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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).
Route: 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.
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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!
Bonnington Power Station – surprisingly pretty as power stations go and certainly sparked an interest with the kids…. cue a million questions!
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.
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Gillian's Walks 
Just found your site. It’s great. Thank you.
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Whereabouts do you cross the river to do the loop?
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Brilliant, I’ll be trying this the next time ! Thanks for the tip!
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You can make this into a fantastic circular walk by walking down the other side of the river to Kirkfieldbank and back. We walked the circular from Kirkfieldbank the other day – approx 12km.
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Thanks for getting in touch! It is quite far for a 3 year old, yes. We ended up carrying ours on our shoulders (well, hubby did!) Glad you found the Viewranger route useful. Happy walking :-)
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I went on the walk today after your recommendation and really enjoyed it. I didn’t go to the end as I didn’t think my three year old would last. You do need to make sure you have appropriate footwear as it was a bit muddy at parts.
I found your map on the View Ranger app was helpful to show me where about I was.
We thought the New Lanarkshire site was beautiful. Well worth a return visit.
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