CLYDE
VALLEY
THE PICTURESQUE FALLS OF CLYDE.
In
the heart of Glasgow the Clyde is obviously a metropolitan river. As
it approaches the city it flows through some unprepossessing townscapes.
But if you want to explore the Clyde Valley you will find that even
in those areas there are many place s well worth visiting, while the
upper reaches of the river are in quiet upland country.
Well off the main roads, the river winds down past Bothwell and Blantyre.
Built in the 13th century, Bothwell Castle was constructed of
warm red sandstone on a slope above the Clyde. Even in ruins it remains
the finest Scottish castle of its era, with a turbulent history at the
time of the independence wars.
Not far upstream, the Victorian missionary-explorer David Livingstone
was born in a tiny millworker’s house at Blantyre. Now the
whole street in which it was situated has been turned into a national
memorial. More than 20 exhibition rooms illustrate his travels to the
Victoria Falls and elsewhere in unmapped Africa, and the drama of Henry
Stanley’s search for him, culminating in the famous greeting: “Doctor
Livingstone, I presume.”
The two biggest towns in the Clyde Valley are Hamilton and Motherwell,
separated by Strathclyde Country Park. Hamilton has a good district
museum and another dedicated to a lively local regiment, the Cameronians.
The two Hamilton Museums are included in one building and are known
as the "Muir Street Museums".
Strathclyde Country Park is centred on a specially created watersports
loch. There are dry-land sports grounds, two golf courses and a driving
range, as well as a multitude of paths and nature trails. A visitor
centre explains the park’s history and wildlife habitats. The most
notable structure here is the domed Mausoleum built for the 10th Duke
of Hamilton. Its interior is said to create the longest-lasting echo
of any building in Europe.
