The Union

Canal Boats

Let's focus on the Union. Not the Union in the North in the US during the Civil War, but the Union Canal here in Edinburgh. It is part of one of our favorite exercise walks. That walk takes us on a 9 mile loop from our flat in the Stockbridge neighborhood, through the city center, past the Edinburgh Castle, along the Union Canal, and then along the Water of Leith. It is a wonderfully mixed route:  Georgian buildings, historic castle, quite canal, and scenic waterway.

The Union Canal, which was built 200 years ago to transport coal into the city, is currently used for recreation. Some canal boats are used as second homes, and others are rented for multi-day trips. The photo was taken as two of the canal boats are crossing over an aqueduct elevated 100 feet above the Water of Leith; quite spectacular to see a boat floating so high above. While Scotland only has a handful of such canals, England has over 3,000 miles of them.