(pics to follow)

    Now, here’s a happy crew, isn’t it?  These are the people who took part, recently, in our annual ‘Bobalong cashaday’ sponsored walk.  They are pictured on the steps of the Meadow centre prior to the whistle going and setting them off on the fifteenth event of this kind, which raises money which ensures that we can sustain the major social events of the year.
    It is not a strenuous walk, in that it doesn’t go up hill and down dale, but it does take the walkers past the scenes of no less than three major engineering feats from the past.  The first is the huge expanse of ground running from the village of Milton to the clyde estuary.  Less than three hundred years ago this land was not anything like its present form but consisted of dozens of little islets separated by waterways.  In the 1730’s work was begun on the creating of dykes which were designed to channel the river through just one course and serious dredging also began which made the new part of the estuary navigable.  Thus cargo vessels were then able to make the journey all the way up to Glasgow which, at that time was just emerging as a commercial entity which developed into the large city it now is.
    The second feat is the Forth and Clyde canal which was completed and opened in 1790 after a long and arduous struggle mainly by groups of navvies wielding picks and shovels to do the mammoth task.  It was then possible to transport cargo from one side of Scotland to the other without having to negotiate hundreds of miles going around the far north of the country
    The third scene is the Erskine Bridge which when completed, made a huge difference to the amount of traffic being able to cross the river swiftly, but brought about the demise of the two ferries which had, until then been in constant use.
    Once under the Bridge the walkers make a sharp left turn and then another which takes them to their destination at the Lusset Restaurant where, after having their sponsor sheets signed and being presented with certificates, they can then relax for a while, awaiting the arrival of the bus to take them back to Dumbarton.