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Make Your Way Lanark
The Motte and Bailey, Round the Houses, Close, Biscuit Crumb and Field Edge Trails, with links to the Clyde Walkway.
Filed under Trails
Difficulty (out of 3): 1
Terrain: A mixture of pavements, roughly surfaced off-road pathways and wooded nature trails.
Make Your Way in Lanark along the Close, Round the Houses, Motte and Bailey, Field Edge and Biscuit Crumb Trails. The Make Your Way digital trails can give you the opportunity to explore your local area online, and then go out and find all the details and beauty of the Clyde and Avon Valley for yourself. These Lanark trails take in gorgeous views, particular details, and from wide paths to narrow lanes, they offer a variety of ways and walks.
Explore points of heritage using the numbered Heritage Points in the MYW maps, referenced in the descriptions below.
Download and print paper maps by clicking the links under 'Related Resources'.
The Close Trail
Total distance: 2.5km
This route darts between the busy High Street and hidden historic closes, passing many of Lanark’s landmarks - past and present.
1. Start at Hyndford Road and head down Ladyacre Road towards the High Street.
Walking towards the top of High Street, you can cut down South Vennel to avoid the traffic, and connect back onto High Street through Saddler's Mews.
2. You can cross back and forth from High Street to the North and South Vennels through many Closes.
These closes were often named for the most significant person who lived there at the time, and were often renamed a number of times. Sometimes the close was named for an event or use as well, as with Bull's Close where the town bull was kept.
3. Explore the Closes!
Each close has its own distinct feel as Make Your Way artist Daniele Sambo discovered. You can read more about his work below.
4. Follow the Closes to a range of Heritage Points.
This central part of Lanark is rich with historic points including: The Tolbooth (Heritage Point 22), the Clydesdale Inn, built in 1793 (Heritage Point 15), and the Cross Keys Close (Heritage Point 23), just near Shirley's Close, pictured here. Playwright, Robert McLellan, was a frequent visitor to Lanark in his childhood and set one of his plays partly in the Cross Keys Inn, which was on Cross Keys Close.
5. Turn right onto Hope Street heading towards Lanark Library and the former site of Lanark Prison.
Passing the site of the former Lanark Prison (Heritage Point 17) and Lanark Library, Hope Street gives a real sense of the historic feel that characterises the town.
6. Before the former St. Kentigern's Church, take a left connecting to Jerviswood Road. Go along the Glebe to Wheatpark Road.
From here, The Close Trail links up to the Round the Houses Trail.
Biscuit Crumb Trail
Total distance: 1.9km
This short trail takes about half an hour to 40 minutes to walk, heading out of town in the direction of the Caldwellside Industrial Estate and Border Biscuits.
1. Start at Lanark Train Station and head towards Whitelees Road.
To get to the more sheltered part of the trail, start from the train station and walk along St. Vincent Place to Ortland Place. You will pass near Saint Mary's Church on your right (Heritage Point 34), the present church rebuilt 1910-11 after the original (1856-59) was destroyed by fire. Then cut through Ortland Place and up Whitelees Road.
2. Cross the bridge over the railway from Whitelees Road to the playing field. Take a right along the path.
Crossing a bridge over the railway line, you will momentarily join the Field Edge Trail before finding the shade of the Biscuit Crumb Trail. Also just down the grassy embankment from the path, going left from the bridge, is Lanark Leisure Centre.
3. Walk along the trail between the trees running behind St. Mary’s Primary School.
Notice the older style of the small, decommissioned lamposts along the path. The open field to the right is perfect for dog walking or a gentle stroll.
4. Look up as you go!
Though this trail is relatively short, it still has much to see including really distinctive foliage, great views and an abundance of wildlife. The shapes of the trees are often stark and striking.
5. Follow the trail past Smyllum House.
The former Smyllum orphanage (Heritage Point 50) is a distinctive marker on the landscape, easily spotted on the train coming into Lanark.
6. Take in the views around the House of the former Smyllum Park.
The grounds of Smyllum House: Smyllum Park on 19th Century Ordnance Survey Maps, are an impressive sight to see, with lots of different kinds of plant life.
7. Head out along the path, taking a left past the woodland and go along the edge of the fields.
From Smyllum House, go left around the small section of woodland and head straight on. This section of the path, to the end, will take 15 - 20 minutes to walk.
8. This long stretch of path has many wild flowers growing along its edge during spring.
As you continue along the path, getting closer to Border Biscuits, the sweet smell of the biscuits may waft over the fields.
9. Look down and spot this link to Carluke.
Across South Lanarkshire, brick works and mines were a thriving business. Milton is just one example of the 18 brickworks in the nearby parish.
10. Keep walking straight ahead.
The path continues (off the Make Your Way map) carrying on straight. The fencing either side has been morphed by weather and time into some intriguing shapes.
11. Enjoy the views across to Tinto.
Looking out, towards Biggar and Tinto - the hill is almost a constant on the landscape.
