Scottish Canals facts for kids
Scottish Canals logo
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| Motto | Destinations for leisure, sport and investment. |
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| Predecessor | British Waterways |
| Formation | 2 July 2012 |
| Type | Government-owned corporation |
| Headquarters | Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
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Region served
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Scotland |
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Chairman of Board
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Andrew Thin |
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Interim Chief Executive
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Catherine Topley |
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Staff
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247 |
| Website | |
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Formerly called
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British Waterways (Scotland) |
Scottish Canals is a special group that looks after all the canals and some waterways in Scotland. It's like a public company owned by the Scottish Government. Its main job is to manage and care for these important water routes.
This organization used to be part of a bigger group called British Waterways. But on July 2, 2012, it became its own separate body. Even though its official legal name is still "British Waterways Board," everyone knows it as Scottish Canals. They are working to use this new name everywhere.
Scottish Canals is based in the city of Glasgow. They manage several famous canals. These include the Caledonian Canal, Crinan Canal, Forth and Clyde Canal, and Union Canal. They also look after the old Monkland Canal.
In total, Scottish Canals cares for about 137 miles (220 kilometers) of waterways. This huge network also includes 17 reservoirs. They even have rights to manage boating on four large lochs. One of these famous lochs is Loch Ness.
How Scottish Canals Works
This section explains how Scottish Canals is different from similar groups in other parts of the UK.
Canals in England and Wales
The government of the United Kingdom looks after inland waterways in England and Wales. They decided that the canals there should be managed by a charity. This charity is called the Canal & River Trust. It means these canals are not directly owned by the government anymore.
Canals in Scotland
The Scottish Government made a different choice for its canals. They decided that canals in Scotland would stay publicly owned. This means they are still managed by a government body. So, British Waterways continued to operate in Scotland, but under the new name Scottish Canals.
The Scottish Government is also thinking about how Scottish Canals could work with Scottish Water. Scottish Water is another public company. It manages drinking water and wastewater services in Scotland. They are exploring ways these two public organizations could cooperate.
