Lanark

Lanark is a market town in Clydesdale, 28 miles southeast of Glasgow. Historically it was the county town of Lanarkshire, but that is nowadays Hamilton. It was at Lanark that William Wallace first strode into history, leading a 1297 uprising against the English and killing the Sheriff. This escalated into the First War of Scottish Independence, and Wallace triumphed a few months later at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. But Lanark itself is a tired post-industrial place and commuter town for Glasgow. In 2020 its population was 8880.

For other places with the same name, see Lanark (disambiguation).

New Lanark two miles south is the prime reason to come this way, an 18th-century mill complex and UNESCO World Heritage Site, described separately.

Get in

By train

Trains run from Glasgow Central every 30 min via Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke, taking an hour to Lanark. From Edinburgh or England change at Motherwell.

🌍 Lanark Station is east end of town centre. It has a staffed ticket office and machines, a waiting room but no toilets. There is step-free access to all platforms.

By bus

Stuarts Coach 240X / 241X runs from Glasgow Buchanan station M-F hourly, taking 70 min via Motherwell, Wishaw, Carluke and Braidwood.

Bus 317 runs from Hamilton daily every 30 min, taking 50 min via Larkhall, Garrion Bridge, Crossford and Kirkfieldbank.

Bus 91 / 191 runs daily hourly from Biggar, taking 30 min via Symington, Thankerton and Hyndford Bridge.

Bus 34A runs M-Sa hourly from Livingston, taking an hour via Dedridge, Polbeath, West Calder, Breich, Fauldhouse, Shotts and Forth.

Whitelaws Bus 258 runs M-Sa every hour or two from Lesmahagow, taking 30 min.

Lanark Interchange bus station is next to the railway station.

By road

From the south follow M74 to Junction 12 Uddington then A70 north onto Hyndford Road. From Glasgow leave M74 at Junction 9 Kirmuirhill and zigzag onto B7086 for A72. From Edinburgh follow A71 to Breich then A706. If in doubt, following the brown tourist signs for New Lanark will bring you into Lanark town centre.

Get around

The town is small enough to walk. New Lanark is two miles south, within walking distance, but you're destined to do a lot more walking once you get there.

As Lanark is the traditional county and market town, bus routes converge on the Interchange from the nearby villages. As well as the inter-town routes above, you might use:

Stuarts Coach 135 runs daily hourly to New Lanark, taking 8 min. Be sure to get the direct bus, as between times the 135 circles Lanark town.

Bus 37 / 137 runs daily hourly to Carstairs village, hospital and railway station, and Carnwath.

Bus 30 / 30A / 31 / 31A runs four times M-Sa to Hyndford Bridge, Thankerton, Symington, Abington, Crawford, Leadhills and Wanlockhead.

Whitelaws Bus 259 runs M-Sa every two hours to Hyndford Bridge, Kirkfieldbank, Rigside, Douglas and Glespin.

Taxi: in 2022 a ride within town costs up to £5 and to New Lanark is £6 to £8. The local operator is Clydewide (+44 1555 666333, tollfree 0800 050 9264).

