Willy Nilly along The Nolly
16 hours ago , by Richard Lutz
RICHARD LUTZ finishes a sixty mile canal walk between two cities
At times the wide open country, even in the stark simplicity of black and white, takes on the quiet of a Constable painting:
I’m between Glasgow and Edinburgh. I’m on The Nolly, a local nickname for this section of the Forth and Clyde canals.
It’s hard to find the derivation of the word, this name…The Nolly.
We undertake extensive digital research. After plundering the net for well over ten seconds, a friend unearths that the broad Glasgow dialect pronounced then proceeded to shorten the word ‘canal’- from ‘canal’ to ‘caunul’ to ‘noll’ to ‘The Nolly’.
I’ll buy that explanation. So you have references to the Nolly bridges, the Nolly barges, the Nolly cafes and the Nolly pubs dotted along the way.
The sixty mile Nolly route I’m on takes in tunnels:
and flows over viaducts:
And, in gentler weather, is home to boats and barges:
It swerves and drives through the tight central Scottish belt that was tamed by the Romans then transformed by the ingenuity of Scots engineers, then became home to heavy industry.
Today, in this century, newly erected horizon-filling creations tower over routewalkers- even slow walkers like me who take several sessions to complete the 60 mile task over the winter. There’s alot to see.
There’s the 30 metre high Kelpies rearing into the sky:
They’re metallic statues of mythical water horses that drag you into the waves of the sea or the currents of rough rivers. They are seen from canalside, from towpaths, from motorways, from boats, from valleys and farms.
And nearby is the Falkirk Wheel, a crazy looking throwback to a Mad Max world:
It’s a mechanical monstrosity invented to lift barges from one low level canal to another higher up like a ferris wheel. This means there are no locks to build or maintain. And, yes, for a pretty penny or two, you can get a lift up and down. And, yes, there’s a Nolly cafe nearby to have an ice cream afterwards.
Of course, a walk in the winter means facing a mean blast of a westerly wind, known by some as a ‘snell’ breeze. This sleeping blackthorn throws its bare shadows across the waters. A pair of ducks ventures and blends into its tangled web.
At the next canal bend, twin trees gather together, entwining their shadows:
Around them are the late winter sounds of robins, great tits, the screech of prowling buzzards, the honk of geese overhead.
Quiet on the canals are moorhens and gliding swans. Two cormorants keep a keen eye out for a catch. And was that the sudden blue flash of a kingfisher zipping by?
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PC
Winter in Birmingham city: overflowing bins, car crashes, drab skies, giant dogs, crazed wood pigeons, and behaviour you wouldn’t believe
Kim C
The canals look beautiful
Jess Harris
Saw the Kelpies. Really impressed
Joe Smith
we might all be taking up canal walking before long – no hills – or should I say, minimal gradients.
Elma McGregor
Great read to take mind away from the news
Bella Houston
Big fan of canal walks – they’re flat !!
Tim Colgrave
black & white imparts an Ansell Adams like atmosphere innit?
Lee Christopher
👍
Laurel Rice
reflections in water is always transportive for me
Eileen Vannin
Interesting photos
Eric Voorhies
Good photos
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