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Wilsontown’s Pleasance Row
articleAccording to the Oxford English dictionary, a “pleasance” is a secluded part of a garden often laid out with trees, where one might promenade at one’s leisure. It’s hard to…
The Deathbed Marriage – an Auchengray Tragedy
articleThe Caledonian Railway opened their Wilsontown branch in 1860, providing easy transport for the rich reserves of gas coal and other minerals found in the area. From a terminus near…
Making and Mending at Auchengray.
articleIn a recent post we shared an image of local lads posing proudly with their stock-car outside the “garage” at Auchengray. Although the snap was taken not so long ago,…
Building the Sandilands Viaduct.
articleThe “Six Arches” railway bridge across the Clyde near Boathaugh was once a familiar sight to those travelling towards Douglas along the A70, and added a little excitement to the…
The Toll House at Hyndford Bridge.
articleEvery day, thousands of vehicles drive past the sad little toll house on the south side of Hyndford bridge, paying little attention. The roof of the building collapsed earlier this…
Greenbank and the Ghost Village of Haywood
articleThe ruined grocery store at Greenbank overlooks a wild expanse of featureless moorland. You reach it along a grassy track that winds up a slope past a series of ridges…
The Extinction of the Public Convenience
articleThirty years ago Clydesdale boasted over twenty public toilets, conveniently sited in most towns, villages, and public parks. Not all were the most pleasant of facilities; vandalism, poor maintenance, and…
Carmacoup and the Country Wool Trade
articleThe valley of the Douglas Water narrows after passing through Glespin; and the road west clings to the hillside as it winds towards the county boundary and onward to Muirkirk,…
In Search of the Flying Wheel
articleThe 1880’s saw a boom in the popularity of cycling as mass-produced safety cycles became more affordable to working folk. Bicycles made everyday travel to work a little easier, and…
Drove Roads in Carnwath Parish – the lost road to London
articleMuch of Scotland’s wealth once came from the sale of black cattle, raised in highland glens and islands then driven great distances to the annual trysts at Dunblane and Falkirk.…