Twechar

Twechar is a small former mining village in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland close to the boundary with North Lanarkshire. It lies between the larger towns of Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth.

The Forth and Clyde Canal runs close to the village to the north, and closely follows the line of the Antonine Wall. There are visible remains of the wall on Barhill and the Roman Fort is a local tourist attraction.

Click here for more information.

Kilsyth

Kilsyth is at 60 metres (200 ft) above sea level and occupies a narrow strip of land between the Kilsyth Hills to the north and the River Kelvin to the south. To the east and west it is bordered by marshland and bogs. The centre of the town is close to the confluence of the Garrell and Ebroch burns. Panorama from Croy Hill and the Antonine Wall, looking over Kilsyth towards the Kilsyth Hills.

From earliest recorded times Kilsyth was one of the main routes between Glasgow, Falkirk and Edinburgh, and is very close to the Roman Antonine Wall, the Forth and Clyde Canal and the main Glasgow to Edinburgh railway line, with the nearest railway station at Croy. The main A80/M80 motorway is close by to the south. Formerly two separate stations existed in the town on separate, although linked, railway lines. One, The Kelvin Valley Railway went to Glasgow, Maryhill while the other, the Kilsyth and Bonnybridge railway went via Banknock to Falkirk.

The town occupies a sheltered position in the Kelvin Valley, and is bisected by the A803 between Kirkintilloch and Falkirk. The old drovers' road from Stirling, (the Tak Ma Doon Road), and the route south to Cumbernauld via Auchinstarry Bridge, intersect the A803 at Kilsyth.

Click here for more information.

Kirkintilloch

"Kirkintilloch" comes from the Gaelic Cair Ceann Tulaich or Cathair Cheann Tulaich, meaning "fort at the end of the hill". This, in turn, may come from a Cumbric name, Caer-pen-taloch, which has the same meaning. A possible reference to the site is made in the 9th century Welsh text Historia Brittonum, in which the Antonine Wall is said to end at 'Caerpentaloch'. The fort referred to is the former Roman settlement on the wall and the hillock is the volcanic drumlin which would have offered a strategic viewpoint for miles to the West, North and East.[6] The etymology is sometimes taken literally as "Kirk in tilloch" ("church in the field"). Its long name is often shortened by locals to the colloquial Kirkie or Kirky, as reflected in a number of business names in the town.

Click here for more information.

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and the third largest in the United Kingdom (after London and Birmingham). Greater Glasgow had a population of 1,199,629 at the 2001 census. At the 2011 census, it had a population density of 8,790/sq mi (3,390/km2), the highest of any Scottish city. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as Glaswegians.

Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and royal burgh, and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the 15th century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the 18th century. From the 18th century the city also grew as one of Great Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America and the West Indies.

Click here for more information.