the starter though as proved unnecessary given the size of the main dish. Great to be able to wander after dark in just a t-shirt in spite of it being late September.

Back into Glasgow today in proper rain. Last day of fried food too. I’m not knocking Scottish cuisine but I am commenting on the paucity of vegetarian options that have not been deep fried when you go slightly off the beaten track. Passed back into Glasgow as rider number 14 today (lucky for me). Again what struck me today was my nostalgia for an age long gone when riding through the Glasgow suburbs and next to the Clyde when approaching the city. Mammoth investment of a bygone era now reduced to acres of waste ground, piles of indeterminate rubble, and random traces of dog shit on tarmac. Only the odd red stone built building with long forgotten crests carved above the doors stoically reminding us of what once was. Passing through post war estates came across several corrugated two storey towers that look like Eastern Bloc watch towers but turn out to be fortified pigeon lofts. Arrive in the city slightly bedraggled but blessed to have been able to ride from Edinburgh Waverley station to Glasgow Central station and experience the sights from the saddle.

40+ miles today starting with an early- ish visit to the Kelpies at the Helix in Grangemouth. The horses themselves are an impressive sight as they can be seen from some distance away and get bigger as you approach until they are enormous. Here’s to the thousands of horses over the years who lived and died working the canals in their heyday and beyond. Man is not all-powerful.

Onto the Falkirk Wheel – looks good and does a good job no doubt but that’s about all I can say. Did not see it in motion though – people said it goes slow so cracked on towards Bowling 32 miles down the canal. Bowling is the end of the actual canal at Lock No. 30 which empties into the Clyde -also the end of NCN 754. Journey’s end today though was actually Milton today some 3 miles further up NCN route 7 (Loch Lomond bound) as needed an overnight stop. Signs of industry long gone all the way along the route. We don’t make what we used to – the evidence is out there for all to see – if you look. The water of the canal was more sea-like nearer the Firth of Forth then resumed its cocoa colour half way along  don’t know why though – that’s just the way it is. A variety of smells along the route today from the usual country smells to aniseed, peppery wafts and strangely back-drafts of aftershave from passing male cyclists the nearer we approached Glasgow as they sped by rushing to who knows what and who knows where.

Into Glasgow cyclist number 252 for the day according to an electronic counter by the Sustrans  big bike. The thing that strikes me most passing through Glasgow is how much of the industry has gone, long gone, and with it the old communities that must have existed alongside as people did not have the opportunity to venture as far as us in those days. They lived, worked, and died within a tiny radius unless they took the King’s shilling – to serve the Empire in foreign lands but still working for the man. No boats for miles again today – if you want solitude renounce English Waterways and boat north of the border.

Journey’s end at Bowling – another epitaph to industry long gone. At one time the investment to create the mini harbour at Bowling must have been immense – both in terms of money, manpower, and the efforts of the Kelpies of course. The tie up’s on the jetty suggest the ships were large carrying cargo of coal, fish, and whatever else brought wealth. Now they sit lonely and forgotten. A footnote in Scotland’s industrial history. Journey’s over for today.

Cycling along the Union Canal today towards Falkirk en route to Glasgow. The start point in Edinburgh is little uninspiring near Fountainbridge I was expecting old warehouses and a wharf but you get a dead end and glass and steel. Amazing weather and an interesting journey overall as the canal follows the contours of the land so there are no locks on the main stretch up to Falkirk – there’s no that many narrow boats either as only saw 3 moving on the water in 20 odd miles. Lots of children making use of the towpath for nature walks with teachers and classmates though and also on the water in canoes so the canal has life. One of the other noteworthy aspects is the number of viaducts on the journey including the one over the River Avon the second longest in the UK I’m told.

You could look down onto the tops of trees from the viaduct which was a new experience – if that wood pigeon had looked up maybe one for it as well. Not many pubs on route (0nly one at Ratho) but managed a lunchtime pint in Linlithgow – shandy. Lot of courteous people along the way – as we were too – ‘Nae Bother’. 30 miles approximately cycled today. The Falkirk Wheel, the Kelpies, and the Forth and Clyde canal are tomorrow’s entertainment.

Overtaken today on the steepest ascent by a woman who was probably the same age as my mum. Or maybe it was Anna Hughes of ‘Eat, Sleep, Cycle’ fame’s mother. Either way I hope I’m still spinning the spokes at an equivalent age and an equivalent pace uphill. Helmets’s off to her! Oh and I saw my first ever snake out of doors today, it was exploded road kill but it was a snake nonetheless. Whether it was indiginous I don’t know and it’s not saying.