1763
Civil Engineer, John Smeaton surveys a route for the Forth & Clyde Canal
1768
Construction of the privately-owned Forth & Clyde Canal is approved by an Act of Parliament
1768
Work begins in June when the governor of the Canal Company digs the first spade-full at the Eastern sea lock. Over the years this area has grown into what is now known as Grangemouth
1775
Work stops just North of Glasgow due to a lack of funds
1777
City merchants raise money to build a branch of the canal into the city
1785
Government money forfeited from the Jacobite Estates is available and the canal continues its journey to the River Clyde at Bowling
1790
The Forth & Clyde Canal is opened
1867
The canal is bought by the Caledonian Railway Company
1923
Caledonian Railway Company is absorbed into London Midland and Scottish Railway
1948
The canal is nationalised and administered by the British Transport Commission
1962
Rights of navigation are extinguished by Parliament and the canal closes in 1963
2001
The canal is reopened as part of the £83.5m Millennium Link – the largest canal restorations anywhere in Britain
2002
The Falkirk Wheel reconnects the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals for the first time in over 70 years
