Sunday 21 October 2018

A Leisurely Local Walk Along the Canal with a Great Friend


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Bowling Harbour Sculptures

A Leisurely Walk with a Great Friend

Exercising outdoors doesn’t always have to be about climbing a mountain, running a timed race or taking part in an event.  It’s often nice to go a leisurely walk with a good friend. That’s exactly what I did on a beautiful Sunday morning in Autumn.  
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Leaf Strewn Path
My friend and I decided we would go on a local walk with our dogs but nothing too strenuous.  
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Chocco Enjoying His Walk

Canal Paths


The canal paths in Scotland are lovely especially in Autumn when you have all the leaf strewn paths dazzling you with an array of vibrant colours.  
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Beardmore Sculpture - Dalmuir

Beardmore Sculpture

Since I started blogging I’ve tried to be more mindful of my environment and surroundings and have really started to notice things that I hadn’t before.  For instance, we start our walk in Dalmuir near the Golden Jubilee Hospital and for the first time I come across the Beardmore Sculpture above, I’ve never noticed this before but my friend assures me it’s been there for years.  Isn’t it strange how we can pass things regularly but not see them?  

 On further research I discover the sculpture has been made by a local artist Tom McKendrick and was erected in 2010 (how on earth have I not noticed this in eight years?) Tom apparently served his apprenticeship in John Brown Engineers which was a famous ship builder that used to be situated in Clydebank and synchronistically where I had my first proper job after leaving school.  

 If you would like to read more about the meaning of the sculpture and its history please click the link below.

Bowling Harbour 

My friend and I decide todays walk will take us to Bowling Harbour and back which is 3 miles each way.  On our walk we are delighted when we see the most elegant white swans swimming in the canal.  
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Swan in the Canal

We chat about everything and anything and are grateful that we have picked a fantastic day for our walk.  It’s a warm, bright and dry day which is always a bonus.

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Colour Feature Garden at Bowling Harbour
As we approach Bowling Harbour the view consists of a variety of colourful boats with my beloved Kilpatrick hills in the distant background.  
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Boats at Bowling Harbour

Dug Cafe


Over the last few years there have been several companies open up at Bowling Harbour and the one we are most interested in is Dug Café, a café where you can take your dog whilst grabbing a cup of tea or coffee.  The lovely waitress spoils our dogs with some doggy treats.  It’s a great café and we fill ourselves up with toasties and carrot cake before going a wander further down the water.  
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Dug Cafe


The views are spectacular with clear blue skies and I can’t believe we are only a few miles away from home.  The harbour is colourful, scenic, spotless and well kept and you can see the Erskine Bridge in all it’s glory as well as the River Clyde.  The dogs are off their leads and having a great time.
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Bowling Harbour
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Bowling Harbour


My friend and I comment on how much better we feel after walking three miles.  Nothing I enjoy more than some light exercise and some good chat with a fantastic friend. 
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Erskine Bridge

We make our way back via an off the path route which takes us closer to the water and ensures our dogs are even dirtier than before but they are happy as are we.
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Happy Dogs

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1 comment:

  1. Unknown21 October 2018 at 23:30

    Amazing friend, wonderful walk and another great blog. ♡ x

    ReplyDelete

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