Forth and Clyde Canal. Night and Day Gallery.

                                               ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN
A walk with Anne and her dog from Anniesland to Glasgow City Centre along the Forth and Clyde Canal. Anniesland Tower above. An obvious landmark so I'd arranged to meet her beside it once she'd done a bit of shopping in the morning. She only had a couple of hours spare in the afternoon but I convinced her that was plenty as I intended it to be a day and night adventure. We set off from here and headed up to the canal five minutes walk north from Anniesland Cross.

It was a perfect day for it. Still November when we did it and a quiet still day weather wise so ideal for autumn colours and reflections in the water.

Two Swans on the canal. Plenty of moorhens, mallard ducks, a few swan families, a couple of goosanders but no coots at all. I remember coots being numerous on it years ago but not for a while now.

We spotted a few herons.....

and some snake birds...

and a canal mural at Ruchill.

Black Panther Mural and the Campsie Fells.

Maryhill Basins and locks.

Beautiful setting sun reflections on the canal.

The convergence. At this point the Forth and Clyde canal splits in two. One branch, the one seen here, goes out of the city past Cadder to Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth. The other branch, the one we were following, travels past Maryhill and Port Dundas into Glasgow City Centre.

Beautiful reflections all the way so Anne was pleased and so was Snapper, meeting a few other dogs on the walk into Glasgow's inner districts.

Student bridge reflection.

Hamiltonhill-Possilpark Flats. Firhill Basin.

Partick Thistle Football Club. Glasgow's third football team.

Park Circus Towers.

University of Glasgow. By this time a sunset was just starting to develop. You never know with sunsets .... sometimes you think they are going to be fantastic then they just fizzle out. This one was not bad.

You really need clouds for a bit of moisture in the atmosphere... and coldness... just above freezing levels on the canal.

A wee climb to a local hilltop and we could see the mountains on the island of Arran... and the wind turbines of Ayrshire in front of it.

Snapper found a gruesome pal hiding in the long grass here... well it was Maryhill after all. Looks like it had chicken bones for a skeleton framework. Very strange.
" That thing's really creeping me out." Anne agreed. "Try to get it away, please. Snaps might swallow something."
I looked at her quizzically as if to say 'he's your dog not mine' but to no avail. A head shake from my companion
"Snaps knows I'll take it away.- you might have a better chance at it. You're good with dogs."
 There followed a frustrating ten minutes walking along where we tried to rescue said bear surreptitiously while Snapper was having none of it, racing back to grab it when we tried to pinch it  if abandoned temporarily. Eventually, I managed to kick it into a spiky bush beyond the reach of jumping jaws. Job done.

Once the sun set it started to get dark pretty fast and neither of us fancied walking the unlit part of the canal at night, just in case we encountered gangs or other disruptive elements. However we managed to time it perfectly, negotiating the long, empty unlit  section of the canal before it got too dark to see the path. I had a torch with me just in case but I prefer not to use it as you might as well put a neon sign on your head for everyone else to know you are there. Much better to glide along unnoticed once it gets dark in an urban area.

Anyway, that didn't happen as we reached the lit part of the canal just as the light faded. The only danger here was getting hit by a cyclist coming home from work, preferring to use this section of the canal and avoid rush hour traffic on the roads. Snapper went on the lead here to avoid injury. I have cycled in the dark myself on occasion but it is harder, even with lights, as you can't really see dips, raised lumps, potholes, or other obstacles very well. I've had enough bad bike crashes for one lifetime- even in daylight conditions- and it always hurts.

A view over Glasgow from the canal looking west.

Canal barges. Port Dundas.

Speirs Wharf Reflections.

Speirs Wharf from another angle.

Dobbies Loan view with the M8 and Glasgow. Townhead District.

High Flats in Cowcaddens.

The 'green puddle.'

Underpass and plant lighting.

A deliberate slight camera wobble creates a 1960s effect. 'Groovy Man.'

Rush hour mayhem back in Glasgow City Centre.

And walking down to get our transport home. A great trip and a colourful antidote to a month of damp, grey, fairly miserable weather conditions. Dark by 4::00pm now so the nights are usually more entertaining than the days. And they have been for us so far. Cheers A. xxx.