New Canal

A wide group of organisations are planning to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the re-opening of the Union Canal.  A weekend of events has been organised, including a flotilla of boats that will travel the length of the canal over the weekend.  They should be arriving in Wester Hailes around 10AM on Saturday 25^th September so remember to look out for them then.  The Wester Hailes section was not officially open until the following year, 2001 but that doesn’t mean we can’t join in with this round of celebrations!

 The Union Canal was officially opened in 1823 although the original idea of a canal linking Edinburgh to Falkirk was first suggested in 1793.  The new canal joined Edinburgh to the Forth and Clyde Canal, linking Edinburgh to Glasgow, thus “uniting” the two cities.  The Union Canal is known as a contour canal as it makes its way to Falkirk without any locks, using tunnels and viaducts instead.  When it was first built it was 31.5 miles long and could take boats of up to 69 feet long. 

 Unfortunately, despite its initial success, the canal became a victim of history for of course, the railway was to become the more popular and faster way of transporting goods.  In 1842 the Edinburgh & Glasgow railway opened and the canal’s demise was sealed.  Its use steadily declined although commercial traffic continued until 1933.  The Union Canal was officially closed in 1965.  When plans for housing in Wester Hailes were considered, it was felt that the safest option was to infill the section of canal that went through the area. 

 However, a growing body of support for restoring the Union Canal along with the Forth and Clyde Canal began to pick up pace.  The Millennium Link project included funding from the European Union and the Millennium Commission and cost £84 million.  It faced considerable structural challenges including the 1.7 kilometres of new waterway that had to be dug at Wester Hailes.  The work started in late 1998 and included dredging, the renovation of old locks, repairing banks and improving the towpath.  The last project to be completed was the new Wheel at Falkirk that was built to transport the boats from the level of one canal to the other. 

These pictures are taken from 2001 when the Wester Hailes section was opened from Calders to Kingsnowe.  Ribbons were cut at both ends to mark the occasion and a huge crowd turned out to celebrate. 

photo by Kevin Walsh 2001

photo by Kevin Walsh 2001

Neil Kinnock talks to the Sentinel

With interest gathering over the Labour leadership election, we’ve gone back to 1984 when Neil Kinnock gave an interview to the Sentinel.  As a community newspaper, the Sentinel was becoming known for its ability to mix local community news with reports on events and issues from the wider world.  Neil Kinnock was in Edinburgh to make a policy speech at the Eurofest Concert for peace and jobs so the Sentinel took the opportunity to interview him. 

 He talked about a range of issues, including the problems of damp in the housing in Wester Hailes, the European elections and the importance of the promotion of jobs and training.  He also gave his thoughts on community newspapers, stressing their value particularly in presenting a more balanced view of areas such as Wester Hailes where the national press were only interested in negative stories. 

For the full story please click here

The Children’s Circus

When the circus came to Wester Hailes, it was first brought by Reg Bolton whose fascinating career and life included pioneering an innovative concept of “new circus”. During the 1970s, Reg was Director of the Theatre Workshop Edinburgh which ran a variety of community arts projects including original shows for children. Reg became interested in the possibilities of using circus for “education, self-fulfilment and community development”. He developed his Suitcase Circus, taking it to the outer Edinburgh estates including Wester Hailes and Craigmillar during the Festival weeks.

Exhibition photograph

The Wester Hailes Festival Association recognised the impact such an approach could have for young people and the wider community. In 1981, they employed Haggis the Clown, Mike Alderdice who had been on a Youth Opportunity Post with Craigmillar Festival Society. Haggis started circus workshops in Wester Hailes before bringing together a group of young people to form a travelling circus company The Children’s Circus. They toured different venues and were invited to take part in Reg Bolton’s Suitcase Circus International. Pictures of Haggis working with Reg Bolton are on the website Reg Bolton.org which is dedicated to the life and work of Reg. Haggis can be seen in photos from Strood in 1982, and at the Festival Fringe 1984.

In 1982 the Sentinel highlighted the work of Haggis and the achievements of The Children’s Circus. To see the full story and pictures, click here.  Festival Circus 1982