Society headfor thegreat outdoors

Hamilton Natural History Society will begin their summer programme of outings this Saturday, May 12.

Members will be travelling to Kirkintilloch, and the itinerary will involve two short, leisurely walks, each of which will take about one hour.

The first walk, in the morning, will be along the Strathkelvin Walkway, at a stretch which runs parallel with the Bothlin Burn.

Following this, the group will visit Kirkintilloch town centre for a lunch break and an opportunity to visit the Auld Kirk Museum or take a short stroll along the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal.

After lunch, they plan to visit Merkland Nature Reserve for a second leisurely walk and, if time permits, perhaps visit one or two of the small ponds there before making plans for our journey back.

The society is a community group and first began in January 1960. They aim to study, observe and record the natural history and archaeology of the Clyde Valley, to relate studies to environmental factors and to foster the observation of areas of special interest.

The group enjoy regular field outings during the summer months to places of interest with other organisations who have similar interests.

And during the winter months they arrange for speakers involved in various aspects of the natural world to come to their meetings in Hamilton and give talks on their specialised fields.

All are welcome to visit the group and to come along to meetings.

Go online to ww.hamiltonnaturalhistory. org.uk if you are interested in natural history of the Clyde Valley.