On 24th September 1726 surveyor Alexander Gordon was hired to survey a route for the canal. In his report the only main obstacles that had to be over come was the Dullator Bog and the river Kelvin.
Work began at Grangemouth in 1768 under the guidance of engineer John Smeaton, also famous for the Eddystone Lighthouse. By 1773 the Forth and Clyde Canal , which was big enough for ocean-going vessels, had reached Kirkintilloch.
Glasgow merchants very quickly decided they wanted a branch into the city. This would give them an passage to the North Sea. By this time head engineer John Smeaton was no longer in charge, Robert Mackell took over, he guided the construction of the canal to the Old Basin in Hamiltonhill (head office of British Waterways). Work also was being done in the opposite direction, and the canal was allowed to descend down the magnificent flight of lock gates and pass over the Kelvin gorge. When built, the Kelvin Aqueduct at 400 foot long was the largest structure of it’s kind. The lock gates and the Kelvin Aqueduct are together the finest canal features in Britain.
Engineers: