It is around 3,200 miles from the village of Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, to the city of New York, USA. The two destinations may seem even further away in imagination but, soon, they could be united by a bridge.
We hasten to add that this is not a bridge across the Atlantic, but over the Forth & Clyde Canal at its western extremity. The far-fetched sounding link between little Bowling and the Big Apple comes in an ambitious plan to create a linear park inspired by New York City’s High Line.
Completed in 2009, the High Line took a disused section of railway on the west side of Manhattan and “repurposed” it as a green trail and public park that attracts many visitors and has rejuvenated neighbourhoods. Scottish Canals has the same ambition for Bowling, beginning with the newly restored, 120-year old swing bridge.
While hardly boasting the grandeur of the Queensferry Crossing, the Bowling bridge has an industrial charm of its own and could herald a new use for the old rail line, not just as a pleasant walk but linking with the national cycle route to Loch Lomond.
So, while the connection between West Dunbartonshire and Manhattan at first seems unlikely, it turns out to be both apt and inspiring. New York, we all know, is a swinging place. But Bowling has a swing bridge – and it knows how to use it.
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