See
  • 🌍 Lanark Museum, 29 Bloomgate ML11 9ET, ☏ +44 1555 666680. F Sa 11:30AM-4PM. Tells the history of the town. (updated Dec 2023)
  • 🌍 The Girnin Dug sits atop 15 Castlegate. This statue of a dog was erected in the 1840s by its owner after it was poisoned. He suspected the culprit was his neighbour Miss Inglis, who had strenously opposed him building next door to her. So he put up this statue on his roof, its reproachful expression directed into Miss Inglis' parlour window. Her house is long gone so the dog now girns in an unfocussed manner towards St Nicholas Church.
  • St Nicholas across the street is Church of Scotland, built in 1774.
  • 🌍 Castlebank Park is the green space south of town centre, flanked by St Patrick's Rd. The castle stood at its east end (the streetname Castlegate being the clue) beneath what is now Lanark Thistle bowling green. It was built in the 1140s and was derelict by around 1400.
  • 🌍 Old St Kentigern's Church is a ruin within the cemetery along Hyndford Rd. It was built in the 13th century and was governed by the abbey at Dryburgh. It was abandoned in 1668 when a new church was completed in town, the predecessor to St Nicholas. The metal gates by the roadside were toll gates, made in the 1820s for Cartland Bridge. They were moved here when road tolls were abolished in 1883.
  • 🌍 Cartland Bridge, built in 1822 by Thomas Telford, is a triple span 39 m high above the ravine of Mouse Water shortly before this joins the Clyde.
  • Clyde Valley Woodlands is a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in terrain where the Clyde and its tributary streams have cut deep into the sandstone bedrock. Such land was too steep for cultivation so the ancient woodland has been preserved. The NNR is in disconnected sections and the main part near Lanark is from Cartland Bridge (which has parking) upstream to Cartland Craigs and Cleghorn Glen. See New Lanark for the Falls of Clyde section. Further downstream are Nethan Gorge above Crossford, Moulslie Woods at Dalderf, and Chatelherault near Hamilton.
  • 🌍 New Lanark: see separate page for this 18th-century mill complex two miles south, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Do
  • Lifestyles is the leisure centre, on Thomas Taylor Ave 200 yards east of the railway station. It has a gym, fitness classes and pool.
  • 🌍 Lanark Golf Club, Whitelees Road ML11 7RX, ☏ +44 1555 663219, . 6428 yards, par 70, visitor round £45. (updated Oct 2022)
  • Football: Lanark United play soccer way, way down in the amateur leagues, at Moor Park on Hyndford Rd. (Third Lanark, who went bust in 1967, were based in Glasgow as they were named for a rifle regiment not the town.) Lanark RFC play rugby union at a similar humble level, with home games on the racecourse.
  • Bowling: Lanark Thistle Bowling Club are based at Castlegate, and Lanark Waterloo are north on Waterloo Rd.
  • Tennis: Lanark Tennis Club are just beyond Waterloo Bowling Club on Chapman Rd.
  • 🌍 Scottish Equestrian Centre, Lanark Race Course ML11 9TA, ☏ +44 1555 661853, . Activity based stays: riding lessons, hacking, forest trails, ponies. With its own hotel and B&B on site. The Centre is on the old racecourse, which closed as a racing venue back in 1977. The nearest racetrack is at Hamilton Park, which has flat-racing May-Oct. B&B double £130. (updated Oct 2022)
  • Clyde Walkway and cycle track runs along the Clyde for 40 miles from Partick in Glasgow via Cambuslang, Strathclyde Country Park, Cardies Bridge and Crossford to New Lanark. The final 7 miles are the most scenic, passing Stonybyres HE Power Station and waterfall, Lanark, New Lanark Mills, Bonnington HE Power Station and the three upper Falls of Clyde, ending at Bonnington Linn.
  • Lanark Lanimers: "Lanimers" means Land Marches, or beating the bounds of the burgh. A ceremony has been held each year since 1140, usually on the Thursday between 6 and 12 June. Dressing up, parades, pipe bands and suchlike.

Buy
  • Tesco is opposite the railway station and open M-Sa 7AM-11PM, Su 8AM-9PM.
  • Lidl is on the retail park east on Hyndford Rd. It's open M-Sa 8AM-9PM, Su 8AM-8PM.

