Timber Ponds River Clyde Port Glasgow Black and White wall art Canvas print

Timber Ponds River Clyde Port Glasgow Black and White wall art Canvas print

Stretching silently along the Clyde estuary between Port Glasgow and Langbank, the Timber Ponds are a haunting reminder of Scotland’s wooden shipbuilding era. Dating back to the 18th century, these intertidal enclosures were constructed to store and season vast quantities of imported timber—mostly from Canada, Norway, and the Baltic states—destined for the shipyards of the Clyde.

Rather than traditional ponds, they are rectangular grids of wooden stakes, known locally as stabs, embedded deep in the mudflats. At high tide, the enclosures would flood, allowing rafts of logs to float within; at low tide, they’d rest on the soft silt, seasoning naturally over months or even years.

As steel replaced wood in shipbuilding, the ponds fell into disuse by the early 20th century. Today, around twenty of these timber ponds still survive, many within the Inner Clyde Nature Reserve, now a haven for wading birds like redshank and curlew.

Though weathered and partially submerged, the timber ponds remain a powerful symbol of Port Glasgow’s maritime legacy—where the rhythm of tides once echoed the pulse of an empire built on wood and water.

Looking to add a little flair to your room or office? Look no further - this canvas print has a vivid, fade-resistant print that you're bound to fall in love with.

• 1.25″ (3.18 cm) thick poly-cotton blend canvas

• Canvas fabric weight: 10.15 +/- 0.74 oz./yd.² (344 g/m² +/- 25g/m²)

• Fade-resistant

• Hand-stretched over solid wood stretcher bars

• Mounting brackets included

• Blank product sourced from the US, Canada, Europe, UK, or Australia

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

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