Tunnel vision
November 23, 2025, 7:14 am , by Richard Lutz
RICHARD LUTZ heads underground and boldly goes where no man has gone before
A splash of light, a tube of illumination, all dug into the earth that once carried Victorian canal barges chugging coal, stone, passengers to and from Edinburgh.
The Falkirk Tunnel had to be built because the local land owner didn’t want the Union Canal spoiling his view.
So labourers, which included the grave robbers Burke and Hare, dug, blasted and burrowed their way under the grumpy old boy’s estate.
Today, it’s a bit different. The 630m Falkirk Tunnel carries walkers, cyclists, runners, the odd leisure barge and connects the capital with Glasgow, the country’s boisterous commercial heart. Here’s another view:
The tunnel is damp. Headlamps are advised. Water drips from the rocky roof. A railing protects you from a quick unexpected dip. Along the way are remains of old dynamite stores, candle niches and undefined shafts. Kids shout for the echoes (ditto the adults), and always there’s the hint of daylight at the tunnel’s end that beckons and welcomes you onward and out.
The underground work was rough and dangerous two centuries ago. Lives were lost. The builder went bust. To commemorate the dire job, a nearby canal bridge had two faces sculpted into its sides. Looking west towards the tunnel was The Greetin’ Face (in Scots dialect, greetin’ means crying ) to reflect the hardship:
And facing east where the work was easier and profitable is the Laughing Face:
Further on from the two faced bridge is the Union Canal Aqueduct.
Eileen Henderson’s photograph shows seven of the twelve arches, all of them designed by Victorian master engineer Thomas Telford.
Below- The Avon, snaking its way through the valley, bubbling over an old mill weir.
It’s one of eight River Avons curving through Britain. Which is not really that shocking as the name Avon means ‘river’ in an ancient language. And that means the name ‘River Avon’ actually means, if you want to be pedantic, River River.
But who wants to be pedantic when you have a nice little waterway , a big aqueduct and a long deep tunnel? Well, there’s always outer space….
And with that, here’s a canalside footnote about this man:
It’s Scottie from Star Trek and, yes, he exists on tv. But here’s a secret. He’s not real.
But that didn’t stop the good burghers of Linlithgow near the Union Canal. They honoured the Galactic Engineer with this plaque in their local museum:
The historians of this little town have honoured his birth in two hundred years time (ie, 2222) when Scottie of the USS Enterprise will be born to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Thanks, Scottie for when you will selflessly and courageously put your fictional life on the line in outer space to protect us from Klingons and all the baddies from The Romulan Star Empire. You will be a credit to Linlithgow, The Union Canal, the nearby tunnel and the whole of the good old third rock from the sun as we will know it.
pix- Eileen Henderson, Falkirk Council, Mat Fascione, Renata Edge
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Walker
👍
Alan Holland
Looks like a fascinating place. Incredible structures which took incredible foresight, cost and effort to build. The risks involved in such huge infrastructure projects were just as great then as now. Fortunes were lost and made. I wonder if in a few years walkers will stroll through the HS2 Chiltern Hills tunnels wondering at our generation’s endeavours (or follies)?
Andrew
We lost private risk for public good. Now it’s all public risk for private benefits.
Anyway, ‘Avon’ has a root in Welsh, as the oldest European language. Afon is Welsh for river.
Willy Kerr
interesting and informative, Thanks!
Martin McCrindle
(Scotty isn’t real?😱)
Bill Burroughs
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼a great read
Mary Hill
Good tunnel
Joe Smith
That’s some tunnel and a fairly typical tale of working men’s hard life. I’m a bit worried about the stability of the rock roof but I’m sure it is regularly checked
Tanya Ali
What a tunnel!!
Strider
Eyes were on ground so it was so good to see roof of tunnel 🫠
Laurel Rice
Well, this was a very lot of fun! Reminds me of downtown Minneapolis with the sculpture of Mary Tyler Moore
John Walter
Scotty not real? You will be telling us that Mr Spock is not a Vulcan next. Could be a fatwa against you from the Trekkies .
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