Summerlee - Musuem of Scotland's Industrial History 

The Trail starts at Summerlee - Museum of Scottish Industrial History in Coatbridge, Scotland's noisiest museum! The Museum is a great day out for the whole family, and includes: great new interactive exhibits, Scotland's only working electric tramway and a play area for children amongst the activities on offer.

The Museum also has an underground mine, which you can visit, and a recreated miners village, which gives you a glimpse of what life was like in Scotland. Admission to the Museum is free, and it has also undergone recent redevelopment.
 

Cycle Route from Coatbridge

 
From Coatbridge the route follows the Monklands Canal. 1770 James Watt, the famous engineer, began work on the Monklands Canal. The cananl was completed in 1794, enabling cheap coal from the Monklands collieries to be taken to Glasgow.

In 1797 the Monklands Iron and Steel Works was established in Calderbank and in 1819 Scotland's first iron boat, the Vulcan, was built at the works and launched at Faskine. In the late 1880's it became Monklands Steel Works became the first purpose built steel works in Scotland, producing steel for the great ships built on the Clyde. In 1930 the works finally closed, and by 1935 the last coal shipment had passed along the Canal. 

Gone are the days when the Canal was a vital industrial artery. Today the remaining sections support a wealth of wildlife including brown trout, pike swans coots and herons. In Beyond the Canal at Calderbank the Trail follows the wooded North Calder Valley. From Airdrie, the Trail follows National Cycle Route 75. The Trail ends at Hillend Reservoir, a haven for migratory birds and a popular angling lochs.