📌 Blantyre, South Lanarkshire
★★
Hewn into cliffs above a wooded section of the River Clyde near Blantyre, these stone carvings depict three of the Stations of the Cross – and a few other scenes, including a Roman centurion. Given the presence of a 13th century, ruined Augustinian priory immediately above, it’s tempting to assume that the drawings are of a similar vintage. In reality they only date to the 1950s, having been crafted by local man Tommy Hawkins. Nevertheless, they’re a fascinating sight and worth the rather rough mile’s walk to reach.
🌍 Location
📌 By the west bank of the River Clyde, immediately below Blantyre Priory, 1 mi northwest of Low Blantyre
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 687594
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.809955,-4.097666
❌ No public transport within 1 mi – take train / bus to Blantyre, then follow directions below
🚗 Street parking at north end of Station Road, 🧭 NS 695584 / 🛰️ 55.801143,-4.083861 then follow directions below
📝 Key info
⌚ Always viewable
🎫 Free
💬 From the north end of Station Road it’s a 1 mi / 30 min walk (each way) to the carvings (⬤ Moderate). Enter the grounds around the David Livingstone Birthplace attraction, passing the statue of the explorer fighting a lion. The main path bends left at a line of trees, but instead continue roughly straight ahead (northwest) on more informal paths, leading down towards the River Clyde. Follow the river left (upstream) on rough paths, eventually reaching the carvings. Route may be susceptible to river erosion; the carvings can also be reached from above (access from B758 to west) but this involves a very steep final descent,
