File:Mains of Cardross Canal - geograph.org.uk - 914740.jpg

English: Mains of Cardross Canal. The River Leven is visible in the background of the photo, but the nearer body of water is claimed to be a remnant of the Mains of Cardross Canal. King Robert I (the Bruce) had a "manor house" (a hunting lodge, in modern terms), referred to as "Mains [Manorium] de Cardross," somewhere in this area. Setting out from there, he would engage in hunting and hawking in his later years. Robert the Bruce died at Mains of Cardross on the 7th of June, 1329.

[An often-cited tradition that Robert had leprosy is of long standing, but has little evidence to support it; it is now considered far more likely that the king was suffering from some other condition.]

Note that, while this area is not particularly close to the modern-day village of Cardross, the ancient parish of Cardross embraced a large area, and extended as far as here.

The precise location of Robert's manor house is uncertain, but the watercourse shown here was perhaps built to aid in its construction, providing a quay where Robert maintained a small boatyard, allowing him to add fishing to his leisure activities.

The claim that this was a canal built to aid in the construction of the manor house can be found on an information panel located alongside the cycle route at this spot; however, note that the location of Bruce's manor house was, at the time of writing, still the subject of ongoing research, and had not been settled. See also 1449369; note, though, that the site of the more recent Mains of Cardross Farm does not necessarily correspond to the site of Bruce's "Mains of Cardross" manor house; it is merely thought that his manor house may have been somewhere in that area.

(Previously, Robert's manor house was thought to have been at Castlehill in Dumbarton, the site even being marked with a commemorative flagstaff (1096057 and 1096046); however, the Lord Treasurer's Account relates that Robert's great ship was drawn out of the Leven into the burn beside the house, and that its tackle and gear were carried into the house [see "Dumbarton through the Centuries" by Dr I.M.M.MacPhail]; this makes the Castlehill site, which is over a quarter of a mile from the Leven, seem rather less plausible. In fact, thoughts on the most likely location of Bruce's Manor House have now come full circle: even before Castlehill replaced it as (at that time) the most likely contender, opinion had favoured the Mains of Cardross site.)

In any case, this watercourse extends for several hundred metres, close to the present-day cycle route, running between that route and the River Leven. However, it is harder to see from the cycle route during the summer months, because the lower reaches of the Leven are surrounded by an extensive swamp habitat (which is itself a valuable ecological resource), with tall vegetation.