BOWLING CYCLE WAY AND TUNNEL, Bowling
ACCESS : This is just part of the National Cycle Network Route 7. It has a tarred surface suitable for cyclists and walkers.
This needs to be read in conjunction with BOWLING SWING BRIDGE which is the section of route immediately to the east and at high level and with BOWLING HARBOUR CANAL BASIN at low level.
///decades.help.pigtails Dunglas Roundabout end.
///worldwide.syndicate.soldiers The connection back onto Dumbarton Road from the Forth and Clyde Canal towpath.
This is a pleasant stretch that links the western section at the Dunglas Castle roundabout from or to Dumbarton and the eastwards section to or from Glasgow. it effectively skirts the narrow band of buildings and busy road of Bowling (the A82 is close by to the north). The railway runs roughly parallel nearer the Clyde. Bowling has a station, but you need to ensure which trains stop here.
Reference to the railway is highly pertinent. This cycle way is on the older slightly higher rail route. Bowling railway station opened in 1850 when the North Clyde line ran via Dumbarton to Balloch. Between 1896 and 1951, the village was also served by a second station, on Caledonian Railway 's Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway line. With the service then becoming combined, one rail network became redundant and it is this that you see here, now utilised as a cycleway.
The cycle route / walkway is pleasantly surrounded by trees. Much of it is within cutting and here we also come across the remnants of the former station and the short tunnel. The tunnel has castellated parapets and carries what was a cross road down into the village. There is anther underpass further west and also a bridge above Manse Road which has a small enclave of interesting houses. Remnants of the old station can be seen above Scott Avenue.
The swing bridge over the canal is discussed separately. At the moment - heading east - the cycle route crosses Dumbarton Road at the traffic lights and heads down the side road to the Forth and Clyde Canal tow path. This could change once the swing bridge is incorporated into the cycle route. In a westwards direction the cycle route crosses Dumbarton Road near the Dunglas Roundabout and heads into Dumbarton along a similarly tarred surface. From there you have the option of heading all the way up the side of Loch Lomond and beyond.
The route passes through a cutting with a tunnel
This is the logo on the tunnel entrance.
A bridge links the village and what was the main road from Dumbarton To Glasgow.
From the cycle track on the higher level, the only signs of a station are remnants of the platforms. At the lower level it is evident that this was more substantial.
CANMORE : https://canmore.org.uk/site/298356/bowling-railway-tunnel
WIKIPEDIA : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_railway_station
