Walk 90 – The Falls of Clyde, New Lanark – 3.7 miles

*DOG Friendly Walks*, *Walks the KIDS will Enjoy*, 3-6 miles, All Walking Routes, Clyde Walkway, South Lanarkshire, Z - My 100 Walk Challenge

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Best experienced after a period of sustained rainfall, this section of the River Clyde is pretty spectacular. Starting in the historical village of New Lanark, the track forms the last section of the Clyde Walkway and is basically a woodland walk with viewpoints to the waterfalls along the river. The Falls of Clyde are formed of Bonnington Linn, Corra Linn, Dundaff Linn, and Stonebyres Linn. This walk has some steep hilly sections and lots of steps. There is a kids play park in the village which is quite unique so well worth a visit. 3.7 miles there & back.

For a longer route try this circular option.

Dog-friendly walk (beware cliffs)

Car parking available at New Lanark World Heritage Site (ML11 9DB). Closest train station is in Lanark, 2.7km away (there is a bus service from Lanark to New Lanark).

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From the main car park for the New Lanark World Heritage Site, follow a footpath leading downhill past an information board. At the bottom of the hill turn left (South East) to reach New Lanark Road. You will start to see badger signs saying “Follow me to the Falls of Clyde”. Turn left (South East) along New Lanark Road for 100m, past the war memorial and a red phone box and then turn right (South West), through some gates and down some steps then across a footbridge, arriving in front of the entrance to the cafe. Turn left (South East), passing a picnic area. When you reach Robert Owen’s School keep left at a fork and follow the path along past an office building. Go through a gap in the wall and into the woods. Choose the paths closest to the River Clyde, following the boardwalk and stopping off at several viewpoints along the way to admire the waterfalls. After approx 700m you will arrive at the buildings and pipes which form Corra Linn Substation. Keep right (South) at a fork to head back into the woods and up some steps. Continue to follow the trails closest to the River Clyde, gently uphill for the next 1.5km to reach Bonnington Linn Weir. Along the way you will experience several sets of steps and a number of viewpoints just off the path, including the most popular one overlooking the spectacular Corra Linn waterfall. From Bonnington Linn Weir, retrace your steps back to the main car park for the New Lanark World Heritage Site.

WALK REPORT: 1st October 2016

The last time we did the walk along the Clyde at New Lanark our eldest son was just months old. Today we returned with a 5 and a 3 year old to experience it once again! There had been a lot of rain the week prior so I was really excited to see the falls. My excitement increased when we arrived and saw the first glimpse of the raging River Clyde from a vantage point above the village. We were in for a treat! I couldn’t wait to get further along and show the kids the huge waterfalls!

fallsofclyde3 — Path from the car park down into the village

fallsofclyde4 — New Lanark UNESCO World Heritage Site – a former mill-workers village in the 1800s, it has been restored as a living community and features a Visitor Centre, Cafe, the Annie McLeod Experience, Robert Owen’s School and more. A great family day out. Note the pale blue sign on the fence in front of the house closest to camera…..

This is a close up of that sign 🙂 From here on known as the “badger signs”. They are dotted along the trail to help keep you on the right path.

fallsofclyde2 — First view of the lower falls. These are always spectacular, even when the river isn’t in spate. I can recommend going in to the building on the left of the photo, right to the far corner beneath the tower. There are open windows with a view right out over the top of the waterfall. The noise can be quite overwhelming!

Bonnington Power Station – surprisingly pretty as power stations go and certainly sparked an interest with the kids…. cue a million questions!

fallsofclyde8 — I loved this badger painting on the wall next to the power station – we have started to measure the kids against it by taking a new photo of them every time we visit.

The walk up to Corra Linn is fun with lots of stairs to negotiate and plenty of view points from which to see the waterfalls. We loved the section of boardwalk right down by the river.

If I am honest though, I didn’t particularly enjoy the last section from Corra Linn to the Weir. I kept thinking that the further we walked the more spectacular the waterfalls were going to be however instead the viewpoints became a bit of a let down with not much to see and the kids were getting a little bored with the woodland walk. If I return in future I will likely stop at Corra Linn as in my opinion you have seen the best of what there is by that point. Nonetheless a really nice woodland walk and definitely a place of beauty, especially at this time of year with the Autumn colours starting to appear.