📌 Town in South Lanarkshire
★★
Lanark is the traditional county town of Lanarkshire. Set on a hilltop above important bridges across the River Clyde and the Mouse Water, the former’s power was harnessed at the onset of the Industrial Revolution by the New Lanark cotton mills a mile down the hill, which are now a major tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage Site. As for “old” Lanark, the place has been an important crossroads for much of its history, as well as one of southern Scotland’s key cattle markets and a successful area for fruit growing. Times have changed: these industries have all but ceased locally, and the M74 motorway between Scotland and England has more recently removed long-distance traffic from the town, leaving it feeling somewhat cut off – or perhaps just a place waiting to be discovered? The bustling High Street is well worth exploring, while most of the other local sights have a watery theme – from the mills and spectacular Corra Linn on the River Clyde to the town loch.
🌍 Location
📌 South Lanarkshire
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NS 881437
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.673617,-3.780028
🚶 New Lanark is reachable by steep footpaths (uphill on the way back), and Lanark Loch isn’t far to the east. There are numerous good walks locally, but using the local bus network would reduce the amount of road walking.
🚆🚌 Lanark is at the end of a railway line from Glasgow. Numerous buses call here from Glasgow, Hamilton, Livingston and many other nearby settlements.
Explore nearby
<1 mi away
>> New Lanark ★★★★
>> Walk: Rosebank to Lanark ★★
>> Walk: The Clyde’s majestic daughter – Corra Linn circular page: walk ★★★★; waterfalls ★★★★
<3 mi away
>> Lanark Loch ★★ (1 mi →)