12. The trail ends at this patch of woodland before joining St. Leonard Street. Take a left to get back into town.
Listen to the noisy squabble of the birds in the trees as the landscape disappears behind the tree trunks in these beautiful, secluded surroundings.
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Field Edge Trail
Total distance: 3.2km
Following paths which regularly trace the now invisible lines of former field boundaries through this extensive residential area; this trail presents lovely views and cosy pathways.
1. Start at the top of High Street and walk up St. Leonard Street going past Lanark Memorial Hall.
Lanark Memorial Hall (Heritage Point 37) was built in 1926, in memory of 235 men who died in WWII.
2. Walk up St. Leonard’s Street for 2-5 minutes then take a right up a lane between houses. This leads directly to Kildare Park.
The area has different interpretations around its original name as either Gallow Hill or Galla Hill, clearly having two very different origins. Make Your Way explored this idea of different strands of history with pupils at Lanark Primary School, which sits next to the park. From here, connect to Rhyber Avenue and explore the paths through the estate that lead back round to the other side of Rhyber Avenue.
3. From Rhyber Avenue go straight ahead along a fence sided lane between houses, crossing St. Leonard Street and on to Smyllum Road and Robert Owen Primary School.
Crossing over St. Leonard Street spot the distinctive architecture of Lanark Water Tower on the skyline (Heritage Point 52).
4. Smyllum Road connects via Skye Walk, passing a playing field, to Thomas Taylor Avenue and Lanark Train Station.
This section of the trail also takes in Lanark Leisure Centre and Lanark Health Centre. Mind the grassy embankment coming down from the playing field into the car park of the Leisure Centre. At the bottom of Skye Walk you can join onto the Biscuit Crumb Trail.
Round the Houses
Total distance: 2.8km
A network of pavements and paths through housing estates and the green patches of land between them. Heritage clues present themselves in the form of old architecture and gateposts hidden between newer developments.
1. Start at Rhyber Avenue, at the top of Kildare Park.
The small patch of woodland, now belonging to Lanark Primary School, appears from old ordnance survey maps to have been in existence in this small form since at least the late 19th Century.
2. Take a left onto Cleghorn Avenue, right on Braedale Road. Go right on to Bellefield Road.
Bellefield Road heads straight out of Lanark to Cleghorn Glen. Chapland Road, off Bellefield Road, links to the loop around the houses which takes in Mousebank Road (Heritage Point 6), one of the original roads of Lanark (pictured above).
3. Go left along Chapland Road. From here go either direction on Waterloo Road to loop round the houses, walking on Wheatlandside or Wheatland Drive.
The views from Mousebank Road, as it exits residential areas, lead out over the fields and brilliant views. The loop around the residential area connects along Howacre and then right into Nemphlat Hill, marking the start of the former road leading to Baronald (Heritage Point 4). Parallel to this street, on Lockhart Drive, is the site of the former William Smillie Memorial Hospital (Heritage Point 3). It was built in 1897 and operated as a maternity hospital.
Motte and Bailey Trail
Total distance: 3.4km
Cuts through quiet residential streets and stunning parkland overlooking the Clyde Valley. Connects to significant medieval heritage features such as the former Lanark Castle.
1. Start - appropriately enough - on Home Street. Go right on Hyndford Road towards the graveyard and remains of St. Kentigern’s Church.
The remains of St. Kentigern's Church (Heritage Point 41) are just one of the many notable historic points in Lanark. The church was built between 1124 and 1153.
2. Exit onto Hyndford Road. Cut down to Albany Drive, past Lanark Grammar, and head out towards Delves Park.
Walking up Albany Drive and Braxfield Road to Wellgatehead you will pass the former site of Lanark Grammar from 1884 to 2003 (Heritage Point 32). The school is now sited just beside the graveyard on Kirklands Road. On the other hand, go left down Braxfield Road to get to New Lanark.
3. From Delves Park take a left down Castlegate to Castlehill Bowling Green and the remains of Lanark Castle.
At the site of the castle (Heritage Point 13) some remains can be seen of what was likely a Motte and Bailey castle - lending its name to this trail.
4. Continue along Castlegate to Castlebank Park. 5. Walk along St. Patrick’s Road. Take a right up St. Patrick’s Lane, also known as Jookers Johnnie.
St. Patrick's Road leads to a number of Community Links Walks and the Clyde Walkway as well as the site of St. Patrick's Well (Heritage Point 5) - one of the seven holy wells of Lanark.
6. The entrance to Community Links walks at the end of St. Patrick's road yields fantastic views. 7. Loop round from Jookers Johnnie via Westport to Friar's Lane. Then return to Castlebank Park.
You can walk from Friar's Lane to High Street in 5 - 10 minutes or a 1 minute cycle.
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Make Your Way was an arts, heritage and active travel project focussing on the communities of Carluke, Glassford, Lanark, Larkhall and Stonehouse, 2016-17. The project was funded by Heritage Lottery Fund supported Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership and Smarter Choices Smarter Places grant, and delivered by icecream architecture and SYSTRA.