Glasgow Photo Library
- River Kelvin
Rising in the Kilsyth Hills to the north of Glasgow, the river Kelvin meanders its way through Glasgow to join the Clyde at Meadowside. At one time, it was an attractive open space with salmon and trout running up the river and songs such as Kelvin Grove being written about it.
But the river was harnessed over the years by industry, initially as power for mills and paper factories and then as a useful dumping ground for by-products from the burgeoning factories. By the latter half of the 20th century it was a typical polluted river with derelict buildings along its banks.
In the 1970s, Glasgow City Council began to clean up the river and its banks and created a walkway from Dawsholm Park, on the outskirts of the city, all the way to the Clyde. Of course, some stretches of the riverbank, such as that running between the University and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, had always been in reasonable condition. But the improvements to water quality means that now the water running past is capable of supporting trout and salmon again.
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