Long before a quick drive across the M8, the Union Canal provided a smooth route for travellers between Edinburgh and Glasgow - and flowed right up to Lothian Road.

On arrival in Edinburgh, passengers would arrive at the eastern terminus of the canal right in the city centre. Known as Port Hopetoun, the basin sat in the city for almost a century before it was eventually abandoned.

Passenger boats called Swifts took a total of seven hours to reach Falkirk, and a further six hours to reach Glasgow. At its peak in 1836, 200,000 people were travelling on the intercity canal.

Built between 1818 and 1822, the basin also handled the import of coal, grain and building materials as well as the export of waste. Passengers stepped off the boat 500 feet from where the Usher Hall now stands, onto

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