Walking for St Andrew
Celebrate patron’s day with a stroll
You can celebrate St Andrew’s Day next week with a gentle ramble at Chatelherault – washed down with a cuppa and a piece of shortbread.
The free guided event will leave the venue’s visitor centre at 10.45am on Thursday, November 30.
It should last around an hour and is the first walk in a series that will take place in Chatelherault with Healthy ’n’ Happy Development Trust as part of the Make Your Way arts, heritage and active travel project.
A spokesperson for the event organisers said: “Chatelherault has a wonderful park with many accessible paths, so is easy for all ages and abilities to explore. We’re really looking forward to showing it off to people who may not realise such a gem lies within easy reach by foot.”
Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP) have teamed up with Healthy ’n’ Happy Development Trust for the event.
This phase of the Make Your Way project connects the communities of Hamilton, Larkhall and Quarter with Chatelherault, through a series of active travel activities and community workshops that will inform artworks and interpretation designed to promote walking and cycling between the communities and around the country park.
It follows the first phase of the project which focused on the communities of Carluke, Glassford, Lanark, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
Jim Ewing – the senior team leader with Healthy ’n’ Happy Community Development Trust – said: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership, and look forward to helping more people in Hamilton, Larkhall and Quarter participate in active travel, whether for leisure or as part of their daily commute.”
The Make Your Way project is just one of a number of CAVLP projects taking place in Chatelherault Country Park with a focus on conserving the heritage, increasing community participation, enabling physical and intellectual access, and providing new training and skills.
These include the Planting the Past gardening and environmental volunteering project, as well as the recent native woodland regeneration project.
Visitors to Chatelherault Country Park can once more gaze over stunning views that have been hidden since the 1950s.
Forestry harvesters restored the nationally important historic landscape with the removal of 800 tonnes of non-native western hemlock conifers.
Removing the commercial plantations will regenerate native wildlife and restore views over the Duke’s Bridge, Cadzow Castle and the Avon Gorge.
The walk on November 30 is a perfect way to experience the autumnal sights, sounds and smells of the various woodland paths that follow the Avon Water beyond the visitor centre, with an experienced walk leader.
Go online to healthynhappy. eventbrite.co.uk and book your free place at the walk which is taking place on St Andrew’s Day.