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Duchess Park (Motherwell, Scotland)
by angelboouk Duchess Park is located in Motherwell, Lanarkshire. It is 10minutes from the main shopping area and can be accessed through several gates. There is access from Avon and Crawford Street as well as Airbles Road and Dalziel School. Buses stop out on Hamilton Road and are regular. You can safely park on the outskirts of the park. Airbles ... train station is across the road from the park. ~History Of The Park~ Back in 1917, the park and the area surrounding it was leased to the council by the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton. The park was then given the name Duchess of Hamilton Park. In 1919, an 18foot, granite memorial was erected to remember those who died in the war and this still stands today. From 1923 - 1965, a bandstand featured in the park but had to be demolished due to vandals ruining it. ~Today~ The park is set across 7 hectares. Foot paths run around the full park from every entrance and the park is lined with various sized trees. The park is split in to various sections. Near the school, there is a huge grassy area with benches dotted around. If you enter through the Crawford Street gate, you can follow a gravel path in 3 different directions. One path will take you towards the centre of the park to see the memorial and have a chance to relax on one of the many benches. Further on, the area where the bandstand used to be takes you to the centre of the park. There is stairs and ramps to allow you to go into the centre. This area is surrounded by unusual trees and various flower beds and bushes. There are some more benches before reaching another grassy area at the Airbles Road entrance. The centre of the park also features a play area for children. There used to be a swimming area (more of a splash area with shallow water) and toilets though these are no longer there. The park never closes and is of course, free to enter. ~My Thoughts~ Motherwell may not be the best place to live but it does have some lovely areas. I have visited Duchess Park over 100 times in the 23years I have lived in Motherwell but the history is amazing in my opinion. Walking to the park from the town centre is a great 10minutes in itself. There is a mix of old fashioned and new build houses that cost a fortune! The park is directly across from St Marys Church (where I attended Sunday school until I hit 15 - yes I used to be a good girl). My parents were married here 34years ago and had their pictures taken in the park. It still looks as beautiful as it did then. So why do we visit Duchess Park? Having a young family, we like to go walks and moreso when Ryan was in the buggy. My sister and I would take the kids down there to spend a few hours if we didn't fancy going to Strathclyde Park. The park is great for dog walkers, runners and families alike. Many of the paths have recently been resurfaced and are much more even though they do need to fix the flooding issue near the west side of the park. I will note here that we are happy to visit this park no matter what time of year it is. ~Pretty and Relaxing~ We normally enter and leave the park from the Crawford Street entrance. The full park is flat so easy access for buggies and wheelchairs. On entering the park from this entrance, it is beautiful and this beauty becomes more apparent the further into the centre of the park we walk. The memorial is beautiful and often covered in poppy wreaths. It is quite touching and we often spend time reading the names on it. We could happily sit at this area and take in the fresh air. I am no expert on flowers or trees but the blossoming flowers and trees (especially in the Spring) are simply stunning. This is probably my favourite area of the park as everything is so well cared for, well maintained and very eyecatching. The various flower beds and flower boxes are attractive and really brighten up the park. There is a little shaded area where we often sit and take in the gorgeous flowers. Even in the rain they look lovely! The grass around the park is a hit and a miss. Whilst it seems to be taken care of near the centre, the west side of the park could do with a spruce up in my opinion. If taking a picnic or some Greggs food down, we usually sit near the centre circle. I didn't realise there used to be a band stand there until I read it on a website. I think it would make a beautiful addition to the park and perhaps they could bring it back and change it to a seating area. There are bins dotted around the park and I rarely notice any rubbish around the park. It is very clean throughout. The benches are frequent though I wouldn't recommend the one next to the park as there is often broken glass there. The grassy areas are ideal for picnics, playing football or generally running about. There is so much grass that no matter how busy the park gets, you are likely to have your own space to play around. We take a ball and play around. There is a hill near the park which offers some shade if its hot. The park itself isn't amazing but it is ok. It is split into a few