The National Cycle Network route 754, between Winchburgh and Kilsyth. This trail traces the historic waterways of the Union and Forth & Clyde canals, paths that have long connected communities and landscapes that have been deeply shaped by Scotland’s industrial past. The project, titled Passages – A Culture Trail, responds to the rich industrial and social histories embedded within this route, and the ways these histories continue to influence the our lives today.

Passages, curated by Emmie McCluskey, brings together five artists and writers—Alan Bissett, Ciorstaidh Chaimbeul, Cal Flyn, Janice Parker, and Amanda Thomson—all of whom share long-term engagements with people and places along the route. Responding to a specific site along the canal, each artist has created an audio recording designed for those walking or cycling the trail that offers a personal reflection, story, history or imagining to accompany them along their journey.

The Union and Forth & Clyde canals are living monuments to the cycles of use and transformation that have defined and shaped the area. Constructed in the height of the Industrial Revolution, these waterways were once filled with the movement of goods and people, providing vital routes for commerce and industry. Throughout the 20th century life along the canals changed significantly as transport, industry and local communities have been radically reshaped.

I contributed two sound pieces to this:

Auchinstarry to Craigmarloch
Amanda’s work is about her experience of walking and cycling the canal since childhood. Interweaving personal, social and historical material with field recordings, she creates a living portrait of the canal, the environment around it and its past and present lives.

Greendykes Shale Bing:
A conversation between artist Amanda Thomson and botanist Dr Gregory Kenicer, we hear them walking from Broxburn up the Greendykes Shale Bings talking about the animal and plant life they see on a day in April 2025.