Hamilton, Chatelherault, Larkhall links
Hamilton is the county town of Lanarkshire with a beautiful racecourse and historically home to one of Scotland's richest families the Dukes of Hamilton, who until recently owned the hunting lodge at Chatelherault Country Park.
A new shared walking and cycling route is being developed from Hamilton to Larkhall and will provide commuters and leisure riders in Larkhall and Hamilton with a combination of completely traffic-free and traffic calmed sections, providing a safe haven for walkers and cyclists to enjoy the peace and wildlife away from the noisy M74 from the Clyde Valley to Glasgow.
The route takes in Strathclyde Country Park, which holds the Strathclyde Loch, and Chatelherault Country Park, a beautiful area with riverside walks along the Avon Water against the backdrop of rich, picturesque woodland. The route then runs south along side Carlisle Road to reach Larkhall, a small town on the edge of the Avon Water.
The first part of the new routes from Strathclyde Park to Chatelherault Park is now complete and has involved upgrading and widening a continuous path between the two parks. The path has been widened up to 3 metres and travels under and over a variety of bridges, successfully avoiding very busy routes into Hamilton. As part of the National Cycle Network it also links to National Cycle Network Route 74 from Carlisle to Uddingston.
The second part of work involved a new crossing at Caird Street and the redetermination of the wide footway along the full length of Bothwell Road. This will enable both pedestrians and cyclists to cross the busy road and travel to the outskirts of the town where it is planned to join into further planned works for completing National Cycle Network Route 74. The final part of the scheme will upgrade the section along Carlisle Road and down into Larkhall.
A local steering group has been formed and meets every two months. Invited to this meeting are local volunteers who have a particular interest in the project. The Friends of Morgan Glen Group are consulted and informed regularly of the progress of the route as it heads towards their National Nature Reserve at the southern end of the project in Larkhall.
The Hamilton Portrait Bench
The Hamilton Portrait Bench, part of a unique national public art project, is a simple bench with three life-size effigies of local characters chosen by the local community to represent the culture and history of the area. These benches are being designed and installed on walking and cycling routes across the UK as part of Sustrans national project delivering the National Cycle Network into the heart of communities.
The 3 characters for the Hamilton Portrait Bench have been voted for by local residents from the whole Hamilton and Larkhall area. The chosen characters are; Scottish Knight William Wallace, a key figure in the Scottish Wars of Independence, Robert Owen, a key 19th century social reformer and David Livingstone, explorer, missionary and one of the great heroes of Victorian Britain.
The bench will hopefully be installed in spring 2012 in front of Chatelherault Hunting Lodge adjacent to part of the new walking and cycling route from Hamilton to Larkhall.
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