sections. There is a tyre swing, 2 sets of big swings and a rope slide (which hasn't worked in years). There is also a wood chipped area which offers 2 toddler swings and a climbing frame with chute, pole, bridge and frame to climb up. This is the area we usually use especially if the younger kids are with us. It is clean enough. The boys like the swings though we aren't keen on them going on the frame as it is quite high and hard to get up on..need eyes on the back of our heads! There used to be a bench in the park for parents to relax on but this seems to be gone now. The park hasn't changed much from when I was a child though I do miss the pool! I will say that with the high school being so nearby, during lunch time, the park gets very busy with rowdy teenagers as we discovered one afternoon. They swung the swings around and covered the place in litter (my sister told them off) so I would personally avoid visiting the park during this time! I can give dog walkers credit as they most tend to pick up any mess their delightful canines make and deposit in the bins provided. ~Lets Burn Some Calories!~ I love being out in the fresh air and walking. I find it rather theraputic and Duchess Park is ideal to feed my body with this air and relaxation! As i said before, we have visited the park in the height of summer (shorts, comfy shoes and a drink is a must - oh and sunlotion) and also when it is raining or cold (wrap up cosy). This was ideal when the boys were snuggled in their buggies though now we bring out the wellies, hat and scarfs and still have fun as well as exercising. On a good, dry day, we take our time walking around and from the Crawford Street entrance back around (without stopping for the park) it probably takes us an hour. It isn't huge really but relaxing to walk around so we take our time! Last year, we went down the park when it was snowing. It was light snow when we entered the park and quickly changed to heavy, deep snow! This was rather difficult to get around with buggies but oh my, it was simply stunning. Everything was covered in a white blanket of snow..crunchy and ideal for running through! This was my favourite time to visit the park as it looked so picturesque and the snow hung beautifully from the trees. Ideal for building snow men and having snow ball fights too! During the autumn, the leaves fall gracefully from the trees. So really, Duchess Park is stunning to visit anytime of the year! Walking around the park burns some calories so I can't complain. If you fancy something to eat though, either take some food with you, nip up to the town centre (McDonalds, Greggs etc) or head across the Airbles Road to the Electric Bar for some grub. The toilets are here too but you need to eat to use them! ~Conclusion~ It is free, has fresh air, offers a gorgeous walk and play for the kids. I can't really fault the park. It isn't very well lit at night though so not somewhere you would want to walk your dog at night. From experience (hanging around with friends as a teenager - not causing trouble though!) once it gets dark, you need to head out. On one occasion myself and my sister found ourselves in the park at midnight with torches. It's a long story but we were looking for someone who went missing so lights could have came in handy there! I suppose with the park being in a residential area, there are no lights through fear of disturbing residents. As I said before, the park is well maintained throughout and council vans are often seen with works fixing flowers, planting new ones and fixing the path ways. The bins rarely overflow (except when its lunch time and the school kids are out). Depending on the weather, we could happily spend several hours in the Duchess Park and not get bored. It is simply perfect in my honest opinion and hopefully will be kept that way for years to come. As you can judge by my review, Duchess Park comes with a 5 star recommendation from me. If you are in the area visiting, just pop by and take in the beauty of it. Thanks for reading :) Read the complete review |
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Chatelherault Country Park (Hamilton)
by nic7602 We often visit Chatelherault Country Park in Lanarkshire as it is only a 10 minute drive from our home. The Park is situated between the towns of Hamilton and Larkhall The park houses an 18th century hunting lodge which was designed by Scottish Architect William Adam. The lodge was built in 1732 for the Duke of ... Hamilton who was also the Duke of the French town of Chatelherault (hence the name). When the lodge was originally built it was at the end the "Grand Avenue", a tree-lined avenue which ran all the way from Hamilton Palace, the home of the Dukes of Hamilton, to the Hunting Lodge. The Palace, which was once the largest non-royal palace in Britain, along with the Grand Avenue, are unfortunately no longer there. The lodge is open to the public but is actually much smaller inside than would appear from the outside, so it doesn't take long to walk around. The park itself has over 10 miles of some fabulous woodland walks leading down to and along