Walk 111 – The White Cart Walkway, Glasgow – 7.7 miles

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The White Cart Way is a fully way-marked urban walk in Glasgow's South side. Starting at Pollok House it follows the White Cart Water as it winds it's way through the city. The official walk ends at Holmwood House, 4 miles away. The route described below then forms a loop back to the start via a combination of residential streets, Newlands Park and a scenic countryside track on the edge of Pollok Golf Course. The majority of the White Cart Way is on pavements however towards the end there are some steps to be aware of and if you choose to follow the suggested return route be prepared for a muddy section at the end!

  Chargeable car parking at Pollok House (G43 1AT). If using public transport, I suggest joining the route at Pollokshaws Road* (see route info below), as you can reach this very easily from Pollokshaws West train station, where there is also a bus stop.


WALK REVIEW: 28th January 2017

I only found out about The White Cart Way a few weeks ago whilst writing my walk review for Pollok Country Park. I don’t normally opt for urban walks but as this one follows the White Cart River on part of it’s journey between Eaglesham and The Clyde, I figured it could be worth a bash.

My friend and I met at Pollok House at 9am to avoid the start of the weekly park run. It was a cold and wet morning with heavy rain forecast. Not ideal, but as we had planned the date a few weeks ago we decided to stick with it.

I had walked the first section through Pollok Park before but after that I was very much in unknown territory. I was glad to have uploaded a map of the route to my mobile because despite it being well signposted we still managed to go wrong a few times. For the most part it was possible to simply follow the Kingfisher signs but in some places there were actually too many of them which got confusing. I believe there were two reasons for this:  1) both the outbound and return routes are waymarked which means you sometimes have signs pointing in opposing directions, and 2) there is a choice of routes at one stage and signage for all the options. Either that or I am even more terrible at navigating than I thought and can’t even follow simple signs 😮

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Pollok House (photographed on a sunnier day!) marks the start of this walk. It is a grade ‘A’ listed mansion managed by the National Trust for Scotland and is the ancestral home of the Maxwell family, dating back to the 13th century.
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The Kingfisher signs which point out the way. I did actually spot a real Kingfisher on our walk which was very exciting! At first I mistook it for a Robin (bird species are not my forté) but despite it having a red belly, the feathers on it’s back had a blue tinge rather than brown.
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The White Cart Way inside Pollok Country Park
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The route follows the White Cart River through several residential areas including Pollokshaws, Langside and Cathcart
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We passed this beautiful cast iron swing set in Holmlea Park, Cathcart. Obviously it is no longer in use but isn’t it fabulous that the frame has been retained following the refurbishment work completed in the park in 2012!
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The former Holmlea Primary School, now a derelict building having been empty since around 2004. It is such a shame that nothing has yet been done to convert this into flats or similar.
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At Cathcart Train Station the White Cart Water passes under several road and rail bridges including this lovely stone one.
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The route crosses the iconic Snuff Mill Bridge in Cathcart. Dating from 1624 it is the central feature of the area. Millholm Mill (now houses) is to the right of this photograph, hidden by the tree. Built in 18th century, it was converted from a grain mill to a paper mill and then later to a snuff mill at the height of the tobacco trade. The large tenement building behind the bridge is Lindsay House. It is said to pre-date most tenements in Glasgow, having been built in 1863 by David Lindsay (son of the mill owner) for himself and his workers. The bridge and mill now form part of a Glasgow City Council Conservation Area – read more about it here.
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After crossing Snuff Mill Bridge the walk turns from urban to countryside for a short time. A pleasant wooded area on the outskirts of Linn Park, the ground was pretty muddy on our visit. My friend tells me she once pushed a pram along here! (not recommended!)
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Tree-lined walkway leading to Holmwood House
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The walk “ends” at Holmwood House approximately 4 miles away on the edge of Linn Park . Designed by renowned Scottish architecht Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson and built in the 19th century, it is now a National Trust for Scotland property.
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This is Newlands Park which we cut through on our way back to Pollok Park. It is small but offered a welcome relief from the traffic on Merrylee Road constantly whizzing past.
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Everyone who has been to Pollok Country Park has seen the stone bridge which crosses the river in front of Pollok House, right? On my previous visits I had always been curious (as I tend to be!) as to where the path beyond it led. When planning our route for today I saw that we could come back via Pollok Golf Course which meant that we would then cross the bridge from the other side of the river. Perfect. I can highly recommend taking a walk down there next time you visit because although muddy, it is such a scenic track. It eventually leads you out onto Pollokshaws Road from where you can re-enter the park from the main entrance and return to Pollok House via the footpath along the White Cart river.
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The much-loved bridge at Pollok House. Have you ever ventured down the path at the other side of it??

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