Bothwell and Blantyre

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River Clyde at Bothwell Castle
River Clyde at Bothwell Castle

The 13th century remains of Bothwell Castle are the starting point for this 3.5 circular walk. We’ve visited the castle many times, so didn’t go inside but dropped straight down onto the Clyde Walkway below. We followed the wooded banks until we could see Blantyre on the other side of the river.

River Clyde at Bothwell Castle
River Clyde at Blantyre

Here, we made a detour over the Livingstone Memorial Bridge. What a beautiful house next to it!

Livingstone Memorial Bridge
House by bridge

Blantyre is the birthplace of David Livingstone – although the David Livingstone Centre wasn’t yet open for the season, we enjoyed the surrounding park and garden. The statue of Livingstone and the Lion is spectacular.

Livingstone and the lion
Livingstone and the lion
Livingstone and the lion

We also liked the fountain, even if it had no water in at the moment, and the giant stone frog in the pond.

David Livingstone Centre
David Livingstone Centre fountain
David Livingstone Centre garden

Crossing back to the other side of the river we walked through Old Bothwell to Bothwell Bridge, scene of a battle in 1679 between the Covenanters and Charles II’s army (the Covenanters lost). A memorial to them was erected in 1903.

From the memorial, it was a steep climb up the road to the centre of Bothwell after which we definitely deserved lunch – which we ate outside. In Scotland, in March! We were amazed too (though I confess I did feel it a little nippy).

Covenanters Memorial
Da Luciano

After lunch, we stopped to admire this lovely memorial outside the Parish Church. Joanna Baillie was a renowned poet and dramatist who was born in Bothwell in 1762.

Joanna Baillie Memorial
Joanna Baillie Memorial
Joanna Baillie Memorial
Joanna Baillie Memorial
Joanna Baillie Memorial
Joanna Baillie Memorial

Another garden next. The Gilchrist Garden was donated to the residents of Bothwell in 1940 by Marion Gilchrist who was born in Bothwellpark Farm in 1864. Despite the education of women then being considered a waste of time, she went on to qualify as a doctor becoming the University of Glasgow’s first female graduate in 1894. The memorial sculpture, by Adrian Wiszniewski, was added in 2013. The cut-out shapes represent organisms seen under a microscope, the black represents Marion’s inner strength and the pink her femininity and sensitivity.

Gilchrist Garden
Gilchrist Garden

Bothwell used to be a mining village, and our final stop was this replica coal hutch which has recently been placed on the way out of town by the local Historical Society to commemorate the miners of Castle Colliery.

Miners Memorial, Bothwell

From here, it was about a mile back to the castle where we had left our car. So – scenery, history and art! I hope you’ve enjoyed this stroll through Bothwell which I’m linking to Jo’s Monday Walks.

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  2. Pingback: Jo’s Monday walk : Seal sanctuary | restlessjo

  3. All of these places look amazing – though I think I may be most partial to the little frog. I think my backyard could use something similar!

    As for eating outside in March, I for one am all for it, even if it is a little chilly. It just feels good to spend some time outside, rather than cooped up inside by this point in the year.

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  5. I definitely enjoyed this very diverse stroll with you Annabel. When I keep reading so much about Europe, I am missing it a bit, especially the castles. And the tea rooms and lunch places. And, the benches. Such a civilized area, compared to the remote and down to basic woods I have been hiking in! Which is very enjoyable as well, of course. 🙂 So nice you got to eat outside, bravely, in March… Don’t get too spoiled! We find ourselves getting carried away on the sunny, blue sky days this time of the year.

    Liesbet @ Roaming About – A Life Less Ordinary

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  8. You can park at Dalziel House, walk down to the graveyard at the ruined mausoleum then walk through the grounds over to Cambusnethan Kirkyard (also known as Kirkhill graveyard and St Michaels). It’s one of the oldest graveyards in the area and has one of the highest concentration of medieval graves anywhere in Scotland. Unfortunately this does not encourage the council or the locals to look after it, it’s in a bad way. However it’s so worth a visit! It has a massive mausoleum that’s in ok condition. If your still inclined you can continue along the Clyde walkway to Cambusnethan house, its a ruined shell but still gorgeous and it also had a small but ruined mausoleum. Further into clydeside almost at rosebank you have the old Mauldslie Estate. There is a lovely and decently preserved small graveyard there. It’s off the beaten track a bit. Most people stop at the cottage next to it and ask access aa there is a gate from their garden into it. Much easier than climbing through the trees up the hill! I could keep going but I need to make dinner! Lol

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  9. Back in my neck of the woods Anabel, I’m only a 5 minute walk from the monument at Bothwell bridge. If your ever heading back this way let me know and I can give you some local knowledge. There is a route you can walk from the David Livingston centre down to Bothwell bridge, along the old railway. It brings you out at the old Craighead House Estate which sits almost next to Bothwell Bridge. There is a small Victorian pleasure ground right next to the bridge as well, locally referred to as the “Lido”. It’s still pleasant to relax there on a nice day. Anyway, I could honestly bore you for hours with information about this area as there is so much to tell, so many people, so many great houses and gardens lost,even a couple of villages gone. If your interested in this area at all there is a great web page called “The Blantyre Project” that has an awful lot of information about this area.

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    • Thanks, Paul. I’m intrigued by the FB site you pointed me to last time – I had never heard of a lot of the places they talk about and show pictures of – so I’ll have a look at this one too.

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      • I’ve just done a walk round the Darvel area, once I’ve posted it to my Google profile I’ll link you in as it may be of interest to you too. There was a really interesting walk that had been arranged through the Stonehouse community group page on Facebook, it had been advertised on the Lost Houses page. It was only a few miles but took you through a couple of graveyards and through the ruins of a lost house. Shona McLean posted pictures of the walk the other day to Lost houses. I’m always working on these walks however there is a few new ones coming up. Have a look at https://m.facebook.com/ClydeandAvonValley/ on there events page there are events planned months in advance, some good ones coming up in May I think.

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  11. This looks like such a wonderful walk in March and to have dinner outside is quite unexpected. Love many of these pictures and the memorial with the different pictures looks cool. Soon you will be in my neck of the woods:)

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  14. We have a Bothwell Lodge, Bothwell Hotel and Bothwell Hospital here in Sedalia, Missouri 🙂 Maybe they originated from your part of the world?? Might have to find out and let you know. As always, enjoy your posts!

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  17. Hi Anabel – yes exactly I agree with Becky – what a rich and varied history … Wonderful you were able to sit out and have lunch, despite the nip in the air …

    Loved the photos and chat about the area .. cheers Hilary

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  18. Wow so much to see…..stunning skies, lovely walk although I’m not sure I agree with Adrian that pink is feminine. Just seems to be reinforcing that girls should be in pink! Still great Marion has a memorial sculpture.

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