Clyde Valley Woodlands National Nature Reserve

South Lanarkshire offers some of Scotland’s best days out, with country parks, museums, activity centres, historic sites and walking trails to choose from. 

Many of the area’s museums are a window into the county’s industrial heritage, the biggest claim to fame being New Lanark. Glasgow philanthropist David Dale first developed a cotton manufacturing plant and settlement at New Lanark in 1786, harnessing the power of the River Clyde as it roars over spectacular waterfalls. His son-in-law Robert Owen purchased the village in 1799. A pioneer of social reform, over the next two decades he established a Utopian society here – a model community with improved conditions for the workers and their families, complete with a school (with the first day nursery and playground in the world, it’s claimed), institute for adult education and co-operative village store. The site has been restored and added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites for visitors to learn about its history. 

You should certainly muster your remaining energy for the walk upstream to the three waterfalls known as the Falls of Clyde. The deep gorge was inaccessible before David Dale saw the potential of the area, and the natural power that the water could provide.