Eat
  • Jholpai Indian Fusion, 1 Hope Street, ML11 7LZ (opposite museum and Clydesdale Inn), ☏ +44 1555 661010. M-Th 5-10PM, F-Su 4-10PM. Mostly good reviews. (updated Oct 2022)
  • Tea Time, 1-3 Hyndford Place ML11 9EA (opposite St Nicholas Church), ☏ +44 1555 660484. M-Sa 10AM-5PM. Simple welcoming cafe. (updated Oct 2022)
  • 🌍 The Woodpecker, 20 Wide Close ML11 7LX, ☏ +44 555 665161, . M-Th noon-11PM, F-Su noon-1AM. Smart informal bar and restaurant a block north of High Street. (updated Oct 2022)
  • Prego, 3 High Street, ML11 7LU (opposite St Nicholas Church), ☏ +44 1555 666300. W-Su noon-2PM, 5-11PM. Reliable chain Italian. (updated Oct 2022)
  • 🌍 La Vigna, 40 Wellgate ML11 9DT, ☏ +44 1555 664320. M-Sa noon-:30PM, 5-10PM; Su noon-3PM, 5-9:30PM. Great reviews for cuisine and service. (updated Oct 2022)
  • Valerio's Fish and Chips, Bannatyne Street ML11 7LB (next to bus station), ☏ +44 1555 665818. Daily 9AM-10:30PM. Cheerful convenient place, eat in or takeaway. (updated Oct 2022)
  • 🌍 Ebi's, 92 High Street ML11 7ES, ☏ +44 1555 663797, . Daily 11AM-10PM. Very mixed reviews for this fish & chips takeaway. (updated Oct 2022)
  • Capital House, 95 High Street ML11 7ET (opposite Ebi's), ☏ +44 1555 663826. M-Th noon-10PM; F Sa noon-10:30PM; Su 4-10PM. Mediocre Chinese restaurant and takeaway. (updated Aug 2022)
  • 🌍 Inn on the Loch, 179 Hyndford Road, ML11 9BJ, ☏ +44 1555 663638. Su-Th 10AM-10PM, F Sa 10AM-11PM. Consistently good restaurant by Lanark Loch. (updated Oct 2022)

Drink
  • 🌍 Clydesdale Inn, 15 Bloomgate ML11 9ET, ☏ +44 1555 678740, . Su-Th noon-10PM; F Sa 11AM-1AM. Former hotel and chain pub but now independent. Good selection of food and drink, sometimes has live music. (updated Oct 2022)
  • The Wallace Cave, 11 Broomgate ML11 9ET (next to Clydesdale Inn), ☏ +44 1555 663662. Daily 11AM-midnight. Trad pub, decent beer but no food, cash only. (updated Oct 2022)
  • 🌍 Crown Tavern, 17-21 Hope Street, ML11 7NE, ☏ +44 1555 664639, . M-Th 11:30AM-3PM, 5PM-1AM, F Sa 11:30AM-1AM, Su 12:30PM-midnight. Good pub for meals. (updated Oct 2022)
  • 🌍 The Wee Man's, 34 Castlegate ML11 9EF, ☏ +44 1555 661379. M-F 11AM-1AM, Sa 11AM-midnight, Su 12:30AM-1AM. Trad pub, cash only, usually quiet. (updated Oct 2022)
  • Maisies Bar, 12 Wellgate ML11 9DT (just off High St), ☏ +44 1555 664644. M-F 11AM-1AM, Sa 11AM-midnight, Su 12:30PM-1AM. Tiny friendly pub. (updated Oct 2022)
  • 🌍 Horse & Jockey Bar, 56 High Street ML11 7ES, ☏ +44 1555 664825. Daily 11AM-1AM. Good pub grub. (updated Oct 2022)
  • Miss D's, South Vennel ML11 7JT (100 yards west of railway station), ☏ +44 1555 662233. Daily noon-00:00. Bright friendly pub. (updated Oct 2022)

Sleep

Connect

As of Oct 2022, Lanark and its nearby villages and highways have 4G from EE, O2 and Vodafone, and a basic mobile signal from Three. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next
  • Follow A70 west towards Alloway near Ayr for the birthplace of Robert Burns.
  • Head east via Biggar into the Tweed valley and Scottish Borders, with fine ruined abbeys at Melrose, Jedburgh and Kelso.
  • Glasgow and Edinburgh are just over an hour away.


Routes through Lanark
Ayr ← Douglas ← ←  SW  NE  → Carstairs → Edinburgh
Hamilton ←  NW  SE  → merges with until Symington → Biggar
Cumbernauld ← Carluke ←  NW  SE  → Abington
Glasgow Central ← Motherwell ←  NW  S  → END


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