the banks of the River Avon. There are plenty of wide pathways which are ideal for families with prams or buggies but some of the walks do have quite steep steps going down towards the river. We have been going to this park for several years now and still seem to find a new route each time we go. The park also contains the Ancient Cadzow Oaks which have been said to date back to the mid 12th Century which puts them amongst the oldest trees in Scotland. The rear-side of the lodge contains the visitor centre and coffee shop. The visitor centre is really interesting and has quite a few hands-on exhibits which are great for the kids to explore. It not only tells the story of the history of the lodge but also the geological history of the area. Theres also a small shop selling the usual gifts and souveneirs you tend to get at visitor centres. For our children though, the best part of the park for them is undoubtedly the Adventure Playground. It's a large, well equipped play area with different sections for younger and older children. The play park is always busy at weekends with lots of people having picnics and bbqs in the surrounding area. Entrance to the park and visitor centre is free and there are plenty of free parking spaces. You can also get to it by public transport as there is a train station directly opposite the park. A great day out for both children and adults. Read the complete review |
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Calderglen Country Park (Scotland)
by nic7602 We often visit Calderglen Country Park which is situated on Strathaven Road, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire. There is plenty to do for everyone within the park and it is especially good for large families as entrance is free, although from April this year they have started charging £1 per adult (children free) to enter the ... Zoo and Conservatory. I really do think however this is a small price to pay for what you get. Facilities Conservatory This area has lots of tropical plants and also has some fish, insects and reptiles all contained within the glass roofed building. There are information boards at each of the exhibits so you can easily find out information on each of the species. This area's quite small so doesn't take too long to walk around, which is quite good as I think some kids can start to lose interest after a while if mainly looking at plants. Small Zoo There a good selection of small animals within the zoo, such as meerkats, wallabies, marmosets, guinea pigs and a variety of exotic birds. The zoo is well maintained with plenty of paths around the enclosures. It can easily be accessed by wheelchair users and prams and buggies. By far the most popular area of the zoo is the meerkat enclosure, we couldn't drag the kids away from watching the funny antics of these little creatures. Adventure Playground The play park caters for children of all ages and is fenced off from the rest of the park, so you feel safe knowing the kids can play here and not wander off. The toddler area has a sand pit, a climbing frame and a small slide. For older children there is a huge, climbing frame build to resemble a tower with rope bridges, tunnels and various slides. Wooded Glen The glen has over 5km of woodland walks leading down to and along the banks of the River Calder. There is some really nice walks here and you pass some lovely waterfalls, only problem here is due to steep steps and quite rugged terrain it's not suitable for prams or buggies so you really have to carry small children and babies. The Northern area of the glen is a Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Visitor Centre The visitor centre provides an audio-visual display of the history of the park. There's also the Courtyard Café which provides a selection of hot and colds snack and also main meals with seating inside and outside of the café. Opening Times The park grounds are open throughout the year. The Convervatory, Zoo, Vistor Centre and Café have the following opening hours: Summer (April - Sept) 10.30am - 5pm Winter (Oct - Mar) 11.00am - 4pm Verdict A great park for spending a fun day out in the Lanarkshire area Read the complete review |
Scotland National Park |
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1 review Address: 2060 Pollokshaws Road / National Park / Glasgow / Scotland - Glasgow’s largest park and the only Country Park within Glasgow. Its extensive woodlands and gardens provide a quiet sanctuary for both visitors and wildlife. |
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North Lanarkshire / National Park / Scotland - Established in the early 1970's, Palacerigg is a place of conservation, environmental education and countryside recreation. More than 40 hectares of native trees and shrubs to enjoy. |
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1 review Strathaven Road / National Park / East Kilbride / Central Scotland / G75 0QZ / Tel: +44 (0)1355 236 644. |
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| Scotland National Park Recommendations 1 2 back | ||
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